Samira wrote:
Ten years is on the high side. The estimates I've seen are more like 6-10 years.
They're prone to orthopedic problems, of course; but also some types of cancer and cardiac and even kidney problems.
Nice dogs, though, the ones I've been around.
It's often like that with pure breed dogs. In fact, pure breeding is very un-natural, and causes lots of health problems for dogs.
I had 3 German shaperds when I was a kid in the South of France. They were the coolest dogs in the world, but they all had serious health problems around the age of 10: their back legs couldn't suport their backs, and so they became slow, had problems running, slept half of the day.
It was incredibly sad.
I love dogs.