
For dogs, body size matters. That’s true in terms of how quickly they age, but also in their mental health, according to a new study comparing big and little canines. Age-related decline starts at 7 to 8 years of age in big dogs, compared to 10 to 11 years in smaller dogs, Hungarian researchers found. But big dogs decline more slowly than their pint-sized peers. Large dogs maintain their mental health longer and have a smaller degree of age-related decline. “For those who want a smaller-sized dog but do not want to risk severe mental health problems in old age or want a larger-sized dog but do not want to risk physical health problems at 7 to 8 years of age, we recommend a dog from the [22- to 66-pound] size range,” said first study author Borbála Turcsán, who is part of the Senior Family Dog Project at ELTE Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary. “Based on our results, these dogs have a longer health span relative to their expected life span than their smaller and larger counterparts,” Turcsan explained in a university news release. Based on data from 15,000 dogs, giant dogs typically live to 7 years. Small dogs live to about age 14. Purebreds tend to have shorter lives than mixed breeds. The researchers investigated at what age behavioral and mental (“cognitive”) changes… read on > read on >