Poodle Life Span: How Long Do Poodles Live?
Do you have a poodle? Or are you looking at getting one? These are great dogs that can live a very long life. When most people get a dog, they would like them to be around as long as possible. There are many things to help ensure that your poodle stays healthy and happy for many years. By feeding your dog a great diet and providing the best care possible, they can live long and healthy lives.
What Are The Different Poodle Breeds?
Poodles come in 3 different sizes: Toy, Miniature, and Standards.
Toy Poodles
Toy poodles are the smallest of the Poodle breed. They weigh 6 to 9 pounds and are under 10 inches tall. This is a very common small and toy breed dog for people to have. While they do have curly hair that will need frequent brushing and grooming, they are a very healthy and long-lived breed.
Miniature Poodles
Miniature poodles are a little larger than a toy poodle. These dogs weigh 15 to 17 pounds and are usually about 12 inches tall. This breed of the poodle is a little large and a little more active than a toy poodle. These dogs love to run and play outside and would even be a great dog to take for a walk around the neighborhood.
Standard Poodles
These are the largest of the poodle breed and can weigh up to 60 pounds. This large breed dog is known for its beauty and grace. These dogs are very popular at dog shows and agility trials. They love to run and exercise. If you love agility, this would be a great dog breed for you.
How Long Does A Toy Poodle Live?
Toy poodles tend to live 12 to 15 years. Some will live even longer. The oldest toy poodle was named Uncle Chichi, and he lived to be over 20 years old. While 20 years is a very long time for a toy poodle to live, your toy poodle can reach into their late teens with the proper care, adequate nutrition, and a dedicated owner.
How Long Do Miniature Poodles Live
Miniature poodles live about the same length of time that toy poodles live. They commonly live to 12 to 15 years of age. They do not usually make it long into their late teens as some toy poodles can.
How Long Do Standard Poodles Live
Standard Poodles do not live as long as the miniature or toy poodle breeds but do tend to live longer than many large breed dogs. Standard poodles can live 7 to 10 years, and some may reach 12 to 15 years of age. With proper care and adequate nutrition, your Standard poodle can live for many years.
What Affects The Life Expectancy Of Poodles?
There are many things that will affect your dog’s life expectancy. These are common things that can influence how long your dog lives:
- Health care: Dogs that receive preventative care and see a vet twice a year for a checkup usually live longer. These dogs will more likely receive the needed care and routine bloodwork needed to catch the disease earlier.
- Genetics: Genetics play a big role in how long a dog lives. Some dogs come from great genetic lines and do not have a history of and life-shortening diseases such as heart disease or cancer.
- Homelife: Dogs who are fed a better diet and live the whole life inside will live longer than those who spend a lot of their life outside. Dogs who live outside are more likely to have to fend out predators and deal with changes in climate that dogs who spend most of their life inside do not have to deal with.
Sometimes even with the best care, your toy poodle may not live as long as you would want them to. Some dogs may develop cancer or another life-threatening disease early, and life and unfortunately die young.
How Spaying Or Neutering Affect Toy Poodle Life Expectancy
Spaying and neutering your toy poodle will help prolong their life. When you spay or neuter your poodle, you are decreasing the chance of many other diseases.
Why Should You Spay Your Poodle?
These are some common reasons that you would want to spay your poodle.
- Overpopulation: By spaying your poodle, you are helping decrease the number of unwanted dogs in shelters. There are many pure breed dogs in the shelter, and many of them are puppies.
- Mammary cancer: By spaying your poodle before their first heat cycle, you will decrease the chance of mammary cancer by 90%. Mammary cancer can cause many issues in unspayed female dogs leading to surgery later in life to remove cancer.
- Pyometra: A Pyometra is an infection in your dog’s uterus that can easily be prevented by spaying your poodle. A pyometra is an infection in your poodle’s uterus. This is a very common occurrence in an older intact female dog. These dogs are often very sick and will need emergency surgery to remove the uterus and the infection. In some instances, this may even be fatal. When your poodle is spayed, the entire uterus and ovaries will be removed, and cannot get infected.
- Stop unwanted guests: When you spay your poodle, there will not be any male dogs entering your yard unexpectedly and trying to mate with your poodle. Male dogs can smell the pheromone that is released by your female poodle up to a mile away. If the male is intact, they can find a way to get to your poodle to mate with them. Many of these dogs can be larger than a poodle, and delivering large puppies can be very dangerous to your female poodle.
Why Should You Neuter Your Poodle?
While males cannot give birth to puppies, there are other medical reasons that you should neuter your male dog.
- Decrease aggressive behaviors: Intact male dogs tend to be more aggressive towards people and other dogs. This can cause them to get into a dog fight and have large lacerations or internal damage. Poodles and very small, and they usually get into fights with much larger dogs, causing much more damage to their bodies. By neutering your dog, you are taking away the testosterone and their drive to get into fights.
- Decrease them running away: Intact male dogs are always looking for a mate. Poodles can quickly and easily get under a fence or out the front door. They can then get into the streets and get hit by a car or even be picked up by someone else. By neutering your dog, you are decreasing this drive to look for a mate, thus helping keep your dog at home more.
- Decrease prostate and testicular issues: Older intact male dogs tend to have an enlarged prostate or testicular cancer. By neutering your dog, you eliminate the chance of testicular cancer and drastically decrease any prostatic issues.
Before you spay or neuter your poodle, your veterinarian should perform a complete health exam. The exam will make sure that there are not any other health conditions that would cause your poodle not to have a successful surgery.
There is some controversy about spaying and neutering a dog young. There are very few studies that show in large breed dogs that it may be better to wait until your dog is around one year to spay and neuter. The American Animal Hospital Association has released a statement with a great flow chart on when to spay and neuter your pet based on their weight.
What Are The Common Causes Of Death In Poodles?
There are a few diseases that can be life-threatening in poodles. These are some of the most common causes of death in a toy poodle.
- Congestive Heart Failure (CHF): In small breeds, dogs commonly have issues with the valves in their heart working as properly as they should when they get older. This can lead to congestive heart failure. If your poodle has congestive heart failure or any heart failure at all, they will usually cough more, have exercise intolerant, and breathe heavy. Your vet can take x rays of your dog and listen to your dog’s heart to see if they have a heart murmur or fluid in their lungs. If your vet does find that your dog has heart issues, there are medications that they can start your dog on to help their heart work more effectively.
- Kidney Failure: As dogs get older, their organs do not function as they should. Commonly their kidneys do not work as they should. This can lead to kidney destruction and failure. When your dog’s kidneys do not work properly, they do not filter out the waste products from your toy poodle’s blood. This can make your dog very sick. There are supplements and a kidney diet your older poodle can take to help the kidneys function as they should.
- Cancer: Unfortunately, poodles do get cancer. They commonly get lymphoma. This is a cancer of the lymphatic system and usually causes enlarged lymph nodes. You can find lymph nodes all over your dog. You can commonly feel the ones in their neck and behind their knees. If they have lymphoma, these will be enlarged as well as others that you may not commonly see.
- Diabetes: Diabetes is common in poodles. This is just like with people where their blood sugar gets very high. This can cause your dog to have signs such as drinking a lot of water and peeing a lot. If you notice this, your vet can easily and quickly check your dog’s blood sugar. If they are diabetic, they can start on insulin injections, just like people get to help control their diabetes.
- Dental Disease: While dental issues do not directly cause your poodle to die, the bacteria that live in their mouths can lead to many health issues. When the bacteria and tartar build up on your dog’s teeth, this can enter your dog’s bloodstream. The bacteria then can travel anywhere in your dog’s body. This commonly causes endocarditis (an infection in your dog’s heart) or kidney disease. By keeping your poodle’s teeth cleaned, you can help them live a long and healthy life.
- Trauma: Poodles can get into fights with other dogs or escape your yard and get hit by a car. Some of these incidents can lead to broken legs, punctured wounds, and even death.
While all of these diseases can be life-threatening, many poodles will live long and healthy lives while these diseases and are being managed with medication.
How To Make Sure Your Poodle Lives A Long And Healthy Life?
To help your poodle live as long as possible can there are many preventative measures that you can take. These are some things that you can do to help your dog live a very long life:
- Give them a proper diet: Feeding your poodle a high-quality diet will help them get all the nutrients that they need to support a healthy immune system. If your dog does not have a proper diet, they can have GI issues, pancreatitis, and have trouble fighting any infection that they may encounter.
- Have them spayed or neutered: Spaying and neutering your pet will help them live a long and healthy life. Studies show that spaying or neutering your poodle around 6 to 12 months of age will decrease or eliminate the chance of many other diseases.
- Provide routine vet care: Preventative care is the best thing that you can do to help your dog live a long and healthy life.
- Have parents genetically tested: Make sure that the breeder that you get your poodle from has checked the parent for any genetic defects, as well as having their hearts check to make sure that they are not passing on any genetic heart diseases to the litter.
- Provide proper grooming: Poodles will need to be groomed. If they are not groomed, they can develop skin issues that cause them a lot of pain and discomfort.
- Give them Plenty of Exercises. Your poodle will not need to go for a long walk each day, but they will need the proper exercise to stay fit. If your poodle is overweight, this can lead to health issues such as arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease that can shorten their life span.
How To Avoid Accidents That Can Make Your Poodle Die Prematurely
The best way to avoid an accident and make sure that your poodle will live as long as possible is to be proactive. These are some tips to help keep your toy poodle healthy and happy:
- Look for a hole in your fence that your poodle could get out of and fix these holes.
- Keep all household cleaners and other products that are toxic to dogs up and out of the way.
- Do not use rat poison. Look for other humane ways to catch any mice. Maybe even adopt a cat.
- DO NOT feed your dog human food. This can lead to GI issues or problems with their pancreas.
- Watch your pet when they are outside playing. Make sure that there are no wild animals or other neighbor dogs that have gotten into your yard and could hurt your dog.
- DO NOT let your dog outside of a fenced yard off a leash. They can quickly run into the street and get hurt.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How long does a poodle live compared to other poodles and compared to other dogs of similar size?
Poodles tend to live a little longer than many dogs that are their same size. This may be due to genetics or the excellent care that many of these dogs receive.
Male vs. Female Poodles — Which one lives longer?
Female poodles tend to live longer than males. This is true of almost all dog breeds; the female tends to outlive the males by about two years. Spayed or neutered pets also tend to live longer than unspayed or neutered toy poodles.
Final Thoughts
If you are looking at getting a poodle, these are a great breed that will live a long time. There are a few diseases that these dogs may get, but by making routine vet visits and being proactive, you can help your poodle live a long and happy life. If they are giving the proper care and nutrition, these dogs can live well into their teens, and some of the smaller breeds may even make it to 20 years old.
Preventative vet care can help keep your pet healthy for many years. By having your vet examine your pet every six months, they can help you detect disease much earlier. This can help your poodle receive the necessary medication and treatments to help prolong their life. These dogs may make wonderful pets that can be with you and your family for many years.
Dr. Sara Ochoa, DVM graduated from St. George’s University Veterinary School in 2015. Since then, she has been at a small and exotic animal practice in Texas. In her free time, she loves making quilts and spending time with her husband Greg and their 4 fur kids. Two dogs, Ruby a schnoodle, and Bug a Japanese Chin, one cat named OJ and a leopard tortoise named Monkey.