I was at the vet's a few days ago with my rats (nothing serious, I'm glad to say) and while we were in the reception area a man came in with the most GIGANTIC dog - it looked more like a horse coming through the door at first! It was a Great Dane, but even by Great Dane standards, this dog was a very big boy - fourteen stone according to his owner. And so tall! When he saw my rats (who thankfully were safely in a little cage) he started to lick his lips, so the receptionist hid them behind the counter, to stop him staring at them and freaking them out.

I didn't realise a dog could be quite that big! On a negative note, the owner told me Great Danes live shorter lives now than they used to, due to their increased size putting pressure on their heart. I hope this particular dog manages a good long life.

No doubt a magnificent dog but such a shame that yet again human breeding practices have produced dogs that cannot lead full, active lives for a normal timespan

A friend of mine has a big dog that looks like a lion and he weighs 11 stones... and he's a big daft Leonberger!

yes the average lifespan of a dane is 7-8 years, most living to 6 ish and then going downhill rapidly. beautiful dogs, but so many issues they have to live with to get them so large.

my cousin has a rottweiler x spanish mastiff and its nearly 14 stone. my neighbour has a st bernard which is between 11-12 stone now.

So how do you explain the many breeds of toy dogs that live well into their late teens?

As a rough rule, the bigger the dog, the shorter the lifespan.

Small dogs usually tend to live longer

When I was small I had a huge teddy bear but my mum took it away from me and put it in the bin. I cried for days. But now I am fine.

I was commenting on Great Danes that, as others have said, have relatively short life spans because of the way that humans have bred them.

Obviously there are many breeds, crossbreeds & mongrels that live far longer lives ~ just goes to show that unnatural human breeding practices have lead to shortened lives due to health problems in some of these large breeds.

But there are many other human breeding practices that lead to dogs having health problems too & not confined to large breeds. e.g. the breathing problems of some dogs with shortened muzzles, the inability of bulldogs to give birth naturally, the hip problems common in labradors, GSDs & other breeds, cocker "rage" syndrome, the list goes on....

K......

This is exactly why we decided on a Victorian bulldog rather than a typical British bulldog, the amount of problems bred INTO them is sickening. A dog should be able to walk and breathe properly which bulldogs of today are less able to do because of such intensive breeding.