Doberman average life span

dobermanrandy

Active Member
I read alot on how Doberman's are prone to so many health issues causing many to pass awayat a young age.There is alot of conflicting info on the web regarding this.Some sites state they live 10-12 years others say average is 9 years and alot of people state there Dobe lives only 7 years.Thats a short life and kind of sad.
Not trying to be a downer or anything but curious to those who have been around dobes a long time,or have had many through the years,what is a realistic average lifespan of a Doberman?Is it really 7 to 9 years in most Dobes?I talk to a few people I work with who had them ,one said his female lived to be 7 years,another guy said his male lived about 8 years.Its sad that they lost there companions so soon.
So in all honesty,what can be said an average life of a doberman is?
 
Hi Randy, maybe we could start an informal poll here?

I have only had 2 Dobermans.
1) My first was female and died (cancer) at age 10.
2)My second is just a pup, almost 2 yrs old.. and going strong.

Anyone else care to add their past Dobes and their ages?
 
My first dobe in the 70's was a male escape artist that got loose and hit by a car at about 12,second a female that died of cancer at 12,third a female died of cancer at about 8,Shiloh's now about 6 and doing well,no white muzzle yet.All ages are approximate because they were all rescued.
 
My Zeus was 13 years/3 months when we lost him and my Jasmine was 11 1/2 (due to compications from a snake bite, but otherwise she was very healthy).
My senior girl will be 10 in Oct, and her full older sister is 11, and both are healthy & still very active!
So, I've been fortunate with an average of about 12 yrs.
 
Well there are a lot of different views on this and I don't know
which is correct or if we even know. I lost Hunter at age 8 to
bone cancer and heart, not DCM he had a different heart problem.
My daughter lost her Dobe at age 8 to heart. I have known quite a
few Dobes who have had a much longer life span.

ALL I KNOW IS IT BREAKS YOUR HEART WHEN THEY GO
ANY AGE
 
My first Dobe was 10 when i lost her to cancer , but i have two friends who had Dobes, one was Jade who was 15 and just dropped dead on a walk and he carried her home, and Gretchen who was 14 who just died of old age , i now have Bella who is nearly four and i am hoping will live forever as my heart will just break being without her :( .
 
Way late on this thread...but our first dobe died suddenly at just over 6 years of dilated cardio myapathy. The second dobe is 2 years this month and is going strong - even after 2 run ins with chasing cars (lots of stitches and road rash, not to mention my obliterated nerves). Have read all kinds of life expectancy ranges online. Most seem to trend toward 7-12. A good friend lost his doberman to sudden death (probably DCM also) at 10. I just treasure every day with my dobe like it was his last and don't worry so much about how many more of those days we are going to have together.
 
I was readinng the other day that small dogs life span was 12 to 15 years - yes as in Dobermans some exceed it and some don't hence the average.
Not that much different and the larger breeds period do not live as long as the smaller breeds. That is one reason why breeding oversized Dobermans is not smart on any level.
 
Lost Blitzen (fawn male) just before he turned 15, had several dobi mixes go to 17-20. Dog hit 19 (red female). The youngest we ever lost a dog was 10 from surgery complications. I can't imagine how hard it must be to lose a few dogs even younger than 10. The sorrow was bad when we lost Bear (dobi/pit mix) at 10 but we also had overwhelming grief over what we could have done differently since our other dogs lived so much longer.

I am never a fan of breeding for just new size ranges. It creates big health problems whether making small dogs smaller or large dogs bigger.
 
1st male Dobe, died at 12yo from lung cancer, He nor we smoked at the time.
2nd Dobe female, died at age 10, from a snake bite when we lived in TX.
Dobe 3 male is still alive at 10 months.
 
My boy, Pookie, aka Bruno died of unknown causes at the age of 6. My girl, Pansi, had to be put down at 2 months she of 15 due to complications from Wobblers. Sophie is 2 and no problems so far. Dixie my other rescue seems to live at the vet with one problem or another at a little over a year.
 

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