Longevity list - Page 1

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mollyandjack

by mollyandjack on 19 April 2013 - 10:04

I’m trying to create a longevity list for European-line GSDs..similar to what the GSDCA already has for American-line GSDs. If you know of any European-line GSDs (show/work/DDR/West/Belgium/whatever) that have lived to 12 or older or are still alive today past 12, please post them here. IMO, too many dogs are dying at 8 or younger. Or maybe that’s just my experience! If so, hopefully this will be a really long list! And if I have listed dogs here incorrectly, please mention that. I’m borrowing some information from previous threads that didn’t get a lot of responses.

Kevin vom Murrtal
Ike vom Del U Haus
Lord vom Gleisdreieck
Ufo Van Guys Hof 
Xito Von Maineche
Congo Vikar
Cordon An-Sat
Balli Panta Rei
Dante Traho
Tom z Pohranicni Straze
Asko von der Lutter

by Blitzen on 19 April 2013 - 10:04

Nurmi von den Maibuchen - 14 years

Kaffirdog

by Kaffirdog on 19 April 2013 - 10:04

Lakatamia Noris in Nyrvana born 19/11/99 and still alive and active today, his litter brother lived til January 2012.  By Pasco Peko Haus ex Lakatamia Deika.

Jenni78

by Jenni78 on 19 April 2013 - 10:04

Awesome idea!!! That's definitely useful info. 

How about for the ones that were totally healthy their entire lives and met with an accident or similar circumstances, cause of death is disclosed? That would help clarify. I'd have no problem putting it in their ped. info for people looking. It would help clarify "fluke" or "something to watch."

Here is one DDR dog I know, old and healthy: V Arko vom Zwickauer Marksteig, 12 in July.

Dargo von den Thuringer Kronjuwelen was a hair under 12, enjoyed excellent health until a stroke forced his owner to euth. I considered this when buying Caleb, as Dargo was quite old to be naturally breeding still. Caleb was absolutely healthy as a horse, didn't even have a gray hair at 8.5. I was so confident he'd live until his mid teens, at least, the way he was going. :-(   He was a healthy, healthy boy. 

Alk vom Osterburg Quell. I think Greg told me he passed at 14.

Elba z Esagilu, Caleb's dam. Tough old broad;-) Didn't have the easiest, most stress-free life, either, as a brood bitch. 
Dargo Ha Ja Da was old, too. I need to check how old. 

West German lines, V Sid and V Snoopy von der Fasanerie, 12 & 13 or 14 respectively. Their longevity and good health until passing was something that I considered when buying Capri, as these are her sire and sire's littermate. 

mollyandjack

by mollyandjack on 19 April 2013 - 10:04

You’re right; cause of death would definitely be helpful. I realize 12 is kind of arbitrary, and I am also interested in dogs that are 100% healthy into their 8-10th years and beyond (bonus for continuing to work!!). I guess I would create a separate list for that, I think? The only problem is that longevity is easy to quantify and standardize....whereas I can never be sure if someone else's definition of "completely healthy" is the same as mine!
I'm not sure if Berta vom Quasliner Moor is still alive, but I do know that she received her Sch3 at 9 years of age.

mollyandjack

by mollyandjack on 19 April 2013 - 11:04

Ok, what I am going to try to do is compile whatever people can post into a list and then create a weebly site to list it. Or, alternatively, something could be created by the site owner here for people to mark dogs over a certain age at death. Maybe a button to note that the dog is in an unofficial +12 or +13 club similar to the GSDCA's. That would definitely help with pedigree research, especially if people could use that as a filter in a pedigree search. 

Jenni78

by Jenni78 on 19 April 2013 - 11:04

When I say completely healthy, I mean no allergies, no "mystery issues", no cancer (say, under 10-11?), nothing wrong, except maybe a little stiffness from arthritis the last few years, especially in a working dog. Good point, "completely healthy" means something different to everyone.

I'm going to go off on a tangent for a bit, but for the sake of explanation, when I said Caleb (using my own dog to avoid upsetting anyone else or getting an issue wrong) was "completely healthy" I mean he wasn't even a tiny bit slower than he was at 2, no arthritis, no allergies, totally healthy dog, not even a gray hair. He was phenomenal at 8.5, continuing to jump my 6' fence, leaping onto full size trucks to do bitework, etc.- extremely athletic and active- until a stupid, stupid bone chip in a sensitive area caused the need to explore surgery, and required medication to experiment with possible results. There are varying opinions on how safe the combo of drugs was. I hate drugs. I'm very conservative, but I really had no choice. One vet said it should've never been done. Another said they do it all the time, though in older dogs who aren't long for this world anyway (gee, thanks). Bottom line, just like people, dogs can have poor reactions to a drug or drug combo and you know the rest.

I certainly cannot and do not blame his genetics for that and continue to consider Elba z Esagilu and Dargo von den Thuringer Kronjuwelen fantastic producers of health from my personal experience with one dog. He was so vigorous his entire life, and never suffered from those pesky little "not a big deal but...." ailments that so many GSDs seem prone to. Not a picky eater (understatement), no ear infections (I never cleaned his ears), no prostate issues, no other infections, nothing. On antibiotics only once in his life, for a nasty looking tick or spider bite. I honestly don't remember anything else. Totally healthy, no special needs kind of dog. Bloodwork, urinalysis excellent, organ function not even showing any age. That's what I think people need to shoot for, personally. For myself, I'd like to try to double up on some of that longevity and am working on combinations that would put that kind of longevity on both sides. I like older dogs for breeding, too, as more of a test of the dog's own health over time. 

I like a dog to look super healthy, too, not look like they're just barely alive and wish they weren't. I think vigor is as important as more "technical" health, though harder to quantify. I look at what a dog produces as a reflection of themselves, as well. Pups from his litter were big, squirmy, loud...again, vigorous is the only word I can think of. They survived parvo, and though they're not that old yet (3 in October) so far, they're as healthy as their parents always were- NO tiny issues pertaining to skin, stomachs, ears, etc. I monitor them vigilantly, probably annoying the hell out of their owners. Teeth Smile

So, sorry for the novel, but THAT is what I think "completely healthy" means. 
 

by Blitzen on 19 April 2013 - 11:04

The GSDCA has a "13 year club" for dogs entering their 13th year. Every month there are quite a few dogs listed in "The Review" that have qualifed. Last month I noticed that 5 or 6 of them were from the same kennel.

I don't think many allow sick dogs to linger, so I would assume that most of those dogs are relatively healthy.  I've seen and owned more than one older dog that was running around like a puppy one day, and down the next. Good health is relative and subject to the opinion of the poster; it can't be substantiated. Age can be.


 

Jenni78

by Jenni78 on 19 April 2013 - 11:04

Isn't running around healthy one day and down the next the way you'd like to go? I sure would. If that happens to a dog in their teens, I'd call that healthy and dying of old age. Now, I think dogs should live a lot longer than they do, but that's a whole 'nother topic. 

I agree something needs to be started for the Euro line dogs. The GSDCA list is a great tool, if the names aren't gibberish to you. It doesn't do a lot of good for many of us who don't have dogs of those lines. 

mollyandjack

by mollyandjack on 19 April 2013 - 11:04

Good posts, both Jenni and Blitzen. I think people are interested in both quantitative and qualitative info. Jenni’s post is similar to the important info being passed around on the DDR opinions thread, just another side of that coin basically. However, for something easily quantifiable (and because I am not superwoman!), I think I am going to have to stick to a “dogs that are +12” formula to start with. But, if anyone posts other info, I am certainly not opposed to it and will try to save it for later analysis ;-)





 


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