Dog Breeds With the Longest Life Spans—and How To Help Yours

In a perfect world, our dogs would stick around for decades. Instead, most of us face the same heartbreak: no matter how loved and well cared for they are, their lives are far shorter than ours.

And while there is no universal rule for how long a canine will live, some breeds are known for outlasting others—though genetics is only part of the story. Lifestyle, diet, medical care and even body size can all shape a dog’s odds of reaching old age.

That size factor was highlighted in a study which found that larger canines are more likely to die younger. Researchers suggested that decades of selective breeding for bigger bodies may have unintentionally made large breeds more vulnerable to cancer. In other words, dogs’ bodies haven’t had enough time to "catch up" evolutionarily to the rap