How Long Will Your Dog Live? That May Depend On The Color Of Its Fur

Nov 09, 2018 by apost team

We call them our best friends for a reason. Dogs have a way of worming themselves straight into our hearts, becoming much more than pets. Before we know it, Fido is a family member, offering unconditional love and affection every single day. In turn, we try to make our pup’s life happy, returning the love and taking the best possible care of him/her.

It’s hard to know our best friend won’t live as long as we do. No matter how many years our canine pals are given, we always want more, right? The loss of our fur babies is incredibly painful.

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Believe it or not, researchers at the University of Sydney asked themselves that very question. Specifically, they wondered if a dog’s color could be related to its lifespan. Granted, we can’t buy Fido a new coat, but wouldn’t having at least a hint about what to expect offer some comfort? If we’re looking for a new fur friend, wouldn’t it be nice to know we could choose one that might live longer?

The folks conducting the research studied the lifespans of Labs—3,000 of them, to be exact—chocolate, yellow, and black. Surprisingly enough, even though the pups were all the same breed, life expectancies varied based on color. Fur color also had a dramatic impact on the types of diseases the dogs were prone to get.

So what was the verdict? Which fur colors were linked to the longest lifespans?

Chocolate labs drew the short straw, with an average life expectancy 10 percent shorter than their black or yellow brethren, both of which lived an average of 12.1 years. Chocolates also tended to get twice as many ear infections and four times as many hot spots (a skin disease clinically known as pyotraumatic dermatisis).

Why are chocolate labs so unlucky? Blame it on their genes.

See, according to the study’s lead author, Paul McGreevy, the problem may lie in the fact that chocolate labs are specifically bred for their color. Both parents have to have the chocolate gene, and that limits breeders hoping to achieve this fur color to a specific pool. Unfortunately, that pool may also include a higher number of genes linked to ear infections and skin conditions.

Understanding possible links between fur color and life expectancy may be helpful when choosing a dog, no matter the breed, but it’s also important to remember that fur color isn’t everything.

The Sydney study found that, while chocolate labs tended to get more ear infections and skin diseases, all labs have a tendency to become obese. Of the 3,000 dogs studied, 8.8 percent were overweight. A fat dog may be lovable, but it’s also more likely to have all kinds of health issues, including joint problems caused by excess pressure.

Of course, talking about fur color is all well and good but when we go to adopt a dog, what we’re really looking for is a soul mate, that spark, that special connection with that special dog, no matter what color it is.

Still, the color study findings are good information to have. Feel free to pass it along to any dog people you know! Meanwhile, we’d love to hear from you. Questions, opinions, and personal experiences are more than welcome!