# Longest Living Shepherd?



## MikeyMerciless

:halogsd: What's the longest your GSD have lived? :halogsd:


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## MikeyMerciless

2 weeks shy of 14 years for me. My current Shepherd is 9 years old.


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## Deuce

There's already a thread on this here somewhere....I think the winner was 18?


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## MikeyMerciless

Oh okay. I was just looking to give people something to do. Plus I was interested... but wow 18.


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## arycrest

Honey was almost 14. Niki was the youngest at 7 years 7 months old (osteosarcoma).


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## Whitedog404

Let Roxy go a couple of months ago. She was a lovely rescue GSD -- a big girl -- she was about 14.


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## BestK9GSD

My Shadow lived to be 14 also....which in my opinion was not nearly long enough! I miss him every day!


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## Stogey

Charlie dog was 14 and Maxie boy was 12 ... God I miss those animals ! :wub:
DJ will be the big 4 next month !


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## ken k

my Sheia, 14 years and some months


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## MikeyMerciless

Wow 14 seems to be pretty common. My first Shepherd almost hit 14 but left in the summer after kindergarten for me. I got one the next year and she'll be 10 in April :]


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## lisgje

The GSD I grew up with made it to 16. She was there for my childhood till I was 8. Awesome dog. Her name was Tippie and I still miss her and I am 47.


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## codmaster

Our first was only 5 1/2 (brain tumor) but she lived long enough to convince me of value of a good GSD.

Also died in my arms in our basement.

Longest we had one was 13 1/2!


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## CaliBoy

My first lived to 13 1/2 also before he died of degenerative myelopathy.


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## Kayos and Havoc

My oldest was a bit shy of 13. Youngest was 9 1/2 (cancer)
My current crew is 11.5, 8 and 3.5. 

I had a friend who had a GSD live to almost 17. His name was Sahib.


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## GSDOWNED

Our Dakota Just passed away August 11, 2010. She was 14 years, 1 month, and one day.


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## westallkennel

The oldest that I have had was thought to be around 17 or 18 when he died according to his owner. He came into my life when the lady retired, and could no longer care for him. He was around 15 at that time. I wish I could have known him in his prime he was a great dog.


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## My2Furkids

My aunt and uncle had a GSD I remember from my childhood who lived to almost 18! Her mini-poodle lived to the ripe old age of 21!


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## tatum

My gsd just passed away 1/24/2013 and she was born 2/4/1998. Her name was "Tatum".. She was a black & tan short-haired AKC certified 3rd generation police dog with documention. She was 11 days shy of her 15th B-day.... She was always a healthy dog that was regularly excerised ( morning & night )..
At age 13 she developed "vestibule" syndrome, which she recovered to about 90% back to normal and then we noticed she started developing breast cancer that slowly over the next 2 years spread through-out her body.. We were told by a vet not to have it removed it because it might spread alot faster, so we didn't.......she was a member of the family and will be missed......


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## NancyJ

Linus lived to be 15 and about a month.


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## GSD13

My brothers GSD Cookie lived to be 17.


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## Anubis_Star

Oldest I've ever seen in clinic was about 13 years old. I do have an owner that claims her brother has a 16 year old shepherd. Personally I've never seen one this old. Obviously per owner's on here it DOES happen lol. Getting up into 18 years old +, I would be SKEPTICAL if that were a true, known age but I guess crazier things have happened!


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## mandiah89

My mothers two GSD mixes (a GSD husky mix and a GSD collie mix) are 16 years old(GSDxHusky) and 14. They are both still alive and kicking, wouldnt be surprised if they both lived till about 18!


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## Loneforce

My first German Shepherd lived to be 19 years old. The only reason he had to go then, was he got cancer in his rear leg and was trying to chew it off. For those that don't believe it, I don't know what to tell you, nor do I care if you believe me or not lol.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom

Daisy was 4 months shy of her 13th Birthday. Lucky will be with us 10 years on the 18th of this month he was per the vet about a year so he is 11. We had a GSD I think full blood Jumper, born when I was 5 and passes when I was a senior in college. He was 16.


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## HEINOLFGSD

My first GSD Mossey lived to be 10 years old. Cancer took her way too soon.


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## Shaolin

My first dog was a GSD mix (GSD/Rottie) and he lived to be 16. He could've been as old as 17, but as a rescue, they weren't exactly sure how old he was.


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## Achuyut

My mom's germen shepherd lived for 15 and half with no health issues sadly they have to go out of town for few months and have to leave the dog with a family friend but the dog would not eat or drink and dies...which still brings tears from my mom and grandma everytime they talk about him.


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## NietzschesMomma

My boy was 16 1/2 when I had to put him down because of intestinal cancer. That was a year and a half ago...still miss him terribly...and always will. aw:


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom

NietzschesMomma said:


> My boy was 16 1/2 when I had to put him down because of intestinal cancer. That was a year and a half ago...still miss him terribly...and always will. aw:
> In Memory of My German Shepherd Dog "Rammstein" - YouTube


It is so hard to lose any dog or pet we love but when we are blessed w/ them b/c of their lifespan we just want them to stay with us a little longer. Im sure Rammstein watches over you now in a place where he is young ,strong and wise. Sixteen years is incredible.


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## Rachel.E

My childhood GSD was rescued around 1 year old, and we had him for 17 years. We had to put him down because he had testicular cancer and a few other health problems, and didn't have good quality of life (he could barely pee). He must have been pushing 18 years when he died.


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## NietzschesMomma

Daisy&Lucky's Mom said:


> It is so hard to lose any dog or pet we love but when we are blessed w/ them b/c of their lifespan we just want them to stay with us a little longer. Im sure Rammstein watches over you now in a place where he is young ,strong and wise. Sixteen years is incredible.


Thanks, I hope he is...he was an outstanding dog in every way a dog possibly could be. Had it not been for cancer...who knows. Still miss him-a lot. He was my critter rehab partner (I am a vet tech), was the alert dog in every clinic he ever walked into (sat himself down near post-surgical cages, never failed to alert to another animal in "trouble") and used to walk around the house with kittens in his mouth...guarded my sons...those kids couldn't have gotten out of the front yard when they were young no matter what they tried!) He was ever so gentle, but a force to be reckoned with if you showed up anywhere near his fence line, got too close to "his" boys, and anything with fur, (except for a rabbit) were all "his" babies...etc. He was truly amazing. :halogsd:


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## Chicagocanine

8 1/2 years old.


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## Rua

For the ones who had or knew of GSDs that lived 17, 18, 19 years: I'd love to know what type of food those dogs were being fed! We all obsess so much on these boards with what kind of food to give our dogs and if the quality is good enough. I know my husband's childhood dog was fed on nothing but table scraps and pedigree chum. He lived to be 15!


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## Achuyut

My mom's german shepherd was healthy as a horse but unfortunately my mom's family had to go out of country for a year and has to give the dog to someone else for that time but the dog would not eat or drink anything and died after 6 months. So he lived about 15 and half.


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## Bellsthedog

Maddie was 14.5 when we lost her. She was the smartest dog I ever knew and she spoiled me for all other breeds. I still miss her and it's been years.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom

NietzschesMomma said:


> Thanks, I hope he is...he was an outstanding dog in every way a dog possibly could be. Had it not been for cancer...who knows. Still miss him-a lot. He was my critter rehab partner (I am a vet tech), was the alert dog in every clinic he ever walked into (sat himself down near post-surgical cages, never failed to alert to another animal in "trouble") and used to walk around the house with kittens in his mouth...guarded my sons...those kids couldn't have gotten out of the front yard when they were young no matter what they tried!) He was ever so gentle, but a force to be reckoned with if you showed up anywhere near his fence line, got too close to "his" boys, and anything with fur, (except for a rabbit) were all "his" babies...etc. He was truly amazing. :halogsd:


He sounds like the GSD everyone wants to have!


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## MichelleMc

I just posted pics of my 14 year old gsd. He is still in pretty good shape. I wish dogs had longer life spans. It doesn't really seem fair. And time goes by so fast.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Emilia585

Mine is 16 right now!! She is still going strong ❤


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## Sunsilver

Currently have a 13 1/2 year old female. She was in excellent health until she got vestibular syndrome last week. She's recovering from that, but still has trouble with the stairs.

Have had 2 shepherds, a male and a female, make it to 14 years old. The female died in her sleep while being boarded, and the male had to be PTS when he could no longer walk. The vet thought it was due to arthritis in the lumbar-sacral area of his spine. Both of them were rescues, of unknown lineage.

The giant breeds like great Danes and Irish wolfhounds are notoriously short-lived. Geneticists have done in-depth testing to try to figure out why. The only thing they can come up with is it's due to too much inbreeding.

When I was younger, the usual lifespan for a GSD was supposedly around 12 to 13 years. Now, I've heard some people say they look at an years after 10 as 'a gift'. Hmmm...anyone taken a really close look at the amount of inbreeding/backmassing in both the German and American show line dogs?? Makes me wonder, it really does!


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## Emilia585

Anubis_Star said:


> Oldest I've ever seen in clinic was about 13 years old. I do have an owner that claims her brother has a 16 year old shepherd. Personally I've never seen one this old. Obviously per owner's on here it DOES happen lol. Getting up into 18 years old +, I would be SKEPTICAL if that were a true, known age but I guess crazier things have happened!


Mines 16!! Well she will be 16 in September


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## Cheerful1

Our Joey will be 15 in November. He’s going through some health issues that I pray he can overcome.


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## Emilia585

Cheerful1 said:


> Our Joey will be 15 in November. He’s going through some health issues that I pray he can overcome.


I’ll be praying!


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## John T24

My boy George lasted 14 years. 
Miss him every day. 

.


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