So you would like to know about the Chihuahua lifespan? That’s an excellent question if you’re the proud parent of or thinking about bringing home an adorable Chihuahua puppy.
For starters, we have some brilliant news for you! Frankly, no other dog breeds seem to be able to match the Chihuahua’s life expectancy.
While the AKC (American Kennel Club) puts the Chihuahua’s average lifespan at between 14 to 16 years, there have been instances where Chihuahuas have lived as long as 20 years.
This is, of course, fantastic news; one of the biggest heartaches with bringing a fur companion into your life is theIR relatively short lifespan. Sadly, the life span of medium to large dogs is even shorter, with many never reaching ten years old. The pain owners experience when they lose their beloved companion is heart-wrenching.
What makes a Chihuahua so special? Well, we’re going to discuss that in this article. But before we do, let’s not forget that Chihuahuas are not immune from certain health conditions, so we’ll also be discussing those. Along the way, we’ll offer some advice on the best ways to ensure your Chihuahua has a long and enjoyable life.
So, if that sounds good to you, let’s look at the Chihuahua lifespan in more detail.
The Chihuahua Lifespan – How It Compares To Other Breeds
It’s well known that large or giant dogs have a much shorter lifespan than small dogs such as a Chihuahua. Let me give you some examples: Great Danes (German Mastiff) have a life expectancy between 7 to 10 years, Rottweilers live between 9 to 10 years, and Boxers live 10 to 12 years; these are, of course, averages and not specific lifespans.
Scientists believe this is because large dogs need to grow very quickly to reach their full size. Using the Great Dane as an example again, these dogs increase their size by 100 times from birth to their first birthday. Large dogs die much younger than small dogs because of this type of accelerated growth. To quote the study results into this phenomenon, “a large dog’s life unwinds in fast motion.”
But here’s something really interesting the two dogs that live the longest are the Chihuahua and the Chinese Crested. If you research into one possible history of Chihuahuas, you’ll find some historians believe Spanish explorers crossbred the Mexican Techichi dog with the Chinese Crested to create the Chihuahua. It might not be a coincidence the two dogs with the longest lifespan are related.
Health Issues That Can Affect The Chihuahua’s Lifespan
Cardiovascular Disease In Chihuahuas
As Chihuahuas reach their senior years, they are susceptible to heart disease, the leading cause of death for Chihuahuas.
18.5% of senior Chihuahuas (over 14 years) die from heart disease; this puts Chihuahuas in the top 5 dog breeds at risk from this disease.
Cardiovascular disease can take four forms:
- Heart failure: There are three types of heart failure; left-sided (the heart does not pump blood to the dog’s body), right-sided (allows blood to collect in the area of used blood), and congestive heart failure (fluid accumulates in the lungs and tissues).
- Arrhythmia: Ventricular fibrillation occurs because the heart is beating with erratic rapid, electrical impulses. The result is the heart’s lower chambers cannot pump blood. Because there is no heartbeat, the dog’s blood pressure drops, and no blood supply reaches the vital organs.
- Heart Valve Disease: Mitral Valve Disease, which means your Chihuahua has a heart murmur. If caught early enough, the vet can get this under control with prescribed medications.
- Patent Ductus Arteriosis (PDA): This heart disease occurs just after birth and refers to a blood vessel carrying blood between two heart chambers that does not close properly. The result is too much blood gets taken into the lungs causing fluid to build up and strain the dog’s heart.
Chihuahua Trauma
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a leading cause of death for Chihuahuas is trauma. The main reasons for fatal trauma to Chihuahuas are car accidents, trodden on, dropped, and falling from a height.
While we are all aware Chihuahuas are the smallest dog on the planet, it seems some owners don’t take their responsibilities carefully enough. Needless to say, every one of those deaths was avoidable if owners had just taken sufficient care.
Infections To Avoid For Your Chihuahua’s Health
Over 10% of fully grown Chihuahuas die from an infection; these include:
- Parvovirus: Chihuahuas should never die from parvovirus because there’s a vaccine. However, unvaccinated Chihuahuas will die if they contact an infected dog or the feces of a dog with parvovirus.
- Distemper: Again, there is a vaccine for this disease; therefore, no Chihuahua should die. Distemper attacks the respiratory tract and progresses to the Chihuahua’s nervous system, including the brain. It’s a particularly unpleasant disease.
- Leptospirosis: Not every Chihuahua that catches leptospirosis will die, but there are fatal strains of leptospirosis that cause irreversible liver and kidney damage. Rats and other wild animals can spread lethal strains.
- Sepsis: This is like a silent killer in many ways; sepsis is septic shock, an extreme form of bodily infection. Less than half of all dogs that have this will survive.
Chihuahuas have a big problem with their teeth; some are missing, most overlap, and under these circumstances, their teeth can’t remain clean for long.
Chihuahua tooth decay that develops into an infection, and should the dog owner leave the condition untreated, can turn into sepsis. There’s a massive risk a Chihuahua will not be capable of surviving.
How You Can Help Extend The Life Of Your Chihuahua
Chihuahua Vaccinations
Several diseases can be fatal for your Chihuahua. The good news is some vaccinations can prevent this from happening. Take advantage of vaccinations before it’s too late and protect the life of your dog. One second of sniffing the wrong feces or urine, and that could mean picking up a severe disease.
Discuss the options with your vet, and an important point here is that vaccinations don’t require booster shots every year. The antibodies can last several years, and your vet will test your Chihuahua’s blood for the presence of antibodies before recommending a booster.
Chihuahua Dental Care
We’ve touched on the point about dental care and how crucial it is to the continuing health of your Chihuahua.
As we pointed out, 10.5% of all Chihuahua deaths you can attribute to infections, and because we’re talking about Chihuahuas, a vast amount of that 10.5% is because of dental infections.
Clean your Chihuahua’s teeth every week to remove plaque before it hardens and turns into tartar. When that happens, it needs scraping from your Chihuahua’s teeth.
Schedule regular annual check-ups, including dental checks, and if there are signs of inflammation or irritation, your vet can decide how best to proceed from there.
Can you really afford not to?
Chihuahua Diet
Let’s face it, what we humans put in our bodies in the way of nutrition has a massive impact on our ongoing health—the same for your Chihuahua. Remember, Chihuahuas have a long lifespan, upwards of 18 years; that’s a long time if you happen to be feeding a nutritionally poor diet to your Chi.
Because heart failure is the leading cause of death for Chihuahuas, diet is crucial for keeping them healthy, minimizing the risk of heart disease, kidney and liver disease, obesity, and diabetes.
Dog food containing cereals, corn, and soy, are poor choices for your Chihuahua’s diet. You should also avoid dog food containing preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, meat by-products, chemicals, and vegetable oils.
Dog food containing low-value carbohydrates is not suitable for your dog.
Chihuahua Exercise
Diet is only one half of the equation in keeping your Chihuahua healthy; the other half is exercise. Regular daily exercise keeps the heart, lungs, and all the principal organs of the dog’s body fit and healthy. When you provide the best diet nutritionally and sufficient healthy exercise, you give your Chihuahua the best opportunity to attain that 18-year lifespan.
Chihuahuas need a minimum of 30 minutes walking outside every day. You can split the time between three trips outside. You don’t need to jog or hurry along during the walks, but a reasonably brisk pace will do the trick.
Because Chihuahuas are so tiny, it’s easy to play a few interactive games in the home; try throwing a ball and let your Chihuahua bring it back to you. Do 5 minutes of that every day, and that will be plenty of cardio for your Chihuahua.
Regular Vet Check-Ups For Chihuahuas
An annual check-up down at your vet is essential to maintain your Chihuahua in optimum health.
Your vet can schedule annual blood tests, urine and stool sampling, and of course, give your Chihuahua an all-over physical examination. Check-ups like these are like an early warning system for anything that might be going wrong. If you catch the issue early, there’s every chance the vet can do something.
When your Chihuahua reaches their senior years, you should speak to your vet about scheduling twice-yearly examinations.
Conclusion
So what does all this mean? If you want your Chihuahua to reach their golden years as fit and healthy as possible, so they can make the most of the lifespan they have available, you need to plan ahead from when they are puppies.
If your Chihuahua is already a little older, then it’s never too late to change their diet into the healthiest one you can offer.
When you provide excellent care, the Chihuahua lifespan is brilliant and far exceeds the vast majority of other dog breeds. So go ahead and make it happen.
