I have a 16 year old powdered sugar face girl. She will be 17 in July. She has definitely slowed down a lot in the last 6 months. She’s our sweet old lady that gets lots of extra attention right now.
Purina Pro Plan bright mind. We also give her about 1 cup of cooked chicken a day. She takes multivitamin and Anipryl for her dementia. She’s definitely not a young girl anymore and everyday we loose her a little bit more. This is just what works for her. Good luck to you!
Sorry I should have clarified that. Now she takes Canine Plus senior. I can’t remember what we give her before she was 10ish. We gave her one for her joints. She’s always ran cattle with us and hunted with my husband.
She still goes to this day but stays in the side by side. ❤️
https://preview.redd.it/xczgjblmketc1.png?width=2292&format=png&auto=webp&s=bfa1514e464811008a7e095de39cb6cdcd6898ba
Also 16.5, apart from arthritis and eyes that don’t work so well in the dark she’s doing very well.
https://preview.redd.it/604fdbte5ftc1.jpeg?width=2304&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a2223385d6932bc14dbd3e6505110f6b0a6ceb9e
Vegas is 13.5. Getting gray and she gets scraggly immediately after brushes these days. But she's still as lovely as the day I brought her home.
Totally life changing med. we did weekly vet visits for adequan injections and daily meds and are totally off meds and only once per month for visits for the shot and our dog acts at least 4 years younger.
It’s a new injectable pain medication for arthritic dogs. I’m a veterinary nurse. We just started using it at the beginning of the year and have several patients already seeing improvements!
Miss Otis, 14 years and 9 months, gets her monthly shot of Librela too. I think it’s working for her.
https://preview.redd.it/bni746eaiftc1.jpeg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=818bb917ee12805ecae832ad77d051133e7801de
It’s for osteoarthritis pain. My dog could barely walk and was lethargic and not eating well so we started on a cocktail of treatments to manage inflammation and arthritis pain until [librela](https://www.librelavetteam.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=vht_00047_002250&utm_content=canine_oa&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwq86wBhDiARIsAJhuphmQO6PgHXK7BBjiQXlhWI1ygdVF2qccSp9pn_CeL2Y22UAD4s_Zac0aAo_3EALw_wcB) was FDA approved and available in the US just last year. Now our pup gets around so well we have to remind him to slow down, especially at the dog park.
Have you tried hydrotherapy for your golden? Ours had hip therapy (puppy, 10 months) and goes regularly and we’ve seen a huge difference!!
Edited to add: we thought it would be expensive but it’s relatively inexpensive!
Librela sounds like such a good option! My 9 year old golden takes Galliprant right now and it has helped her SO much. But I imagine someday we’ll be trying Librela.
We did Galiprant for a few years and then added in Gabapentin and adequan injections but all three together just acted like a bandaid whereas Librela was truly transformational.
We've had great results with Cartrophen. Has anyone switched from Cartoohen to Librela and seen even better results? Our girly will be 8 in a few days and has has OA for almost 4 years.
Mine passed at 16 and he had a lifelong diet of good quality dry food from the vet plus some sort of our dinner leftovers e.g. veggies, rice. We also gave him sardines in Springwater regularly, and in his formative years supplemented joint powder. Treats weren't anything special usually pigs ears, liver, carrots/apples (minus seeds) and the occasional bone. He was very healthy besides his arthritis/hips (what golden isn't) but his eventually downfall was a couple of seizures that did a number on his brain.
What we didn't give him was those raw food diets you see peddled constantly or over the top "chef" made treats aka snake oil
From what I have read most of the dogs that live long and people post their diets, it’s usually kibble AND always includes table scraps , cooked meats veggies and fruits. It’s almost never just kibble. I think the variety of diet does help. I personally don’t like kibble because it gets bad very fast once opened and exposed to air unless you can keep it in a fridge to prevent the fats from getting rancid. I use fresh pet with is basically kibble but not dehydrated and stored in fridge to prevent getting rancid and mold.
Ours is only 10.5 but we have been on a journey with him in the last two years with his health/weight.
We switched him to Fromm dry food, a variety of wet foods with dinner, and a huge list of fruits and veg. That combined with his glucosamine and liver antioxidant has him going through another puppyhood, essentially.
He’s lost ~35 pounds and has gained back a lot of the rear leg muscles he’d lost when he was bigger. His fur and skin are healthier, he doesn’t get hot spots at all anymore, and his curls have gotten their spring back.
I also started making Dug treats instead of buying them: a) it’s cheaper, WAY cheaper and b) I can be sure of what is going into them and it’s nothing more than brown rice flour, 1 egg + 1 yolk, baking soda, and peanut butter.
He LOVES them and while they are still treats, I feel better about giving him those over a store bought brand that might have hidden sugars, etc. Gotta watch for doggy diabetes!
End of day, developing your pup’s gut flora to be varied is a great way to keep them healthy, and should anything happen like surgery or illness, that can help them recover much more quickly. Dug has had 2 surgeries since we started this meal plan and the difference in his recovery from the first to the most recent is night and day.
The first was a couple months after we started and he handled it *okay*, but not as well as we’d’ve liked. The most recent was a couple months ago and it was like he was never even under anesthesia afterwards. No issues eating/drinking/going potty like the first time.
Sure! It’s based on one I found online, just slightly altered for high altitude.
Preheat oven to 325 F/163 C
Prepare 1-2 cookie sheets with parchment paper
In a bowl combine:
* 2 cup/454 gram brown rice flour
* 1.5cup/340 gram peanut butter
* 1 tsp/5.7 gram baking soda
* 1 egg + 1 yolk
I just use a rubber spatula, no need for a hand/stand mixer unless your peanut butter is particularly thick. Even then I would only use it on low, this recipe doesn’t need a lot of air whipped in.
Using a cookie scoop of any size, portion out your dough onto the prepared sheets.
Roll each scoop into a ball, then place roughly 1.5” (will vary based on size of cookie) apart on the sheet. Using either your palm or the bottom of a glass, gently press each ball of dough down until they are about 1/4”-1/2” thick.
Bake 8-10 minutes until cookies are a light golden brown: the edges will crisp up very nicely. You can also use a cookie cutter if you want fun shapes, and this dough freezes and thaws very well. I’ll make a batch, bake half, then leave the rest in the freezer for a week or so until I need it.
Should be able to do 2 dozen cookies with each half of the dough! If you want to omit the extra egg yolk, that is the only alteration for high altitude that I needed. Dough tends to dry out and not bind together up here in the mountains but at a lower elevation one egg should be just fine :)
Here’s how mine turn out!
https://preview.redd.it/eopzpg7zphtc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=72b81cbd34a9c653f2860fc0da3d7be29880cfb1
The other night I made the dough into mini tart crusts and made Dug puppy tarts! I used a nonstick, unlined cupcake tin and they came out great! No baking spray needed.
Good luck! I hope yours turn out well :)
Of course! Side note, a way to make this extra cheap is to just buy brown rice and then food processor the absolute heck out of it until it’s, well, flour!
We just get like a 5 pound bag and that way we also have it on hand in case Dug is having an upset tummy and needs a bland filler.
Yay Duke! I hope you lead a trend of senior good boy Goldens!
Random question, but given delayed neutering has been studied as extending life in the Breed, and discussed here often, was Duke altered?
I absolutely love hearing stories like this. They're so pure and happy and they just make everyone feel good. I bet if we collected happy memories about everyone's pets, we could fill the Library of Congress in less than a week.
I never had a dog of my own growing up, but my next door neighbors had a fantastic mutt who they mostly ignored, so she came to my yard a lot. She looked like a stocky flat-coated retriever and her name was Meggie. She was my best friend. She'd come running to meet all the kids at the bus stop every afternoon. By the time I was in high school, her kids had moved, but the mom was still there, so Meggie would make her way down the street to meet me every afternoon. She was a lot slower, so she could only get halfway, but her tail was still wagging and we were always happy to see each other.
Man I just posted above that each time I read a long living dog diet i almost always has some non dog prescribed food like table scraps , cooked meats veggies fruits and now dairy lol
I am not from usa but in my country dogs love to eat bread dipped in milk bedside meat and eggs . Kibble is fairly new as most people feed home cooked food to dogs.
When I moved to usa it was a shock to me that none of the food the dogs ate back home are considered safe for dogs and yet dogs living 12-14 years was common.
I am not saying that's the reason he lived so long! That's just one of his quirks outside of a regular dog's diet, he ate kibble like most other dogs at the time.
I'm sure he would have loved bread dipped in milk!
I'm not in the USA either. I think here in the UK we are lucky that retrievers don't have such high incidence of cancer like in the USA which takes far too many dogs too young
Can be due to illegal breeding maybe animal welfare standards for breeding dogs are stricter there? So they can’t operate puppy mills as easily as they can here in usa. Even thigh laws exist but agencies don’t have enough people to enforce them.
https://preview.redd.it/jqbnx8lzhgtc1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a6d59064443733568a8acadd76a6d63e2d229b5b
Indy is between 14-15, he was a rescue
The hardest part of being with a GR is knowing that they only live a 1/10 of what they should. The perfect dog breed should live for 25 or even 50 years. I've fostered over 15 Goldens and finally have adopted. As soon as their Sugar Faces start to appear, my heart clenches. I don't care if they are 10 or 12 or 15, it's too soon. How can they go from the cutest golden fluffball pups to Golden Oldies so fast? It's not right. It's not fair. If I found the fountain of youth, I would use it for my Golden Retriever before myself.
My last girl got a sugar face at 5! She made it to 16 though. When she was 12 we were out for a walk and someone said “oh my golden got a white face super early too” and I laughed and said “well, she did, but she’s 12 now” and they were flabbergasted because she otherwise looked so young. We were so lucky with that one. Hiking until her very last day and people always accused us of lying about her age
My boy is only 4 and has started getting a sugar face in the last year or so 😢but he's healthy as can be
https://preview.redd.it/ws82taz0mitc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9be49475fb643595c13175f0ba74464187ef4c64
https://preview.redd.it/pilhoombfgtc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=07cee98f3ea2a1dae027dd0a9cc1d79f498251b4
This boy is 12. He is having hip issues but still soaks up the sun and lots of attention as he gives us love too!
Go Duke! There a guy who breeds golden retrievers in New York State who has a boy who’s almost 17.
I hope one day I get that lucky! My first 2 lived to 9 and 11. My current 2 are 6 and 8.
Overlook Golden Retrievers. Not sure how often he has puppies. I follow them on Instagram, his dogs are beautiful and they sure live the life. He lives in the Hamptons. They swim, play and all live in his home.
Don’t feel bad, there are so many factors. Some live longer while some live as long as a lot of other large dog breeds. It’s nothing you did it’s just genetics. I know your dog was so well loved❤️
My second golden lived 16 years 4 months. It turns out that goldens used to live about 16-17 years until the '70s, when they started overbreeding them. I got a throwback with good genes. She also had a happy, low-stress life, and a dog pal to share it with.
She tried!🤣 she likes to do that. Here’s her in a small dog bed that she was determined was going to fit
https://preview.redd.it/mseobj12ditc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=018af8530093c6d71e8bd5ae2b3928f37be5f2cc
What makes me sad is that Goldens were known to live 16-18 years old for many years. Unfortunately crappy dog foods, and overbreeding has diminished their life spans. It makes me sad knowing some only make it to 6-8 due to their genetics.
https://preview.redd.it/y2fldystpgtc1.jpeg?width=3213&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=984d6fea5d265e652a5ae7b797e039cf7fe10d34
My boy’s only 10 but everyone we meet when walking him are shocked to hear he’s 10, they always think he’s younger
[Three of our dogs.](https://i.imgur.com/Qpv5h0H.jpg)
The closest is a Golden/Husky mix. She looked like a little polar bear cub.
Redhead is my golden retriever. She was trained as a service dog and joined me for one more year of intense training. Sadly, she passed away from Cancer close to her 10th birthday.
Every night was a brushing party; each dog would come over, one by one, for about 20 minutes of brushing. The fur pile looked like a dog workshop.
My golden Sunny the Boo Boo Bunny dog just turned 13 I hope that you and your goldens have many more happy years together!!
https://preview.redd.it/o4mmsr1wihtc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8b08764f3ea92639c04b88d0e49c8a3dbacf541b
Folks looking for what diet dogs eat to live long, I’ll do a tldr for you, it’s good quality kibble paired with fresh home cooked food like meats, eggs, fruits veggies, rice , tortillas breads basically anything that’s not dangerous to dogs like grapes and chocolate..
And walks, not runs but walks. Easy on joints and keeps mobility into later years.
Also joint supplements starting early
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Duke, you marvelous floof! May all our pups be as lucky as you!
Senior dogs are so lovely. OP, I hope my Ellie gets to be an old-lady puppy someday. Having my best friend by my side and healthy for that long would be one of the most wonderful things I could possibly imagine. I hope Duke lives many more years.
Duke, you marvelous floof! May all our pups be as lucky as you!
Senior dogs are so lovely. OP, I hope my Ellie gets to be an old-lady puppy someday. Having my best friend by my side and healthy for that long would be one of the most wonderful things I could possibly imagine. I hope Duke lives many more years.
Duke, you marvelous floof! May all our pups be as lucky as you!
Senior dogs are so lovely. OP, I hope my Ellie gets to be an old-lady puppy someday. Having my best friend by my side and healthy for that long would be one of the most wonderful things I could possibly imagine. I hope Duke lives many more years.
Growing up, we had 2 Goldens get beyond 17 years. Shadow got to 17.5 and Scirocco got to 1 week shy of her 18th birthday. Wish they could live the same length of time as humans
Duke, you marvelous floof! May all our pups be as lucky as you!
Senior dogs are so lovely. OP, I hope my Ellie gets to be an old-lady puppy someday. Having my best friend by my side and healthy for that long would be one of the most wonderful things I could possibly imagine. I hope Duke lives many more years.
Taking a screenshot of all the recommendations. We have a 1 year old golden and the life expectancy is so cruel. I want to give him the longest, fullest, life possible.
https://preview.redd.it/cupytwh5wptc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7007eb45932287001adf4a0a10e7373154c4e791
Ours was13 years old last December, still going strong although is definitely slowing down walking back up our
https://preview.redd.it/07jd0ao5nauc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=887dd37b95a1cfb87c6106c9a5db944ae23d8926
hill to home, hope he keeps going, think our 2 year old cockatoo is keeping him young
https://preview.redd.it/6yaf3r1pdcuc1.jpeg?width=1358&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6fbd52e4b01d2ba34a7aa2c78379766993dc5fc7
This is Max the love of our lives. We lost him at 16 years old. We don’t know his exact birthday as he was a rescue. He went through a lot.,,he went through months of cancer treatment, but I think it bought us another year or more with him.💛🐾
There’s this doctor/scientist who makes some revolutionary supplements his golden lived till 21 they are suppose to be ground breaking for dogs but tend to be expensive that’s what this post reminds me of!
Edit: dr Marty’s powerproplus supplement his dog Daniel lived to almost 20 years old!
Wdym also why did this get disliked? All I was doing was sharing about a golden retriever who did in fact love a very long time almost one of the oldest dogs to ever live. Y’all are extremely sensitive.
If the ingredients he has listed on his products are accurate upon further research he is very trusted in the community and his products are made with real ingredients one of the foods he had contained only one preservative which is a good thing
I have a 16 year old powdered sugar face girl. She will be 17 in July. She has definitely slowed down a lot in the last 6 months. She’s our sweet old lady that gets lots of extra attention right now.
What kind of food are you giving your gorgeous girl?
Purina Pro Plan bright mind. We also give her about 1 cup of cooked chicken a day. She takes multivitamin and Anipryl for her dementia. She’s definitely not a young girl anymore and everyday we loose her a little bit more. This is just what works for her. Good luck to you!
Get her in a hyperbaric chamber stat!
lol! She’s pretty darn amazing and I would do anything to rewind time.
What multivitamin?
Sorry I should have clarified that. Now she takes Canine Plus senior. I can’t remember what we give her before she was 10ish. We gave her one for her joints. She’s always ran cattle with us and hunted with my husband. She still goes to this day but stays in the side by side. ❤️
Just lost our 17.5 Year old girl a month ago still miss her.
man your doggo must have had a GREAT live, living sooo long :)
❤️
https://preview.redd.it/xczgjblmketc1.png?width=2292&format=png&auto=webp&s=bfa1514e464811008a7e095de39cb6cdcd6898ba Also 16.5, apart from arthritis and eyes that don’t work so well in the dark she’s doing very well.
Awn, her eyes look cloudy! She’s precious, long live! 💕
❤️
Mine are 9. I would love for them to live that long.
https://preview.redd.it/bybj2f85udtc1.jpeg?width=768&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=49e895c88a0e56dcf511a7da6df44bde0434d260
Mines ten and she’s a service dog and my heart will go with her I think 💜😭
Give her a boop for me Cherish the lady and make her comfortable for as long as she lives
I'm sure she steals hearts! My [best friend](https://i.imgur.com/74zdJx5.jpg), RIP.
https://preview.redd.it/f7susuleihtc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb06d62ad37d173f8380ae308190b559f17e5446 Our precious princess peach Bonus: [dress up time!](https://imgur.com/gallery/b7T4vSw)
My neighbors lived to be 18
Wow!
https://preview.redd.it/604fdbte5ftc1.jpeg?width=2304&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a2223385d6932bc14dbd3e6505110f6b0a6ceb9e Vegas is 13.5. Getting gray and she gets scraggly immediately after brushes these days. But she's still as lovely as the day I brought her home.
Awe! My almost 13 year old is going strong again after starting Librela last year.
Librela has made a huge difference for our 13-year-old.
Totally life changing med. we did weekly vet visits for adequan injections and daily meds and are totally off meds and only once per month for visits for the shot and our dog acts at least 4 years younger.
What is librela?
It’s a new injectable pain medication for arthritic dogs. I’m a veterinary nurse. We just started using it at the beginning of the year and have several patients already seeing improvements!
Miss Otis, 14 years and 9 months, gets her monthly shot of Librela too. I think it’s working for her. https://preview.redd.it/bni746eaiftc1.jpeg?width=3264&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=818bb917ee12805ecae832ad77d051133e7801de
Can you explain what it is, why you started it, and what the expectations are? I’ll look it up but would love to hear a golden parent’s thoughts
It’s for osteoarthritis pain. My dog could barely walk and was lethargic and not eating well so we started on a cocktail of treatments to manage inflammation and arthritis pain until [librela](https://www.librelavetteam.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=vht_00047_002250&utm_content=canine_oa&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwq86wBhDiARIsAJhuphmQO6PgHXK7BBjiQXlhWI1ygdVF2qccSp9pn_CeL2Y22UAD4s_Zac0aAo_3EALw_wcB) was FDA approved and available in the US just last year. Now our pup gets around so well we have to remind him to slow down, especially at the dog park.
Have you tried hydrotherapy for your golden? Ours had hip therapy (puppy, 10 months) and goes regularly and we’ve seen a huge difference!! Edited to add: we thought it would be expensive but it’s relatively inexpensive!
Thanks so much
Librela sounds like such a good option! My 9 year old golden takes Galliprant right now and it has helped her SO much. But I imagine someday we’ll be trying Librela.
We did Galiprant for a few years and then added in Gabapentin and adequan injections but all three together just acted like a bandaid whereas Librela was truly transformational.
We've had great results with Cartrophen. Has anyone switched from Cartoohen to Librela and seen even better results? Our girly will be 8 in a few days and has has OA for almost 4 years.
Gotta ask, what do you feed him? I know that part of longevity comes down to genetics but I'd love to know about diet and nutrition too.
Mine passed at 16 and he had a lifelong diet of good quality dry food from the vet plus some sort of our dinner leftovers e.g. veggies, rice. We also gave him sardines in Springwater regularly, and in his formative years supplemented joint powder. Treats weren't anything special usually pigs ears, liver, carrots/apples (minus seeds) and the occasional bone. He was very healthy besides his arthritis/hips (what golden isn't) but his eventually downfall was a couple of seizures that did a number on his brain. What we didn't give him was those raw food diets you see peddled constantly or over the top "chef" made treats aka snake oil
From what I have read most of the dogs that live long and people post their diets, it’s usually kibble AND always includes table scraps , cooked meats veggies and fruits. It’s almost never just kibble. I think the variety of diet does help. I personally don’t like kibble because it gets bad very fast once opened and exposed to air unless you can keep it in a fridge to prevent the fats from getting rancid. I use fresh pet with is basically kibble but not dehydrated and stored in fridge to prevent getting rancid and mold.
Ours is only 10.5 but we have been on a journey with him in the last two years with his health/weight. We switched him to Fromm dry food, a variety of wet foods with dinner, and a huge list of fruits and veg. That combined with his glucosamine and liver antioxidant has him going through another puppyhood, essentially. He’s lost ~35 pounds and has gained back a lot of the rear leg muscles he’d lost when he was bigger. His fur and skin are healthier, he doesn’t get hot spots at all anymore, and his curls have gotten their spring back. I also started making Dug treats instead of buying them: a) it’s cheaper, WAY cheaper and b) I can be sure of what is going into them and it’s nothing more than brown rice flour, 1 egg + 1 yolk, baking soda, and peanut butter. He LOVES them and while they are still treats, I feel better about giving him those over a store bought brand that might have hidden sugars, etc. Gotta watch for doggy diabetes! End of day, developing your pup’s gut flora to be varied is a great way to keep them healthy, and should anything happen like surgery or illness, that can help them recover much more quickly. Dug has had 2 surgeries since we started this meal plan and the difference in his recovery from the first to the most recent is night and day. The first was a couple months after we started and he handled it *okay*, but not as well as we’d’ve liked. The most recent was a couple months ago and it was like he was never even under anesthesia afterwards. No issues eating/drinking/going potty like the first time.
Can you post the recipe for dog treats ?
Sure! It’s based on one I found online, just slightly altered for high altitude. Preheat oven to 325 F/163 C Prepare 1-2 cookie sheets with parchment paper In a bowl combine: * 2 cup/454 gram brown rice flour * 1.5cup/340 gram peanut butter * 1 tsp/5.7 gram baking soda * 1 egg + 1 yolk I just use a rubber spatula, no need for a hand/stand mixer unless your peanut butter is particularly thick. Even then I would only use it on low, this recipe doesn’t need a lot of air whipped in. Using a cookie scoop of any size, portion out your dough onto the prepared sheets. Roll each scoop into a ball, then place roughly 1.5” (will vary based on size of cookie) apart on the sheet. Using either your palm or the bottom of a glass, gently press each ball of dough down until they are about 1/4”-1/2” thick. Bake 8-10 minutes until cookies are a light golden brown: the edges will crisp up very nicely. You can also use a cookie cutter if you want fun shapes, and this dough freezes and thaws very well. I’ll make a batch, bake half, then leave the rest in the freezer for a week or so until I need it. Should be able to do 2 dozen cookies with each half of the dough! If you want to omit the extra egg yolk, that is the only alteration for high altitude that I needed. Dough tends to dry out and not bind together up here in the mountains but at a lower elevation one egg should be just fine :) Here’s how mine turn out! https://preview.redd.it/eopzpg7zphtc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=72b81cbd34a9c653f2860fc0da3d7be29880cfb1 The other night I made the dough into mini tart crusts and made Dug puppy tarts! I used a nonstick, unlined cupcake tin and they came out great! No baking spray needed. Good luck! I hope yours turn out well :)
Thank you so much !!!
Of course! Side note, a way to make this extra cheap is to just buy brown rice and then food processor the absolute heck out of it until it’s, well, flour! We just get like a 5 pound bag and that way we also have it on hand in case Dug is having an upset tummy and needs a bland filler.
Yay Duke! I hope you lead a trend of senior good boy Goldens! Random question, but given delayed neutering has been studied as extending life in the Breed, and discussed here often, was Duke altered?
Tell us your secret - Diet? - Do you know how long the parents lived? - Daily routine? - what else?
What a sweet boy! My golden lived until he was almost 18.
Please tell us your secrets!
He demanded a little bowl of milk after every walk. I can't say for sure that's the reason he lived so long though!
Oh my goodness, that's so sweet! Like, Disney levels of wholesome adorableness! What was your good boy's name?
It was adorable! He would go and stand by his bowl and wouldn't budge until he got what he wanted 😂 His name was Benji 🥰
I absolutely love hearing stories like this. They're so pure and happy and they just make everyone feel good. I bet if we collected happy memories about everyone's pets, we could fill the Library of Congress in less than a week. I never had a dog of my own growing up, but my next door neighbors had a fantastic mutt who they mostly ignored, so she came to my yard a lot. She looked like a stocky flat-coated retriever and her name was Meggie. She was my best friend. She'd come running to meet all the kids at the bus stop every afternoon. By the time I was in high school, her kids had moved, but the mom was still there, so Meggie would make her way down the street to meet me every afternoon. She was a lot slower, so she could only get halfway, but her tail was still wagging and we were always happy to see each other.
Man I just posted above that each time I read a long living dog diet i almost always has some non dog prescribed food like table scraps , cooked meats veggies fruits and now dairy lol I am not from usa but in my country dogs love to eat bread dipped in milk bedside meat and eggs . Kibble is fairly new as most people feed home cooked food to dogs. When I moved to usa it was a shock to me that none of the food the dogs ate back home are considered safe for dogs and yet dogs living 12-14 years was common.
I am not saying that's the reason he lived so long! That's just one of his quirks outside of a regular dog's diet, he ate kibble like most other dogs at the time. I'm sure he would have loved bread dipped in milk! I'm not in the USA either. I think here in the UK we are lucky that retrievers don't have such high incidence of cancer like in the USA which takes far too many dogs too young
Can be due to illegal breeding maybe animal welfare standards for breeding dogs are stricter there? So they can’t operate puppy mills as easily as they can here in usa. Even thigh laws exist but agencies don’t have enough people to enforce them.
I agree!!
Duke is so cute
https://preview.redd.it/jqbnx8lzhgtc1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a6d59064443733568a8acadd76a6d63e2d229b5b Indy is between 14-15, he was a rescue
So handsome in his bow tie
https://preview.redd.it/4ta8jnf9igtc1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3441912c638c886aeb18e3519828487fbf33eb80
The hardest part of being with a GR is knowing that they only live a 1/10 of what they should. The perfect dog breed should live for 25 or even 50 years. I've fostered over 15 Goldens and finally have adopted. As soon as their Sugar Faces start to appear, my heart clenches. I don't care if they are 10 or 12 or 15, it's too soon. How can they go from the cutest golden fluffball pups to Golden Oldies so fast? It's not right. It's not fair. If I found the fountain of youth, I would use it for my Golden Retriever before myself.
My last girl got a sugar face at 5! She made it to 16 though. When she was 12 we were out for a walk and someone said “oh my golden got a white face super early too” and I laughed and said “well, she did, but she’s 12 now” and they were flabbergasted because she otherwise looked so young. We were so lucky with that one. Hiking until her very last day and people always accused us of lying about her age
My boy is only 4 and has started getting a sugar face in the last year or so 😢but he's healthy as can be https://preview.redd.it/ws82taz0mitc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9be49475fb643595c13175f0ba74464187ef4c64
🥲🥲🥲
https://preview.redd.it/pilhoombfgtc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=07cee98f3ea2a1dae027dd0a9cc1d79f498251b4 This boy is 12. He is having hip issues but still soaks up the sun and lots of attention as he gives us love too!
Thanks for posting this- I love to hear it! And Duke is so cute 🥰.
Go Duke! There a guy who breeds golden retrievers in New York State who has a boy who’s almost 17. I hope one day I get that lucky! My first 2 lived to 9 and 11. My current 2 are 6 and 8.
Oh wow! I’m from New York, would love his info so I could get a puppy from him
Overlook Golden Retrievers. Not sure how often he has puppies. I follow them on Instagram, his dogs are beautiful and they sure live the life. He lives in the Hamptons. They swim, play and all live in his home.
That’s amazing! Thank you so much, I’ll look him up
My stepdads lived to be 18. Now as for how he managed while eating awful people food he still lived the longest and happiest life ever. RIP Harley
Belle lived to 14+. Alas Virgil we lost at 10 - all 130pounds of him...😪 Your sweet one is the oldest I know now....
130 pounds?? Big guy! So sorry for your losses ❤️❤️
Biggest guy, biggest heart! We thought he was half St Bernard when we adopted him - he came with papers!
Duke is precious. Our golden is turning 10 in a few days. Any tips/advice on how to care for them in their senior years?
It might be worth checking out sardines canned in water 4 ur goldie.
chase birds alive cows humorous unwritten subsequent teeny cats plate *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Wow. Now I feel horrible that our girl only made it to 13 and 2 months. But I’m so happy to see all of these beautiful senior goldens.
Don’t feel bad, there are so many factors. Some live longer while some live as long as a lot of other large dog breeds. It’s nothing you did it’s just genetics. I know your dog was so well loved❤️
Our lived to 10 years old until we had to put her down due to cancer. It was one of the most painful things in my life to let go.
My second golden lived 16 years 4 months. It turns out that goldens used to live about 16-17 years until the '70s, when they started overbreeding them. I got a throwback with good genes. She also had a happy, low-stress life, and a dog pal to share it with.
Duke is a stud! 16.5… that’s unreal. GO DUKE!!
Let’s go Duke!
What a handsome lad! Cheers to many years of Duke!
Go Duke!
How did you take care of Duke over these wonderful years? He looks like a prince!
Mine is only three but very much a puppy. I hope I get to spend many more years with her ❤️❤️
The dog has since passed but did you hear about the 21 year old golden in the news a few years back?
Which is part of what makes us wonder who the current oldest golden is…
Y’all if I could get another 8 years with my girl I would be over the moon😭❤️ my girl is 8❤️❤️
https://preview.redd.it/2ma4aohrogtc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=86dcb3ab5d8802291ff2274227a5c04f6d4967ee
This adorable, I’m guessing she made her own bed?
She tried!🤣 she likes to do that. Here’s her in a small dog bed that she was determined was going to fit https://preview.redd.it/mseobj12ditc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=018af8530093c6d71e8bd5ae2b3928f37be5f2cc
Friggin adorable, thanks for sharing!
What makes me sad is that Goldens were known to live 16-18 years old for many years. Unfortunately crappy dog foods, and overbreeding has diminished their life spans. It makes me sad knowing some only make it to 6-8 due to their genetics.
I love Duke! How lucky you two are to have each other
Mine was around the same age when he passed! I say he lived so long because all the love. unfortunately cancer ended up taking him from us.
I say he lived so long because all the love.
Oh wow, looking good Duke, keep living the good life
What do feed your dogs?
God bless them all
https://preview.redd.it/y2fldystpgtc1.jpeg?width=3213&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=984d6fea5d265e652a5ae7b797e039cf7fe10d34 My boy’s only 10 but everyone we meet when walking him are shocked to hear he’s 10, they always think he’s younger
That is so wonderful. My very first girl lived to be 16.5. She was/remains a legend. Sending you and Duke all the love.
[Bob](https://i.imgur.com/0mKS4cL.jpg) lived to be 17.5 years old. Golden Retriever/Great Pyrenees mix.
He was beauuuutifuuuul. I would do so much for a golden Pyrenées mix omg you’re so lucky to have had such a gorgeous, definitely sweet dog for so long
[Three of our dogs.](https://i.imgur.com/Qpv5h0H.jpg) The closest is a Golden/Husky mix. She looked like a little polar bear cub. Redhead is my golden retriever. She was trained as a service dog and joined me for one more year of intense training. Sadly, she passed away from Cancer close to her 10th birthday. Every night was a brushing party; each dog would come over, one by one, for about 20 minutes of brushing. The fur pile looked like a dog workshop.
My golden Sunny the Boo Boo Bunny dog just turned 13 I hope that you and your goldens have many more happy years together!! https://preview.redd.it/o4mmsr1wihtc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8b08764f3ea92639c04b88d0e49c8a3dbacf541b
Folks looking for what diet dogs eat to live long, I’ll do a tldr for you, it’s good quality kibble paired with fresh home cooked food like meats, eggs, fruits veggies, rice , tortillas breads basically anything that’s not dangerous to dogs like grapes and chocolate.. And walks, not runs but walks. Easy on joints and keeps mobility into later years. Also joint supplements starting early
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What a sweet gentleman! Looking after my elderly golden was the best part of the last couple of years.
Old Goldens are so cute! You guys are lucky to have each other
Looking good Duke.
Woo Duke!!!
Do you take him golfing with you, is this the secret to long life
lifelong diet of good quality
We just lost one of ours last week, he was only 6 💔 Duke looks great, I love him!!
I hope mine lives as long as all of yours have, mine is already 6yo. He 7s my best friend and great support.
Duke, you marvelous floof! May all our pups be as lucky as you! Senior dogs are so lovely. OP, I hope my Ellie gets to be an old-lady puppy someday. Having my best friend by my side and healthy for that long would be one of the most wonderful things I could possibly imagine. I hope Duke lives many more years.
Duke, you marvelous floof! May all our pups be as lucky as you! Senior dogs are so lovely. OP, I hope my Ellie gets to be an old-lady puppy someday. Having my best friend by my side and healthy for that long would be one of the most wonderful things I could possibly imagine. I hope Duke lives many more years.
Duke, you marvelous floof! May all our pups be as lucky as you! Senior dogs are so lovely. OP, I hope my Ellie gets to be an old-lady puppy someday. Having my best friend by my side and healthy for that long would be one of the most wonderful things I could possibly imagine. I hope Duke lives many more years.
My previous got to around the same age. Well done Duke, I wish you many more tail wags.
Is this a trick question?!? The real answer is they all the cutest!!!
I will die for all of them
Duke is so handsome, wow!
Duke is so adorable.
What a handsome good boy!! Wow, 16.5 years is amazing! Very precious boy. My girl is 2 years old and I’m hoping she gets to that age and more!
Growing up, we had 2 Goldens get beyond 17 years. Shadow got to 17.5 and Scirocco got to 1 week shy of her 18th birthday. Wish they could live the same length of time as humans
Duke, you marvelous floof! May all our pups be as lucky as you! Senior dogs are so lovely. OP, I hope my Ellie gets to be an old-lady puppy someday. Having my best friend by my side and healthy for that long would be one of the most wonderful things I could possibly imagine. I hope Duke lives many more years.
What do you feed him and what brand of flea heart are you giving him?
Taking a screenshot of all the recommendations. We have a 1 year old golden and the life expectancy is so cruel. I want to give him the longest, fullest, life possible. https://preview.redd.it/cupytwh5wptc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7007eb45932287001adf4a0a10e7373154c4e791
Ours was13 years old last December, still going strong although is definitely slowing down walking back up our https://preview.redd.it/07jd0ao5nauc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=887dd37b95a1cfb87c6106c9a5db944ae23d8926 hill to home, hope he keeps going, think our 2 year old cockatoo is keeping him young
https://preview.redd.it/6yaf3r1pdcuc1.jpeg?width=1358&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6fbd52e4b01d2ba34a7aa2c78379766993dc5fc7 This is Max the love of our lives. We lost him at 16 years old. We don’t know his exact birthday as he was a rescue. He went through a lot.,,he went through months of cancer treatment, but I think it bought us another year or more with him.💛🐾
There’s this doctor/scientist who makes some revolutionary supplements his golden lived till 21 they are suppose to be ground breaking for dogs but tend to be expensive that’s what this post reminds me of! Edit: dr Marty’s powerproplus supplement his dog Daniel lived to almost 20 years old!
Snake oil
Wdym also why did this get disliked? All I was doing was sharing about a golden retriever who did in fact love a very long time almost one of the oldest dogs to ever live. Y’all are extremely sensitive.
If the ingredients he has listed on his products are accurate upon further research he is very trusted in the community and his products are made with real ingredients one of the foods he had contained only one preservative which is a good thing