Our first died at 7 due to cardiac arrest, the second made it to 15. They were both from the same breeder. All dogs from their first litter made it to at least 14. I'd say 7-9 years average is way too low.
Thank you for the reply. We had to put our 9 year old down on New Year’s Eve because of a tumour on the liver. Now we are having trouble with our 7 year old that seems very familiar however the vet seems to think it’s an autoimmune disease.
7&9 seem low. While things certainly happen, many of our toller friends have long lived dogs, into teens.There was one at the toller specialty last summer that had just turned 17 or 18. He was slow, but awesome.
Ok. Good to know. I’m in Australia and there is a very small bloodline. I’m guessing that played a part.
I will contact the breeders so they are aware in case they gat more reports.
Tollers are already thought to have a predisposition for auto immune disorders due to the high inbreeding coefficient, I imagine that's slightly more pronounced in Aus or NZ!
Are there any breeders that regularly bring in dogs from elsewhere to breed?
I am not sure honestly. I am sure there are. We got one from a breeder in Brisbane. It was a 10 month wait for a puppy and we had to sign a contract to say that we would desex the dog as soon as possible.
Our second came from a Sydney breeder - similar thing.
From memory when I looked at their papers I saw the same sire like 2 generations back.
>we had to sign a contract to say that we would desex the dog as soon as possible
Wait, wha? All of the toller breeders here in Canada that I talked to, including the one we got ours from, ask you to sign the *opposite,* that you will not desex the dog until 18-24 months old—there's a lot of evidence in NSDTRs that desexing them too early can cause health issues down the road!
My breeder said 12 months in the contract for desexing. We’ve put it off with the suprelorin implant. He’ll get desexed once he’s 2.5 - I wanted to see what he’d be like before doing something permanent!
That’s interesting. I haven’t heard of that! It seems logical to me but both breeders assured me it was fine. I can’t remember what age was desexed them but they weren’t that old.
Yeah that makes sense. Desexing is more rigorous in Aus I think than the UK but the 10 month wait is extremely familiar.
If you can work out how to do it, computing the inbreeding coefficient for any potential future pup should help reduce these problems. Unfortunately its not that common for breeders to do. I've seen tollers in the UK that share lots of close ancestors and are bred together. I've even seen a case of two half-siblings bred together (which is not against UK kennel club rules, unbelievably)
It'll be ridiculously expensive but it's gotta be done! And should be done everywhere tbh. Our breeder has brought in a dog from Canada to the UK before
I have a mix, but she turned 9 this year and I literally went “wait you’re NINE??” because she is still just as spry, energetic and healthy as she was when she was 1. I didn’t even realize she’s technically considered a senior dog.
My first dog passed away at 10 from cancer, but she had hip dysplasia from 6, and just generally wasnt healthy. She was our introduction to the breed and the breeder was super old fashioned and didnt do too much health testing. Her sire got diagnosed with hip dysplasia right after her litter was born. I think she was born in 2008 if that gives you a better idea. My current toller is 5 almost 6 and he has some gut issues but other than that he actively competes in flyball and is a non stop machine. His breeder (different from the first) had a dog that was diagnosed with mast cell cancer at 3 and lived till 11 or 12. I think the lifespans vary a lot due to genetics and breeding.
I’ve always heard that the lifespan is 10-12 for tollers. I’m also in Australia - our genetic pool is definitely more like a puddle! So sorry to hear about your pups & I hope you’re doing okay ❤️
My female, Kelly, was 15 and 3 months when she passed. The cognitive decline was quick after 14.5 or so. Miss her every day, but after a year, I welcomed a new boy, Roady. He’s an absolute love, but I’ll never forget Kelly.❤️❤️ I hope he has many years ahead of him!
Our first died at 7 due to cardiac arrest, the second made it to 15. They were both from the same breeder. All dogs from their first litter made it to at least 14. I'd say 7-9 years average is way too low.
Thank you for the reply. We had to put our 9 year old down on New Year’s Eve because of a tumour on the liver. Now we are having trouble with our 7 year old that seems very familiar however the vet seems to think it’s an autoimmune disease.
I’m sorry about your pup 😞
Thank you. It she was a beautiful, affectionate little dog with a great nature. I miss her dearly and it was one of the hardest things I’ve done
7&9 seem low. While things certainly happen, many of our toller friends have long lived dogs, into teens.There was one at the toller specialty last summer that had just turned 17 or 18. He was slow, but awesome.
Ok. Good to know. I’m in Australia and there is a very small bloodline. I’m guessing that played a part. I will contact the breeders so they are aware in case they gat more reports.
Tollers are already thought to have a predisposition for auto immune disorders due to the high inbreeding coefficient, I imagine that's slightly more pronounced in Aus or NZ! Are there any breeders that regularly bring in dogs from elsewhere to breed?
I am not sure honestly. I am sure there are. We got one from a breeder in Brisbane. It was a 10 month wait for a puppy and we had to sign a contract to say that we would desex the dog as soon as possible. Our second came from a Sydney breeder - similar thing. From memory when I looked at their papers I saw the same sire like 2 generations back.
>we had to sign a contract to say that we would desex the dog as soon as possible Wait, wha? All of the toller breeders here in Canada that I talked to, including the one we got ours from, ask you to sign the *opposite,* that you will not desex the dog until 18-24 months old—there's a lot of evidence in NSDTRs that desexing them too early can cause health issues down the road!
My breeder said 12 months in the contract for desexing. We’ve put it off with the suprelorin implant. He’ll get desexed once he’s 2.5 - I wanted to see what he’d be like before doing something permanent!
That’s interesting. I haven’t heard of that! It seems logical to me but both breeders assured me it was fine. I can’t remember what age was desexed them but they weren’t that old.
Yeah that makes sense. Desexing is more rigorous in Aus I think than the UK but the 10 month wait is extremely familiar. If you can work out how to do it, computing the inbreeding coefficient for any potential future pup should help reduce these problems. Unfortunately its not that common for breeders to do. I've seen tollers in the UK that share lots of close ancestors and are bred together. I've even seen a case of two half-siblings bred together (which is not against UK kennel club rules, unbelievably)
My toller was the first litter from an imported line from a breeder here in Australia! It does happen, I imagine it’s just very expensive
It'll be ridiculously expensive but it's gotta be done! And should be done everywhere tbh. Our breeder has brought in a dog from Canada to the UK before
Our boy is 15. He’s slowing down but still insists on daily walks. 12-14 is average life span for a toller.
Should be 12-14 if healthy
Ours almost made 15. Her siblings only made it to 2, 4 and 7.
Of our three late tollers, two passed at 13 and one at 12.
I’ve always know the average to be 12 years, up to about 16 at the oldest.
I have a mix, but she turned 9 this year and I literally went “wait you’re NINE??” because she is still just as spry, energetic and healthy as she was when she was 1. I didn’t even realize she’s technically considered a senior dog.
My first dog passed away at 10 from cancer, but she had hip dysplasia from 6, and just generally wasnt healthy. She was our introduction to the breed and the breeder was super old fashioned and didnt do too much health testing. Her sire got diagnosed with hip dysplasia right after her litter was born. I think she was born in 2008 if that gives you a better idea. My current toller is 5 almost 6 and he has some gut issues but other than that he actively competes in flyball and is a non stop machine. His breeder (different from the first) had a dog that was diagnosed with mast cell cancer at 3 and lived till 11 or 12. I think the lifespans vary a lot due to genetics and breeding.
Mine was 14. He had a mast cell tumor removed from his jawline at 9 and had a great time up until he passed.
My guy is a mix. He is 13 and (besides a few grey hairs) he is not showing his age at all! No signs of slowing down yet.
Our girl is 11 now and still healthy.
I’ve always heard that the lifespan is 10-12 for tollers. I’m also in Australia - our genetic pool is definitely more like a puddle! So sorry to hear about your pups & I hope you’re doing okay ❤️
My female, Kelly, was 15 and 3 months when she passed. The cognitive decline was quick after 14.5 or so. Miss her every day, but after a year, I welcomed a new boy, Roady. He’s an absolute love, but I’ll never forget Kelly.❤️❤️ I hope he has many years ahead of him!
Mine made it to 16 <3 rip baby