Your Goldendoodle will live with you for many years, so you’ll need to consider how routine health care, breeding, diet, and exercise may contribute to a longer lifespan. For any dog breed to live a long life, they must be protected from household hazards, have the best nutritional and supplemental options to boost immune health, and regular veterinary health checks.
The average lifespan for a Goldendoodle will range from 10 to 15+ years. To fully understand the basis for this and how you as a dog parent can extend your dog’s lifespan, you’ll need to explore both the Golden Retriever and the Poodle breeds. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the most common factors that affect a Goldendoodle’s lifespan, common Goldendoodle health issues, and how to choose a reputable Goldendoodle breeder for a healthy puppy.
The Goldendoodle thrives on affection, play, and fun! With that said, let’s take a look at the most common health problems that this hybrid breed faces and what you can do to try to extend a Goldendoodle’s lifespan.
Other articles you will like: Which Goldendoodle Size? (Mini, Medium, Standard) and Goldendoodle vs Labradoodle.
Factors that Affect a Goldendoodles Lifespan
There are several known variables that affect a Goldendoodles lifespan and can help them live much longer. We will go over some of the main factors that can improve the average life expectancy of a Goldendoodle.
Breeder Genetic and Health Testing
Perhaps the biggest contributor to a Goldendoodle’s life expectancy is whether or not a breeder conducts genetic and health tests on their dogs. Since Goldendoodles are a trending dog breed and arguably the most popular crossbreed dog in the world, there have been several breeders not genetic or health testing their dogs prior to breeding. Typically, these are puppy mills and backyard breeders selling cheaper dogs.
This can dramatically reduce the lifespan of your Goldendoodle because they will be more prone to medical and hereditary issues later down the line. We’ve seen several issues living a shorter life expectancy due to genetic issues.
Size
One of the biggest factors that affect a Goldendoodle’s lifespan is size. It’s a well-known fact that smaller dogs live longer than larger dogs if all the other variables are the same. Scientists have concluded that roughly every 4.4 pounds of body mass reduce a dog’s life span by 1 month. This is certainly no different for Goldendoodles. This is due to the fact that larger dogs grow at a faster pace and succumb to age-related illnesses faster.
Thus, a Mini Goldendoodles lifespan will be longer than a Standard Goldendoodles lifespan by roughly 1 to 2 years.
Hybrid Vigor
The Goldendoodle Association of North America (GANA) discusses hybrid vigor. It adds that “Hybrid vigor, the increased health benefits of crossing two completely unrelated breeds, gives the Goldendoodle the health and vitality that makes them, on average, outlive either one of their parent breeds.”
In other words, Hybrid Vigor is the result of two unrelated purebreds having puppies (i.e. Golden Retrievers and Poodles). This is because purebred dogs of the same bloodline typically pass genetic issues down from generation to generation. By introducing a new bloodline, you will pass less hereditary issues down to your offspring.
Thus, the generation of Goldendoodle that you purchase will affect its life expectancy. With each offspring, a Goldendoodle will get less and less Hybrid Vigor. Thus, a first-generation F1 Goldendoodle will be expected to live longer than a multi-generation Goldendoodle.
Other Factors
There are several other factors that will contribute to how long your Goldendoodle lives. Some of these factors are:
- Regular veterinarian checks: This includes an annual physical, up to date vaccinations, and general screenings.
- Nutrition: Not all dog foods are created equally. There are several dog foods that contain filler ingredients. You can read our article on the Best Dog Food for a Goldendoodle to help you choose a healthy alternative.
- Exercise, health supplements, socialization, etc.
Common Goldendoodle Health Issues
The Goldendoodle is a hybrid dog breed with genes from both the Golden Retriever and Poodle. These genes combine and sometimes express themselves in ways that sometimes even breeders cannot control. The Goldendoodle comes in three different standard sizes: miniature, medium, and standard. There are specific health issues that are common to the Goldendoodle and typically will vary by size.
Although Goldendoodles are generally a healthy dog breed, there are a few genetic health problems that may affect their lifespan. When purchasing a Goldendoodle puppy, you’ll typically want to get a health guarantee on the puppy. It would also be best if you discussed health conditions in the breeder’s bloodlines so that you can discuss them with your veterinarian.
Here are some of the most common health issues in Goldendoodles which may affect how long they live:
- Ear infections
- Hip dysplasia
- Sebaceous adenitis
- Aortic stenosis
- Eye diseases like progressive retinal atrophy, cataracts, and glaucoma
How a Goldendoodle Breeder can improve life expectancy in puppies
All reputable Goldendoodle breeders will conduct a series of health and genetic tests. The most common tests are listed below:
- Hip certifications from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA)
- AFA heart clearance for standard-sized Goldendoodles
- OFA knee clearance for small and medium-sized Goldendoodles
- DNA test for progressive retinal atrophy
Before purchasing a Goldendoodle puppy, read up on the Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon requirements set by North America’s Goldendoodle Association (GANA). It states that all breeders have to do specific health testing on their sires and dams used for breeding. Always verify any health and genetic testing from a breeder.
Conclusion for How Long do Goldendoodles live?
To ensure that your Goldendoodle lives a long and healthy life, you’ll want to find a reputable breeder. By finding a reputable Goldendoodle breeder, you’ll have a healthy GoldenDoodle puppy that has undergone health screenings. This helps to ensure that they will not inherit any genetic issues.
If you’re opting to adopt from a shelter, take your dog to a veterinarian to have a complete health check. Your vet will be able to spot any visible problems. By working together with your vet, you’ll be able to start up a preventative regime that targets specific health issues.
By doing this, you’ll be able to avoid many of the most common health issues. Keep in mind that your Goldendoodle has a life expectancy of between 10 to 15 years.
With regular veterinary care and exercise, a high-quality diet, supplements, and lots of socialization, they may live a much longer life. Good enrichment programs and great parenting with positive dog training are key to a happy-owner-pet relationship. We hope your Goldendoodle lives a long and healthy life!
Check out these other articles:
Garrett loves animals and is a huge advocate for all Doodle dog breeds. He owns his own Goldendoodle named Kona. In addition, he volunteers at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, where he fosters dogs and helps animals. Garrett enjoys writing about Doodles and believes that dogs can teach humans more about how to live than humans can teach a dog.
Why Trust We Love Doodles?
At We Love Doodles, we’re a team of writers, veterinarians, and puppy trainers that love dogs. Our team of qualified experts researches and provides reliable information on a wide range of dog topics. Our reviews are based on customer feedback, hands-on testing, and in-depth analysis. We are fully transparent and honest to our community of dog owners and future owners.