Life Expectancy

[nancyheinl]

What is the life expectancy of the Chowchow breed?

[bruinsmom]

Hello,
I've read in books and other information on Chow Chows that the life expectancy of a Chow Chow is 11-12 years.
I've known people who had Chow Chows that have lived to 14 years. My oldest lived until she was 10. It all depends.

Hope this helps,
Bruins mom

[sixchows]

Our first chow Nala, lived a little over 10 years. She was a backyard bred chow. Great dog! Real sweet! Maybe one from a breeder with good blood lines would live longer?

This is the last pic we have of her. It was taken about a month+/- before she got sick.....

[Zhuyos mom]

The books say 10 -12 years because they are medium size dogs. I have a 14 year old and our family chow lived to be 15. I have a nephew chow who is 13. This subject was brought up once on the old site and a breeder who use to post there said that she had a 17 (that passed) and a 20 year old (which was still alive) that she rescued. They were slow when she took them in, but they were fairly healthy. My experience, serious health problems seem to appear around age 9 and it depends on the fortitude of the chow and its recovery on whether any health problems or illness will pose a threat on its aging. So, it all depends.

[Jeff&Peks]

I've known a few 14 year olds and just last week a 16 year old however the 16 yr old was in pretty bad shape, they were having him put to sleep because of his health, bad heart, bad kidneys, couldn't get up but extremely alert in his eye's and mind he laid there and watched every move I made. Kind of sad to see, his body was shot but his mind was still alert.

[Jeff&Peks]

Even though the books say 11 to 12 and we have all seen 14 and older Chows and alot of you have lost Chows around 10 when do you first start noticing age, aside from Pekoe's oral cancer I can't see any difference in her then when she was 3, her test results are all excellent health, she is still running up and down hills, she has no problem with 10 mile walks, takes off after every cat and squirrel she see's that she could easily catch if I didn't hold her back. On our walks if I say lets get him Peks she still takes off from a dead stop to a full run and only stops because I stop her. I swear if it weren't for the cancer I think she would live another 10 years, so what happens? Chows just wake up one day all of a suddenly old.Pekoe will be 10 in feb and shows no sign of age or slowing down.

[Roxana]

My girl Dakota will be 13 at the beginning of March and still going strong. Yes, she is now totally blind, more dependent on us, and not quite as active as she once was (favortie pastime....snoozing) but still a happy, healthy girl overall.

[DanniLynn]

Wow! I feel extremely lucky. My first Chow, Yogi, lived 18 years and was in great health until that final year. My second, Gizmo, was not so lucky and ended up passing away due to CKD. In my experience, the Chows I've had and those in my Chow Meet & Greet group all have had Chows live longer than 16 years!

[JammyJoy]

It will be 9-15 years.

[chow315]

my first chow and first love lived to 16 she died from lymphoma. she was a nearly perfect dog. i got her from a friend who was a breeder.she had 2 litters and they all got sick at the same time. she let me have my pick. my princess was 5 weeks and 5pounds. took her to the vet got shots and everything.after that she was hardly ever sick until the lymphoma.she never bit anyone she would give a warning growl but that was it.thanks for letting me remamble.i still miss her

[chow315]

MY PRINCESS LIVED IN GREAT HEALTH UNTIL 16 WHEN SHE GOT LYMPHOMA. SHE LIVED 9 MONTHS WITH CHEMO AND RADIATION. MY HEART STILL BREAKS FOR HER.SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL MSWEET AND AS CLOSE TO PERFECT [IN MY OPINION ] AS A DOG CAN GET. SHE WAS A PURE BRED. HAD HER FROM 5 WEEKS AND 5POUNDS

[chow315]

my dogs have lived my first princess to 16.i have a 13 year old now that i am taking to the vet suspect lymphoma.i also have 2 others who are about 8 and very healthy

[BeJimmieAmirm]

i think that diet really plays a visible role in how well we age aesthetically speaking. ya sure the german diet might have alot of bad food, and they may have a similar life expectancy, but for the most part they will also be more out of shape.