The Top 10 Healthiest Dog Breeds–Is Your Dog On the List?
A trip to the emergency veterinary clinic is not fun for you or your furry friend. You may practice perfect pet care, but accidents happen and hereditary issues are out of your control.
Statistics show that 46,300,000 American households own a dog. In fact, there is a total of over 380 million pets in the United States. However, some dog breeds have been proven to have fewer health problems than others, so you might actually see fewer of these pups at the animal hospital than other pets.
10 Healthiest Dog Breeds
- English Springer Spaniel: Some pet owners have found that English Springer Spaniels are rarely victims of hereditary diseases.
- Shiba Inu: These foxy little guys are known for being healthy and tough.
- Poodle: Whether miniature or standard, all poodles tend to stay pretty healthy.
- Greyhound: These graceful, gentle dogs rarely experience health problems. Let them run around and they will be happy and healthy!
- Border Collie: This tough working dog is historically well-bred, making it one of the healthier breeds.
- Bichon Frise: Despite their susceptibility to allergies, these little fluff balls are some of the healthiest there are.
- Belgian Malinois: Bred for performance, these versatile working dogs are rarely affected by the usual ailments found in working breeds.
- Beagle: You will rarely meet a sick beagle.
- Basenji: Basenjis are the strong silent type, a breed that cannot bark. However, they experience few health concerns overall.
- Australian Cattle Dog: An Australian Cattle Dog named Bluey holds the record for the longest living dog. His amazing health granted him 29 years. That is 129 years old in dog years!
Sadly, the Shar Pei, Saint Bernard, Rottweiler, Pug, Great Dane, English Setter, English Bulldog, Doberman Pinscher, and Chihuahua are known to be the dog breeds with the most health problems. That is not to say that every dog in these breeds experiences hereditary disease, but the breed is more highly represented at the animal hospital than others. Periodontal disease is the number one most common medical condition occurring in adult dogs, and while some are more prone to the disease than others, all dogs are at risk if not properly cared for.