Dogs With the Shortest Lifespan: Ranked Breeds and What a Short Life Costs

Which dogs have the shortest lifespan? The French Bulldog, at 4.53 years of life expectancy at birth, then the English Bulldog at 7.39 years and the Pug at 7.65 years, per a large 2022 UK study. Giant breeds such as the Dogue de Bordeaux rank just as low in earlier research.

Dogs with the shortest lifespan, ranked

The shortest-lived breeds in the best recent data are flat-faced dogs and a few giants. The table uses the 2022 study "Life tables of annual life expectancy and mortality for companion dogs in the United Kingdom," published in Scientific Reports. It analyzed 30,563 dogs that died between January 2016 and July 2020 at primary-care vets.

Rank (shortest first)	Breed	Life expectancy at birth	95% interval
1	French Bulldog	4.53 years	4.14-5.01
2	English Bulldog	7.39 years	7.08-7.69
3	Pug	7.65 years	6.99-8.20
4	American Bulldog	7.79 years	7.16-8.33
5	Chihuahua	7.91 years	7.48-8.39
6	Siberian Husky	9.53 years	8.71-9.88
7	Beagle	9.85 years	9.17-10.24
8	Boxer	10.04 years	9.85-10.21

The study covered only 18 breeds plus crossbreds, so a breed missing from the table is not proof it lives longer. Great Danes and Dogue de Bordeaux were not among the 18.

Photo: Chraibi7886678 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The longest-lived dogs for comparison

The same study puts the Jack Russell Terrier at 12.72 years, the longest of the 18 breeds. That is 8.19 years more than the French Bulldog. The gap shows how much breed matters.

Breed	Life expectancy at birth
Jack Russell Terrier	12.72 years
Yorkshire Terrier	12.54 years
Border Collie	12.10 years
Springer Spaniel	11.92 years
Crossbred dogs	11.82 years
All dogs in the study	11.23 years

Crossbred dogs outlived the all-dog average by 0.59 years. Female dogs averaged 11.41 years against 11.07 for males.

Why these breeds die young

Flat faces and sheer size are the two patterns behind most short lives. The study's authors link the four shortest-lived breeds, the French Bulldog, English Bulldog, Pug and American Bulldog, to early-life disorders. They name brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome, spinal disease and difficult births.

Size is the other pattern. A 2013 UK study of owned dogs, summarized by Faunalytics, found that higher bodyweight was linked to shorter life. As quoted in the 2022 paper, its breed medians ran from 5.5 years for the Dogue de Bordeaux to 14.2 years for the Miniature Poodle.

The same figures are not fixed fate for a single dog. A dog from health-tested parents, kept lean and screened early, can beat its breed average. Our Great Dane lifespan guide shows what the giant-breed picture looks like in detail.

How reliable is the French Bulldog number?

The 4.53-year figure is probably too low, and the authors say why. UK Kennel Club registrations of French Bulldogs rose from 2,771 in 2011 to 39,266 in 2020. A fast-growing breed fills the data with young dogs, which makes early deaths look more common than they are.

Two other limits apply. The data come from dogs that attended primary-care vets in the UK. Euthanasia is frequent in dogs, so the tables may understate natural lifespan.

A U.S. owner should read the numbers as a ranking and not a promise. The order of breeds is more trustworthy than any single age. For a U.S. view of one long-lived giant, see our Irish Wolfhound lifespan guide.

How long an older dog from these breeds can expect to live

Life expectancy at birth is a poor guide for an adult dog, because it counts every early death. The 2022 tables also give expectancy at later ages, and they show how fast the remaining years shrink. The authors tracked the age at which remaining life falls below 1.5 years.

Breed	Age when remaining life drops below 1.5 years	Oldest age in the life table
English Bulldog	9-10 years	13 years
American Bulldog	10-11 years	12 years
French Bulldog	10-11 years	11 years
Pug	11-12 years	13 years
Boxer	10-11 years	15 years
Chihuahua	15-16 years	16 years
Jack Russell Terrier	14-15 years	19 years

A French Bulldog table ends at 11 years, while a Jack Russell Terrier table runs to 19. That gap is the practical meaning of a short-lived breed. There are fewer senior years to budget for, and the senior years that exist arrive earlier.

The Chihuahua is the odd entry. Its life expectancy at birth is a low 7.91 years, yet its remaining life stays above 1.5 years until age 15-16. Chihuahuas that survive puppyhood tend to live long, so the low birth figure reflects early deaths and not a short adult life.

What a short lifespan does to the budget

A short life does not shrink the costs that come first. PetBudget's model keeps year one high for every breed, so a dog that dies young is the most expensive per year of life. The table shows model lifetime totals and the cost per year of the model's typical lifespan.

Breed	Model lifespan	Year one	Lifetime total	Cost per year of life
Dogue de Bordeaux	6 years	$6,333	$23,758	$3,960
Great Dane	8 years	$6,522	$32,240	$4,030
English Bulldog	9 years	$4,849	$25,601	$2,845
French Bulldog	11 years	$4,333	$26,913	$2,447
Pug	13 years	$4,277	$30,701	$2,362
Chihuahua	15 years	$3,905	$26,291	$1,753

The Dogue de Bordeaux is the clearest case. It costs $3,960 a year of life, more than double the Chihuahua's $1,753, because its yearly spending is high and its years are few. PetBudget's lifespans come from breed data and do not equal the VetCompass averages.

That mismatch is the main takeaway. The model puts the Chihuahua at 15 years, while VetCompass finds 7.91 years at birth. Both can hold, because life expectancy at birth counts puppies that die early. Plan for the quoted range if the dog is healthy, and keep a reserve in case it is not.

Insurance and the short-lived breeds

Insurance matters most for breeds with early-onset conditions, because a diagnosis before enrollment becomes a pre-existing condition. In NAPHIA's 2026 State of the Industry highlights, the average U.S. dog accident and illness plan costs $836 a year. A flat-faced breed usually quotes higher than that.

Read the waiting periods guide before choosing a plan, and compare breeds in our breed insurance cost guide.

How to choose a longer-lived dog

You cannot guarantee years, but you can move the odds. Use this list before you buy.

1. Check the breed's data. Look at a life table, not a single quoted range.
2. Consider a mixed breed. Crossbreds averaged 11.82 years, close to the best breeds.
3. Favor a longer muzzle. The four shortest-lived breeds are all flat-faced.
4. Ask for health tests. Hips, eyes and airways should be screened in the parents.
5. Keep the dog lean. Weight is a cost you control every day.

Run the numbers for any breed in the PetBudget calculator, or put two breeds side by side on the compare page. For the wider picture, see the dog lifespan by breed guide.