How Long Do Airedale Terriers Live? Average Lifespan Truth
If you plan to adopt an Airedale Terrier, you might be thinking, ‘How long do Airedale Terriers live?’ or curious about their average life expectancy and lifespan highlights.
Who would not like to see their beloved pet dog living as long as possible? Any dog owner would. However, dogs age differently from human beings. So we must accept that no matter how healthy a dog is, they do not live as long as humans. On average, a dog lives around 8 to 12 years.
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However, some dogs live beyond the average lifespan, depending on their breed. In this article, we will primarily focus on Airedale Terriers’ life expectancy.
How long do Airedale Terriers live? Typically this breed enjoys an approximate lifespan of 10 to 13 years. Keep in your mind that this is an average life expectancy range. Therefore slight changes might occur. There could be instances where Airedale Terriers live slightly below or even above this average life expectancy. Either way, most of the time, a healthy Airedale Terrier lives up to 10 to 13 years.
As mentioned, the average life expectancy of dogs varies from one breed to the other. In that matter, genes are the primary factor determining your dog’s lifespan.
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However, there are certain things that one can do to ensure that your pet dog enjoys its maximum life span.
This article will help you to get to know all the essential details about the lifespan of Airedale Terriers.
What is the lifespan of Airedale Terriers?
Airedale Terrier is a medium to large-sized dog that descends from the Terrier family. Dogs belonging to the Terrier group are usually small, but Airedale Terriers are relatively bigger than other Terrier dogs.
Therefore the Airedale Terrier is also known as the King of Terriers. As the largest member of the Terrier family, Airedale Terriers live around 10 to 13 years.
This average lifespan could be impacted by certain things, for instance, the dog’s genes and health status.
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Airedale Terriers are generally healthy dogs but also prone to certain health complexities. So you must have a clear understanding of the general health of the dog. As much as you take good care of your Airedale Terrier, they will probably live up to 10 to 13 years.
When is the Airedale Terrier considered a senior dog?
As mentioned already, human beings and dogs do not age the same. Typically one dog year is equated to 8 to 9 human years. Therefore dogs age faster than human beings.
Since the average lifespan of dogs changes based on their breeds, the age they become senior dogs also changes accordingly.
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Scientifically speaking, small dogs live the most, whereas medium ones are a little less, and large dogs are the least.
Airedale Terrier is generally considered a medium-sized dog with an average lifespan of 10 to 13 years. So they become senior dogs by the age of 8 and above.
What is the average age for an Airedale Terrier to die?
Airedale Terriers usually enjoy an average life expectancy of 10 to 13 years, but this does not mean every Airedale Terrier will live up to this particular age range.
Most of the time, they do; however, exceptions can also exist. Considering 10 to 13 years as Airedale Terriers’ average age, for them, the average age to die will likely be 10 to 11 years.
If your Airedale Terrier is overall healthy and they are living happily with your family, it will enjoy its maximum life span even a bit more than that.
Still, as mentioned, they could also die below the average range because of specific exceptions. So it is hard to give a fixed answer to this question, but on average, this breed dies when they reach the age of 10 to 11.
What is the oldest living Airedale Terrier?
As said, there can be certain times when Airedale Terriers live above their average lifespan.
However, we cannot expect them to live way past the average life expectancy range, but some could live a few years above the average.
There is information regarding Airedale Terriers that have lived up to 13 to 15 years. Still, there is no precise information regarding what exactly is the world’s oldest living Airedale Terrier.
Factors that influence the life expectancy of an Airedale Terrier
Several factors could impact your Airedale Terrier’s lifespan. Aging isn’t something that one can control.
However, as humans, we ensure that we pay attention to the factors that impact our life span, for instance, health, and that helps us enjoy the longest possible life expectancy; same with any living animal. In this section, we will focus on the factors that influence the lifespan of an Airedale Terrier.
- Genetics
Some factors influencing your Airedale Terrier’s life expectancy can be controlled externally, but some cannot.
Genetics is the most crucial factor that affects your Airedale Terrier’s lifespan; unfortunately, this is not something you can control.
If genes are uncontrollable, what can you do about it? One thing you can do is get the dog from purebred parents. If you get original bloodline Airedale Terrier puppies, they will likely be healthy.
However, this doesn’t mean they are entirely immune from all sorts of health concerns. Humans inherit different illnesses genetically, so do dogs.
Therefore when you get an Airedale Terrier, educate yourself on the health complexities that they might genetically inherit. That way, you can take action quickly if something is wrong.
- Food
The healthier your Airedale Terrier eats, the healthier it will be. As we all know, our regular diet plays a huge role in our overall health, and this applies to dogs too.
What you feed your Airedale Terrier will undoubtedly affect its health and influence its life expectancy. You have a crucial duty to ensure that you provide your Airedale Terrier with nutritional food.
Not only do they need good food to grow better, but they also need to stay healthier. Suppose you are not attentive enough to your Airedale Terrier’s diet.
In that case, they could easily get affected by obesity and similar health concerns, negatively impacting their lifespan. So pay attention to the quality and quantity of the food and avoid giving them unhealthy food as much as possible.
- Exercises
One cannot deny how important physical activities are to keep your Airedale Terrier in good health.
Dogs that grow up in houses do not get much space to run around and release their energy, so you must take your pet dog outside and let them get adequate physical exercise.
Exercises are a must for your Airedale Terrier; if these dogs do not get sufficient exercise, it will impact both their mental and physical well-being.
- Mental health
A happy mind can significantly impact the well-being of your pet dog. It is pretty self-explanatory how mental health influences your Airedale Terrier’s lifespan.
If the dog is not happy in its home, there is a fair chance that it will get depression, stress, and anxiety. The unstable mentality of the dog will not be good for its life.
What health problems do Airedale Terriers have?
Although you take good care of your Airedale Terrier, it could still get affected by certain health complexities, which is not something anyone or anything can avoid.
Nonetheless, if you have a general understanding of the health problems common to your pet dog’s breed, you can take precautions to mitigate them.
Below are some health problems common to Airedale Terriers.
- Hip dysplasia
Hip dysplasia is commonly seen among Airedale Terriers. This is a condition occurred by the dislocation of the hip.
This is not a critical health condition; however, if you notice lameness, lethargy, and abnormal walking, take them to a vet without hesitation. It might require surgery if you do not treat the dog quickly for hip dysplasia.
- Gastric torsion/ bloating
Yet another common health problem for Airedale Terriers is bloating. In the case of bloating, this fills the dog’s stomach with gas and interrupts the blood supply to the stomach.
Gastric torsion should be treated immediately unless it turns out to be severe. Symptoms of bloating include pacing, distress, excessive drooling, and restless breathing.
Airedale Terriers can be affected by hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid condition.
Unexplained weight loss, lack of appetite, excessive shedding, and lethargy are potential signs of hypothyroidism.
This condition is not fully curable yet manageable, so if your Airedale Terrier has hypothyroidism, treat it consistently, or it could shorten its lifespan.
- Umbilical hernia
Airedale Terrier is one of the breeds that are often prone to umbilical hernia. Once a puppy is born, its umbilical cord gets cut off, and the abdominal wall naturally seals the opening.
However, in some cases, some fat escapes through the abdominal wall; this is what we call an umbilical hernia. Symptoms of this condition include swelling, vomiting, and lethargy.
This might not impact your Airedale Terrier seriously, but if you left the dog untreated, more complexities could arise.
Final thoughts
In this article, we comprehensively looked into the life expectancy of Airedale Terriers.
While genetics is the key factor that impacts their lifespan, apart from genetics, other factors such as diet and physical and mental health also significantly impact an Airedale Terrier’s life expectancy.
So as long as the dog is happy and healthy, it can live around 10 to 13 years. Read more about Airedale Terriers here.
