Bernedoodle Lifespan
Bernedoodles are a mix between a poodle and a Bernese Mountain dog. Bernedoodles are known for being friendly and great cuddle buddies. Bernedoodles love to be around people and are also perfect for families with kids as they have a calm nature.
If you are thinking about adding a Bernedoodle to your family, you may wonder how long they usually live and how to prolong their lifespan.
Average Bernedoodle Lifespan
Bernese mountain dogs are known to have a lot of health risks and issues, causing their life span to only be around seven years. However, the Bernedoodle hybrid mix luckily doesn’t inherit these health risks! Bernedoodles’ lifespan is usually around 12-18 years!
Between the different sizes of Bernedoodles, the lifespan is about the same. However, the smaller Bernedoodles usually live a few years longer than the bigger standard-size Bernedoodles.
Why Smaller Bernedoodles Live Longer
Usually, in other breeds, the smaller dogs have a shorter lifespan than the bigger dogs. However, with Bernedoodles, it is the exact opposite. The smaller Bernedoodles can live up to five years longer than a standard-size Bernedoodle. Bigger Bernedoodles gain up to 100 times as much as their birth weight as they grow into adulthood. While smaller dogs only grow 20 times as much. So much growth in a short period of time can strain the big dog systems with rapid cell multiplication. This is where more risks are seen; this can cause development issues and cancers in multiple areas.
Prolonging a Bernedoodles Lifespan
Whether you choose a bigger Bernedoodle or a smaller one, you can do a few things to help prolong your furbabies' lifespan. Following these tips will help ensure your Bernedoodle has the best long life while being healthy and happy.
Breeding
Choose the right breeder! This is the first step towards helping your bernedoodle live a long and healthy life. This can seriously make or break your efforts. When choosing the right breeder, ask about the parents' health history and living situation. Some breeders are just backyard breeders who don’t care about their dogs' living situation and only care about the money the puppies bring in.
The main red flags you will want to watch for are if the breeder does things like discourages visits, they have a LOT of puppies, or if they don’t ask any questions. A breeder who really cares about their puppies will usually ask you about the living conditions that they are going to go into.
Healthy Diet
Just like people, a dog with a healthy diet will have fewer health issues and risks. This goes beyond just cutting back on treats and ensuring they have the recommended amount of food at meal times. You must also be conscious about what is in your dog's food. There are a lot more dog food brands out there that have harmful ingredients in your dogs’ food than you would expect! It can be easy to save a little money and go with the cheaper options, but in the long run, you will save more money with the more expensive brand that has real food because you won’t have to pay for as many vet visits and medical bills.
Plenty of Exercises
Lastly, Exercise! It can be easy to forget to take your dog out for a walk, decide you don’t want to because you are tired, or make some other excuse. But not only does exercise have good long-term results, but it also has a lot of short-term benefits! Your dog won’t be so hyperactive with the right exercise, and they will live a longer life because they are in shape. Plus, you can think of your dog as your gym buddy who motivates you to stay in shape yourself!
Bernedoodles already have a long lifespan as is, but you can never complain about a few extra years with your best friend. Following these tips will help your dog to be able to live longer and avoid diseases that cause pain for your little furbaby.
