Those of you that own or have owned giant breeds

having a nosy about this morning and looking at one of my favourite great dane breeders got me thinking about giant breeds again

i love giant breeds, quite a few of them, danes are my favourite, but leonbergers arent far behind. i dont know if i could ever own a giant breed because of the heart ache you have when they die so young.

my question is to all of you that have had giant breeds, what ages have they lived till?
the great dane site i go on, has had one live until 15, a fair few lived until 11/12, but then i know some danes that have died at 7. i dont know if i could only own a dog for 7 years.

what would you say is the healthiest of the giant breeds, or the most long lived?

also i notice a lot of people debate about feeding on raised stands or not? so which of you with giant breeds feed on raised stands, which of you just put the dogs bowl on the floor?

if any one could point me in the direction of breed statistics and ages lived till etc id be greatful.

and before anyone else says im changing my mind on breed again, im not, im just curious about giant breed and age ranges

Bernese are not classed as a giant breed but they do have to have the same slow growing regime, look after joints etc., till about 18 months old and careful exercise.

Ollie was fed from raised bowls. As you know we lost him at 41/2 in February to not necessarily Bernese related diseases.
I am going for another Bernese Ollies breeders that are home bred ie: his mum all live till their teens his dad not home bred died at 8 unusual for her dogs but not uncommon in the breed.

The breeder I am going with this time has the same longevity in her lines also the sires are long lived. I know the potential heart ache I may face again whether it is early or late in years it will inevitably hit me again so why not go for the breed you love and enjoy each and every day.

Big dogs are so huggable. Gorden and I both need big dogs that you can step over in the house and although my sons no longer live here they too love big dogs. So has to be large for us every time.

My OH used to have 3 Leonbergers a male and 2 females, the two females made it into double figures the male only made it to 3 and he bloated 3 times and that was what finally killed him, he'd previously had his stomach stitched to prevent it happening again but it didn't work for him, despite getting him to the vets within minutes of any symptoms being shown. Apart from that healthwise the bitches were problem free but I think he's become a small dog convert since we got Frank the terrorist.

awww i would love a giant breed. i never saw them on my mums side, theyve always had small dogs except for the german sheperd my nana had, but on my dad side my grandma had great danes, and irish wolfhounds and i think thats where i get my love of both breeds from, they were so gentle with me when i was little, and my dads favourite breed is the great dane. he used to have one that he used to take in his lorry when he was away.

maybe one day i will have one. i think getting them from lines which have quite a good lifespan increases the chance of having one live to a good age.
every time i see a dane i smile we used to get two in at work that were huge but they were the most comical dogs ive ever worked with

bet that food bill was nice with three of them what a shame about the male, bloat would be what scares me, but after learning little dogs can get it too i follow the rules anyway as if i had a big dog.
i just worry about time with them being so short, but i suppose if they make you unbelievably happy in those years then you cant ask for more.

plus a big dog might just gobble asbo up, who is driving me mad this morning!!!

Ivan will be 5 next month and touch wood is fit as a fiddle.
We are very careful in the quantity of food we give him and has no excess weight on him and he is fed from a raised stand.
Leonbergers are prone to the same illnesses as most other dogs being cancers etc. but all of the ones I know are fit and healthy dogs.
I know many breeders that have had dogs live to 11 and 12 and have no reason to believe that my boy won't be the same.
However owning a giant breed I am prepared to loose him earlier than another breed and it will hurt no matter what age so I enjoy every minute with him and just don't think about it.
I don't know of any websites that offer stats re age but it's just like any other breed you find a good breeder and on the breed specific sites you can research their lines and it will give you that all the stats you need for those dogs re health etc.
Leos are wonderful dogs. Will take as much or as little excercise as you give them and like Lynn we have to step over Ivan in the house.
He isn't a velcro dog, once he can see you pottering around he is happy to just lie and watch.

yeah i suppose its the same with any breed. there are plenty of breeds that are at risk to certain diseases, for instance the big one in flatcoats is cancer, and thats what the woman i work for at work fears the most. she has 6 flatties, the oldest is 8, and two out of that litter have died from cancer. she says that with the flatcoats that when they hit 8, if they havent had anything wrong with them, then they will usually be fine and live on to old age. 8 seems to be the point for them where cancer usually strikes.

i wish i could just step over my two daph you could, but asbo is definately a velcro dog and follows me everywhere ammount of times ive nearly fell over him ive lost count! he tends to dive in front of you and then stop

Following the rules made no difference at all to him tbf and the rules contradict each other anyway. As many people will say to feed from raise bowls and not to. Personally all our big uns are fed from raised bowls as it makes sense that it would be uncomfortable for them to eat from floor level. His leo was fed six small meals a day etc etc and it made no difference to the final outcome. I think with any big breed you just accept their life expectancy is less, many Dobies don't make it past 8 but I know a couple of 15 year olds and one that made it to 17. If I only have 8 years with mine they will be 8 quality years and that's fine with me anything else is a bonus. When I had my Boxer the average age was around 8 and he made it to 13 and was still running around like a pup.

yep, suppose its luck of the draw.

Interesting thread. The owner of the Dane that Dexter was playing with yesterday said that her main concern is the potentially shorter lifespan, compared with her previous (small) dog.

However, that can apply to all breeds. I know someone who had a lovely Lab from one of the supposedly 'top' breeders in the UK. The Lab was dead at eight from cancer.

So guess I tend to applaud those who have giant breeds and take the attitude that it's quality - not quantity.

I would love to get a giant breed, Leonberger would be the frontrunner. If for any reason my plan to get a GSD in about a year don't work out, I may look at Leonberger breeders...

Re RAISED FOOD STANDS

This is very interesting - I was under the impression that the latest research suggested it's better not to feed from raised stands...?

If I'm wrong, I hope someone will feel free to correct me