Im writing this while my GP mix puppy snores in my ear… in 36yrs ive had 5 dogs, all but this one have crossed that rainbow bridge and it makes me wonder. Why does polly the parrot get to live 80yrs just perched and echoing back things you say to it but the animal that would lay down its life for you only gets around +/- 10yrs? I know, kinda assholish but meh.
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Because they die.
I mean nobody went and designed it all this way.
In general, species of small mammal develop quickly die young and have a lot of children. While species of larger mammals develop slower, at fewer children, and live longer.
It’s too hot in most places. Higher temperature leads to longterm cell degradation and early death. Move to a real cold country.
For the same reason, we don’t live longer. Each species has basically its time limit on Earth set by the efficacy of the their DNA repair system.
I heard it was all the vaccines but i haven’t sat down to study this.
Because that’s how they evolved. There isn’t really a reason for why some things happen. Many are just a byproduct of evolution.
To remind us life is short. Make the most of it
Someone once told me is because they’re closer to God, and that’s why all dogs go to heaven. I’m not religious, but I always loved the notion.
The same person told me squirrel hell is dog heaven.
Because if they lived any longer, we couldn’t bear to lose them.
(not my quote, one I read about irish wolfhounds)
At the rate dogs get health issues, even if you could breed them to a maximum lifespan of 30 years or something they’d all die of cancer or liver failure before they hit that mark
…what’s GP?
Here’s my nostupidquestions submission, why do people assume everyone else knows what every abbreviation is?
We don’t understand aging enough yet to get why. I think once we cure aging we’ll understand why they age so fast compared to humans
Depending on the breed, the reality is that many dogs could live a lot longer than they do but due to shit breeding practices, they don’t.
If less emphasis was put on breed standards and more on longevity, we could easily have dogs living multiple decades.
Yall ready to admit we need to cure aging
Loyal, a biotech company is working on 2 drugs that will help dogs live longer. One is for larger dogs, the other for smaller ones. It is expected that they will add 1 year to a dog’s lifespan.
Still not long enough, but a step in the right direction.
DNA. Octopuses are one of the most intelligent species on earth and they only live 1-5 years. While Greenland Sharks are a massive solitary mouth that can live 250-500 years. Evolution favors those creatures best adapted to their environment.
So, animals that have short lifespans may have gotten that way due to a number of reasons. There are plenty of pressures that may lead to either outcome. A high number of threats and dangers might lead to fewer offspring being born due to being killed or prevented from reproducing. Naturally, then, the individuals that do produce many offspring quickly become successful. This may result in less emphasis on longevity if you can reproduce rapidly and in large numbers to offset the danger.
On the other hand, animals with longer lifespans often evolve under different pressures. In environments with fewer predators, stable resources, or complex social structures, there’s less urgency to reproduce quickly. Instead, natural selection favors traits like delayed reproduction, higher parental investment, and better survival mechanisms (e.g., stronger immune systems, efficient metabolism, or advanced problem-solving skills). These adaptations allow individuals to live longer, reproduce more strategically, and ensure the survival of their offspring. For example, elephants or whales invest years in raising a single calf, relying on their longevity to pass on their genes successfully.
Some of it comes down to breed and size of the dog. In general larger dogs have shorter lives, and smaller breeds live longer.
Dogs fuck more than parrots. They don’t need to live as long.
Mice have very short lives, but breed like crazy. They are one of the animals most riddled by cancer. In the wild they get killed, but lab rats almost alway die by cancer if the lab treatments dont kill them.
Fun fact, (female) tarantulas can live 20-25 years. Some even longer.
There was a female trapdoor spider here in Australia that lived 43 years.
Because God hates dogs and humans.
Chihuahuas regularly live to almost 20 years old! We have a Jack Russell x chihuahua with a life expectancy of 17. Cross breeds live much longer than pedigree
Quick heartbeat.
The slower the heartbeat – the longer the life.
Compare an elephant to a mouse (for example)
Relational observance of the unrelenting passage of time.
Same reason the brightest candles burn twice as fast.
And why do humans, the most destructive and violent species on Earth and the species responsible for the destruction of our planet and the extinction of many species, get about 100?
Honestly the generations of inbreeding humans oversought to make them into cuter variations or strong, protective, hard working family dogs is probably not doing them any favors
This is an uncharitable read on parrots, which often do get attached to their owners and do a hell of a lot more than perch (in fact any type of bird ought to have space to fly around).
So! Birds are the last living ancestors of the dinosaurs basically, and dinosaurs used to live a long time. Humans and dogs however (mammals) have a common ancestor that is theorized to be similar to a tree shrew. Regardless of how things shaped out (humans running the planet, etc), it stands that we Tree Shrew species were prayed upon over and over again over eons of evolution, and erm, generally speaking, there isn’t much selective pressure for a Long life span if your species’ primary focus is just staying alive long enough to pass on your genes.
Metabolism is the answer I got from my vet. This has a trickle down effect on everything from their normal temperature to how they digest food, how their brain functions, how their body produces chemicals/hormones and how they repair themselves.
Oh Lord, this one hits home. We have things called axions on our DNA. I might be wrong about the names. I am gonna keep going. They are erasures that get worn out every time they replicate. We all have them. That’s our time on Earth. If an animal gives birth to more than one animal, theie lives are shortened. It’s just written. I want it to be different. It just isn’t. It won’t ever be. IMO we just have to love them. I won’t be taking any questions. All my love
I get you. In a perfect world, we would get a dog as a child and that dog would follow us through our whole life, but that is not how it is.
Maybe dogs don’t live that long so we can learn something from them. I have had very good dogs. Some died while I had them, some I gave away for various reasons (truly wholesome), but I learned a lot from each of them.
They have a faster growth rate with leads to a faster death rate.
Generally there is a direct association between time to reach sexual maturity and life span. Like the Greenland shark doesn’t reach sexual maturity until 150 y/o and also has one of the longest life spans. Slow and steady..
Evolution doesnt strive for perfection or what’s most comfortable/convenient. The goal of evolution is to get you to live long enough to fuck and protect your offspring until they can survive on their own.
Because they’re too damn good for this world, and deserve better.
Dogs just aren’t long-lived animals. Wolves only live around 15 years in the best of conditions, and it’s more like 6-8 in the wild. They live dangerous and strenuous lives, reproduce quickly, and tend to die before age-related causes get to them. Most wolves will have already reproduced and died long before things like cardiovascular and urinary disease become an issue, so there’s very little evolutionary pressure towards longevity. Domestic dogs inherited that, and then we inbred them to high hell and gave them all sorts of health issues.
Other pets just have different biology. Wildcats are small and aren’t likely to be grievously injured by their own prey, so longevity actually benefits them. Birds are dinosaurs and just built different, but besides that they’re also very good at flying away from danger and not getting killed, so being able to age with very few complications is pretty useful.
I’ve asked myself that question many times. Doesn’t seem fair.
I’m so sorry for your losses. It does suck. Dogs are the best.
have you ever heard of the saying that God always get the good souls first?
I feel your pain and we don’t deserve the love and loyalty dogs give. I’m 39 and have lost three amazing dogs way to soon. My last was daisy, an amazing loving Chihuahua who thought she was a cat. Never barked, loved everyone and anyone. She found a stray black kitten about six years ago and raised it as her own.
Last month At the age of sixteen she lost her battle with cancer. Her cat son we named buddy still meows looking for her.
I get you. I’m in my 50’s and I’m on my 3rd dog. I had to wait til I left home to get one as my mum isn’t a fan.
1st good boy was with me from 16 til I was nearly 32. 2nd good boy was with me from 32 til I was 48. 3rd good boy is now 6, and his breed maxes out at 12. He already has a muzzle that’s going white.
I’m not sure I could do it all again. But I also know that I can’t live in a house without one because it wouldn’t feel like a home.
It just isn’t fair. I compensate by making sure my boys have the best treats, plenty of toys, the comfiest snoozing spots and all the love I can give.
So the animal’s life only has value equal to what it would do for YOU? A bird is just as valuable as a dog, it doesn’t matter if one would put it’s life at risk for you or not.
For a cute and not serious answer to this question – I remember reading a post on reddit that I wish I could find again because it has always stuck with me. It was about a kid pondering why dogs don’t live very long compared to humans.
It was something to the effect of, for humans it takes a long time to realize that the most important thing in life is to be a good person and spread love and positivity in the World. Dogs understand this quicker which is why they don’t need to stick around as long.
Bexause this way, the dog never has to know a life without you.
You we’re there when it was a newborn puppy, and you will be there holding his snowy muzzle when he goes to sleep for the last time. Hell never know a world without you.
We shoulder the grief so they don’t have to.
Crows, ravens, sharks and turtles live up to 200 years. Elephants live 60-80. Mice live 2 years. Each spechie has its own life expectancy.
My Beagle is 5 and a half now and I cant dare to think that he already has lived half his life
You can choose a breed that is short lived or long lived. Makes a big difference.
I’ve said this before: I believe they have perfected love and loyalty. Therefore, they don’t need as much time to fulfill their mission on this planet as we do. Most of us will never come close, even if we lived to be 300.
Why don’t we live longer? Polly the parrot gets as many years as I do? Fuck right off
So that we humans actually value them when we know they’re here for only a short while.
😔 I often think the same thing. Dogs who are man’s best friend only get so short a time but sea turtles can live for 100 plus years 😭 I can’t have a pet sea turtle to keep me company!! It just seems like a cruel joke that our animal best friend can’t accompany us through our whole/most of our life. 🥺
Apoptosis. Natural cell death.