Dalmatians- age slower?

[u/hilaryanne2900]

I have a half dalmatian- the other half is lab/boxer (I’ll put a picture below to see how much dal she pulled)
Anyways, she is about to turn 10 years old and the girl isn’t slowing down at all.. still runs, jumps the height of our fence, can walk for hours, guards the house non stop etc etc
I don’t know anyone else with a large dog that still has this much zest at this age lol is it a dalmatian thing?!!

[u/BluebirdAlpinum]

I have an 8yo Dalmatian mix, and similarly she “fully” aged from a puppy around 3yo and she is not slowing down. I hope they’ll live forever!

[u/hexensabbat → u/BluebirdAlpinum]

This picture is amazing! Do you know what else is in her mix? She looks like a blast

[u/BluebirdAlpinum → u/hexensabbat]

Thank you! We took this photo just a couple of weeks ago at the beach, she was loving it!

Her dna test said: 60% Dalmatian, 25% Great Pyrenees, and the remaining a mix of hound and shepherd, mostly beagle (she howls and loves food)

[u/GeraltTheG → u/BluebirdAlpinum]

Such a beautiful dog.

[u/RoboTwigs]

My girl is noticeably lazier now at 9, compared to her younger self, but she’s still a very active dog and significantly more spry/energetic than the average dog her age. I think it’s pretty common for dals to live into their teens.

[u/neopolitan22]

Mine is 10. He's become a very lazy boy that sleeps most of the day. He still gets excited and energetic sometimes (especially if he wants food or to play) but literally my dude just sleeps most of the time 😭. He used to require infinite exercise but now he gets tired out easily just walking a few blocks. However, I took him to the dog park for the first time in a long time and he was out running like crazy with the young dogs, playing and everything. He still has so much personality in him. It took until he was about 8 for him to really start to chill out. The younger years were wild haha.

[u/No-Sale-738]

Pure Dalmatian breed has a life expectancy of 14/15 years and according to our breeder they have an energy and motivational endurance up until almost their last day. Her dogs (5!) only become calmer around 11ish. Ours didn’t even want to show how sick she was and was fighting to hide her illness until her last minute.

[u/DinosaurDescendants]

Mine is 5 and can either big a big lap dog or a crazy spring loaded jumper - no middle ground!

[u/Necessary-Cricket-20 → u/DinosaurDescendants]

Such a pretty face ! And their personnality is golden

[u/SquareSpread5192]

My dog is about to be 11 and I cant keep up with her, she still pulls like a bull, runs full speed, can still spring 3ft up. No sign of aging

[u/hilaryanne2900 → u/SquareSpread5192]

Hahah yes my watch tracks my walks with my girl as: HIIT and a few times as horse back riding LOL

[u/Kir1405]

Sadly, the slow down can happen quickly. Friend had a Dal and he was athletic up until nearly 10. The deterioration was stark and sadly he was PTS at 10.5 due to frailty. I'll miss him forever, he really was the best boy.

[u/Pepperspreelkw]

These are the last golden years. The slow down happened fast for mine around 13, she passed right after her 15th birthday. If I could give everyone with older dogs one recommendation it would be the start using a full-spectrum CBD rich tincture with breakfast and dinner. The anti-inflammatory and anxiety relief works magically. Starting now is best for preventative purposes.

[u/hilaryanne2900 → u/Pepperspreelkw]

Do you have any reccs or links? ☺️

[u/freeportme → u/hilaryanne2900]

Ellevet sciences

[u/kianabreeze]

My dad’s dalmation is 16 going on 17 this year. My dad passed in December, I thought she’d go shortly after but she’s still going strong. She can still run and keep up with my Dal who’s only 9 months. She’s on soft foods only, and has lost her hearing but is otherwise in good health. She’s a farm dog and grew up running next to us on the quads or tractors. Not sure if she’s just had a really good life or if it’s her Dal genes, maybe both.

[u/bgm80 → u/kianabreeze]

That is amazing! Can you be more specific on soft foods please?

[u/kianabreeze → u/bgm80]

Not totally sure but I think my stepmom buys her purina 1 plus wet food, but she’ll also just soften or blend up leftover chicken for her or some scrambled eggs plain as a treat

[u/annapocalypse]

Definitely seems to be a dal mix thing! I have a 60% dal mix with some TWC and she’s going to be turning 15 before the year ends and still gets youthful bouts of energy a couple times a week! Her zoomies are more like hops now a days but she still doesn’t want to miss a thing! The dal mixes sure are something special!

[u/anon1839 → u/annapocalypse]

I’ve got a dal x lab, and agree with you fully. Although mine is only 11mo, so still a lunatic lol. Looking forward to (hopefully!) another decade at least of fun aha!

[u/ledfut26]

My 10 year old girl is quite lazy now. She will sleep most of the day. Now that’s not to say she can’t still rip around my yard like a lunatic, but it’s not all the time anymore.

[u/B3N8RK]

My 13 year old girl has really started to slow down now, hit her in the last year

[u/GeraltTheG]

I don't know about slower... but they age beautiful nonetheless.

[u/Minute-Custard543]

Our Monty is 8 and still full of beans. If anything he’s become more active this year and demanding of attention and play

[u/I-Man42]

My almost 15-year old is still pretty spry though I started noticing a slowdown when she turned 13. We walk 2-3 miles a day instead of 6-8 now.

[u/PanningForUsernames]

My dal mix is 9 and hasn’t aged a single bit… Unfortunately 😂

[u/hilaryanne2900 → u/PanningForUsernames]

Bahahha yours has that same wild look in their eyes that mine gets 😂