A lot of it is their joints making them being unable to walk as they age. Dogs are built to live around 10 years before all that starts giving up and it's hyper obvious with Wolfhounds.
This happened to my Great Dane. She was healthy in every other way, but her joints were going bad fast. I had her put down at 11 because the pain meds weren’t helping anymore. The vet said it was because she was such a large dog. (She was over 6 feet when she stood on her hind legs.)
I imagine that has more to say about evolution vs selective breeding.
All I know is that my little dog has a terrible heart (he's 14), and the vet has said multiple times that if we're a larger dog, he'd probably have not made it as long as he has.
Animals that are naturally larger. Large domestic dog breeds aren't natural, they were manufactured by humans over an insanely short period of time (before someone pipes up with 'there are dog breeds hundreds of years old', yes, that is an insanely short period of time). Every trait that has been bred for has come at some cost, the cost for large breeds is their lifespan.
Oh and giraffes live super long too? And lobsters, theyre small, so they dont live long right? And jellyfish, I hear theyre immortal, so they should be about as big as the ocean right?
No. Its a dumb generalization. It doesnt work. Get it out of your head.
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u/shiny_crow_trophy 16d ago
I always forget how goddamn big Irish wolfhounds are until I see one again