What is the life expectancy of my border collie?

I’d say given his good health status maybe several more, 2–3.
14–15 is getting pretty darn old for a dog.

The thing is, just like us people the aging process can remain stable and then progress quickly as age advances.

There’s always a jumping off place.

My cat is 14, he has changed noticeably in just this last year, developing a thyroid condition and getting rather dotty too. lol

I hope he’s around another year or more, of course, but most of my cats have gone between 15–16 on average, dogs usually live a little less long that cats.

I hope Michael is around for a long time to come, it’s hard losing our little buds.

:-(

@john65pennington I hope you have him for many, many more years.

My Maggie is beyong the old.Most border collies, maybe 15 and a half at best.
I have a australian shepherd mix, she is 16 and 3 months and needs some care, but TODAY she is awesome.

There is a stone called infinite you can put in their water bowl, which helps greatly. She has had 1 at least 7 years..

@john65pennington my beautiful girl was a black and white rough collie and she was almost 21 when she had to be put to sleep, she had kidney problems and after that things went pretty fast. I got to hold her in my arms at the end so she was with her mum. it broke my heart and i still miss her every day. She was my teddy bear because she loved being hugged. You enjoy every day with your baby John, I hope you have as long with Michael as I did with my beautiful girl. hugs xx
ps: my girl had arthritis too and I was told to give her cod liver oil, one capsule a day. I chose to buy human ones because if they’re not good enough for human consumption they aren’t good enough for my babies. well I bought seven seas ones. What a difference it made. Gave her the spring in her step back for the last 4 years or so she was with us. sending hugs for Michael <hugs>

Now John, that depends on a lot of things, but your lucky in that you have a breed with one of the longer life expectancies.
The average life span of a pet BC tends to be around 14 to 15 years.
Working BC’s often live longer and 16 to 17 yrs tends to be average.
Oldest I have met have been 21 and 22 years. Met more than one 21 yr old. Only ones I have ever known above 18 have been working BC’s that have spent most of their lives keeping very fit and mentally stimulated.
General health and hereditary issues aside, if you keep your dog fit and mentally stimulate you will give them a reason to live longer and animals sometimes die younger simply because their quality of life is poor and they just can’t be bothered to fight the factors that affect us all as we get older and give up.
The arthritis is a potential problem to keeping him fit so try and address that. It can’t be ‘cured’ but the symptoms can be alleviated in a variety of ways.
Drugs can be problematic and should be applied as advised by a vet only if other options run out and then at the lowest dose possible to be effective. Drugs tend to have side effects.
Dietary supplements can act as anti inflamatories and lubricants to help ease joints and prevent pain or soreness. Various products are available singly, or in combinations, of blends of Glucosamine, Chondroitin, Omega 3 rich fish oils. Hydrolysed Collagen, Devils Claw, all of which can help joint issues.
The longer you can keep your dog active and fit the longer and better life he could expect.
If matters progress to the point supplements are no longer doing the job, a combination of prescribed anti inflamatories and supplements should continue to help.
Keep him mentally stimulated by interaction and games will also give him a reason to get up every morning with joy in his heart.
Collies like to use their brains so keep training the old dog new tricks – anything that is interactive and requires discipline – obedience – scent discrimination – things you can do together.
Look carefully at diet and adjust the food you are giving to suit the dogs age. Lower protien diets help older dogs live longer.
Reduce stress by keeping him steady and calm and avoid dumping your own issues on his doorstep (dogs pick up a lot from their owners state of mind so be calm and steady around him).
One other thing to bear in mind – dogs, like humans can suffer from cognative loss when aging. Even dementia. Be patient if he starts to get confused and apply the same rules you would want applied to yourself. If he doesn’t seem to understand something try explaining it another way. If confusion turns towards stress, stop and do something else.
Always make sure he is sure you are happy when you’ve both achieved something because, being a Border Collie, making you happy will be one of his priorities.
In this way you can set up the scenario for a longer life and – as said before – general health and hereditary issues aside – you could be together for a lot longer.
I really hope you are.

We have had a number of Collies over the years and they have all reached at least 15 years old. I hope you have the same luck with you boy :)

“About 12–15 years” Source

BorderCollieMan, if i could give you 100 Great Answers, i would. i learned so much from your answer and i will make a copy of your answer and abide by it for Michael. thank you, sir you have made my day and a difference in the way i see and will take care of Michael.