The historical lifespan of golden retrievers and other popular breeds is nearly 1/2 what it used to be a few decades ago. Half! I blame the food. We used to live near a famous-brand dogfood factory and they took in all the expired meat from local grocery stores and threw them into their mixers with the styrofoam and plastic still on it! Also: carrageenan is a carcinogen for dogs, but used as a filler/thickener in mist foods. Canola oil depleted the vitamins, which were added anyway and not natural. We fed our dogs raw food diets. Shiloh lived to 18 1/2, healthy until the end. Bodhi was 14, but a larger breed. It’s all about the food. Photo: Bodhi at 14.