A new research study has revealed which dog breeds have the longest and shortest life expectancy in the UK.
According to the research – which has been conducted by the Royal Veterinary College, and is an analysis based on a random sample of 30,563 dogs from 18 different breeds and crossbreeds that died between 1 January 2016 and 31 July 2020 – Jack Russell Terriers have been found to live longer than any other breed, while French Bulldogs have the lowest life expectancy.
Jack Russell Terriers had the greatest life expectancy at 12.7 years, which was closely followed by Yorkshire Terriers at 12.5 years, and Border Collies at 12.1 years.
Springer Spaniels are next at 11.9 years, and crossbred rounds out the top five with 11.8 years.
On the flip side, four flat-faced dog breeds were found to have the shortest life expectancy in the UK, with French Bulldogs expected to live only 4.5 years, followed by English Bulldogs at 7.4 years, Pugs at 7.65 years, and American Bulldogs at 7.8 years.
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🐕 New research from our @VetCompass programme now enables owners to predict the remaining life expectancy of their dog from different ages, with results broken down by breed and gender to make these as useful as possible for owners of many breeds.
— Royal Veterinary College (RVC) (@RoyalVetCollege) April 28, 2022
As well as the differences in breed, the new research also found that there was a difference between the life expectancies of male and female dogs – with males living four months less on average.
And in both male and female dogs, neutered dogs were found to have a longer life expectancy than their non-neutered counterparts.
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Life expectancy was previously calculated using only the average age of death of dogs overall or for a particular breed, but researchers at the Royal Veterinary College say that this latest study is the most accurate data, as they used life tables to allow owners to estimate accurately how much longer their pet dog may live.
Life tables are tools that list the remaining life expectancy and probability of death across a range of age groups in any given population.
A new study has revealed which dog breeds have the longest and shortest life expectancy in the UK / Credit: Flickr | Giorgio Trovato (via Unsplash)
Speaking on the findings of the study, Dr Dan O’Neil – Associate Professor in Companion Animal Epidemiology at the Royal Veterinary College, and co-author of the paper – said: “Dogs have helped so many humans get through loneliness and isolation of the COVID pandemic.
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“These new VetCompass Life tables enable owners to now estimate how much longer they can benefit from these dogs.”
Dr Justine Shotton, President at the British Veterinary Association – also added that the lower life expectancy of some of the flat-faced breeds that appeared at the bottom end of the list, may encourage people to consider “health over looks”.
Manc music legends James announced MASSIVE hometown show
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester music legends James have just revealed a massive hometown show here in the city centre as part of a landmark domestic arena tour.
Daisy bucket hats at the ready.
James is arguably the epitome of what it is to be the understated, underdog British band; they’ve gone about the business of making quality music somewhat quietly for several decades now, but they’ve had a fresh wave of interest over the past year or so
Having opened up for the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s comeback shows, not to mention playing multiple big festival slots in recent months alone, they’ve now announced a huge run of UK arena shows – and nowhere does a James crowd quite like us Mancs.
Details have been announced for our 2026 UK arena tour, and we’re delighted to be joined by very special guests @dovesmusicblog with tickets going on general sale this Friday at 9:30am. Access the ticket pre-sale on Wednesday via our official store: https://t.co/DwpGrAUESZ NBL x pic.twitter.com/A4CWVpCooL
Announced as part of the celebrations around their Nothing But Love ‘best of’ LP, which pulls tracks from James’ whopping 18 studio albums, the new run of UK arena shows in 2026 follows on from numerous noteworthy shows this calendar year.
In addition to the aforementioned outdoor gigs, like their stunning sold-out night at The Piece Hall in Halifax – not too far from frontman Tim Booth’s hometown in Yorkshire – the indie veterans also celebrated a huge landmark in 2025.
Surpassing the milestone of 40 years as a band, with a lineup that’s remained largely intact and only really grown in terms of live session players and touring bandmates.
The new “definitive” greatest hits record also includes two brand-new songs in ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’, both of which are produced by Leo Abrahams, who worked with the band on their long-awaited number one album Yummy in 2024 – a feat loooong overdue if you ask us.
As evidenced by the sheer amount of new material they continue to put out and the almost non-stop touring, they remain one of the most prolific artists in the country. FACT.
You can see the rest of James’ upcoming tour dates, including a healthy number of Northern stops in the likes of Liverpool, Leeds and more.
James UK arena tour dates 2026
Fri 2 Birmingham Utilita Arena
Sat 4 Leeds First Direct Bank Arena
Tues 7 Aberdeen P&J Live
Wed 8 Glasgow OVO Hydro
Fri 10 Newcastle Utilita Arena
Sat 11 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Mon 13 Cardiff Utilita Arena
Tues 14 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Fri 17 London The O2
Sat 18 Manchester Co-op Live
With James returning to Manchester for their Co-op Live arena debut next April, along with a sensational support slot from fellow local legends, Doves (I know, how lucky are you lot?!), you can bank on this one selling out quickly.
General admission goes on sale this Friday, 10 October at 9:30am, so you’d better be ready to grab yours in a flash.
You can find the ticket link HERE, and we’ll see you in the crowd for a good ol’ singalong.
Featured Images — Ehud Lazin/Press shots (supplied)
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Electronic icons Kraftwerk announce first Manchester gig since 2017
Danny Jones
Pioneering German band Kraftwerk have announced their first UK tour since 2017, with fans having to wait almost a decade for another Manchester gig.
Thankfully, they’ll be heading back down the Autobahn and across the channel for a return to our shores soon enough with a long-awaited list of British and Irish live dates.
Kraftwerk remains one of the most groundbreaking groups in the electronic scene to this day, having paved the way for generations of new artists to keep experimenting with the genre in the 50+ years since their formation.
Heading back to Manchester early next year, die-hards will no doubt snap these tickets faster than you can say ‘Das Model’.
For anyone unaware of these veritable legends of electronica and the world of alternative/Euro-synth pop, Kraftwerk formed all the way back in 1970 and went on to shape the modern music industry, bridging the gap between music and the digital age.
Best known for tracks like ‘Computer Love’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Pocket Calculator’ and the aforementioned on named after the national motorway network, they spearheaded futurism in the musical landscape from the outset.
It seems only fitting, therefore, that their upcoming highly anticipated return to the UK comes as part of their ‘Multimedia’ tour.
While they have played a number of live shows all over the globe this year, including an extensive run in the US, next spring will be our domestic visit from Kraftwerk in nine long years.
Credit: Press shot (supplied)
You can see the full list of UK and Ireland tour dates – including a handful of Northern gigs – down below:
Spanning a total of 15 UK dates, as you can see, there will also be tickets to see Kraftwerk nearby in the likes of Liverpool and with our mates over in Sheffield.
Kraftwerk legend Ralf Hütter famously played a set inside our city’s velodrome at the National Cycling Centre for Manchester International Festival (MIF) back in 2009, and has collaborated with the event on multiple ocassions.
In fact, that very performance was seen as a turning point for MIF, so the Manc Kraftwerk connection speaks for itself; O2 members can obviously get pre-sale, but general admission tickets go live from 9am this Friday, 10 October.
Emily Sergeant -
29th April 2022 
