Doggie lifespan and nutrition

[mkl]

Ok this might sound really stupid so bear with me

I was thinking today that maybe dogs have always had such a short lifespan because of all the crappy commercial dog foods with all those terrible preservatives and by-products. So do you think that feeding dogs better food allows them to have a longer life span?

 

[Mordy]

Genetics and other factors play a large role as well, not just nutrition. But so many common problems that people just accept in dogs (e.g. bad breath, dirty teetj, itching, body odor and so on) can be eliminated by feeding a better diet, and ultimately it does affect the dog's quality of life.