Lab Life Expectency. More health risks for chocolate labs. On average, a labrador retriever will have a life span of about 12 to 12 1/2 years.
As a member of the sporting group of dogs, the black labrador retriever has an average life span of about 10 to 12 years. Some labradors have a life span of about 19 years. Healthy labradors typically live to between 12 and 14 years of age.