How to Determine a Dog's Age in Human Years

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By Melissa Maroff, eHow Contributing Writer

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Determine a Dog's Age in Human Years

It has always been commonly believed that each year of a dog's life is equivalent to seven in human years. However, this isn't exactly accurate, since a one-year-old dog can give birth, whereas a seven-year-old child cannot. And how would you explain the world's oldest living dog on record making it to 29? (That would be 203 in human years!) Then, of course, there's your 11-year-old dog that sure seems frisky for 77. That is why veterinarians have determined that 77 is the "new 60" and have come up with a more accurate way to calculate a dog's age in human years. The following steps will show you how.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

A calculator (depending on how good at math you are)

Step 1

If a dog is a year old, that is the equivalent of 15 in human years (not seven as we always thought).
Step 2

When a dog reaches the age of two, he is already approximately 24 in human years (not 14 as commonly believed). But not to worry, read on.
Step 3

Add four years to every year after age two. For example, a three-year-old dog is equivalent to 28 in human years; a four-year-old is 32, a five-year-old, 36, a six-year-old, 40--and so on.
Step 4

Take the dog's size into consideration, since smaller dogs generally have longer life spans than larger dogs, with toy breeds tending to live the longest and giant breeds, the shortest. For example, according to the above method, a six-year-old dog is considered 40 in human years, when in fact a larger dog may actually be closer to 42. However, veterinarians consider this a good general chart to follow for all dogs.

Tips & Warnings

The average canine life span is about 12 years, but varies by breed.
Most dogs are considered seniors when they reach the age of seven, however it's generally a year or two older for toy or smaller breeds and a year or two younger when a giant breed becomes a senior.
A border collie in Britain lived to be 27 on a vegan diet, although there is no conclusive evidence that a vegan diet will make a dog live longer.

Comments

scales said

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on 25/11/2009 Enjoyed the article,and other comments.My corgi-mix is 12(human years) and by your count would be 64? Which is close to my guess of 61,either way she's an ol' gal.But still acting like a puppy and her prima-donna self!I for one appreciate your informative articles!And know I have no where near the knowledge or rudeness to question it!5*

redar said

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on 25/11/2009 Umm very interesting. I enjoyed your 5* article, this is all new to me and my dog is now 40 and has a white beird.

diggitydogg said

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on 03/11/2009 It is clear to anyone who knows that 9 + 15 = 24, and then to add 4 years for each year after age 2, as it all says in the article. Hopefully, that's most people!

tysonthebulldog said

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on 25/10/2009 I just saw on the Today show that the first year is 15 to humans, then for the second yr add 9 yrs, then from there on out add 4 yrs per year. So they got 24 from adding the 9...which should have been more clear. Guess there is a new way to figure out your dogs age! Hope this helps!

diggitydogg said

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on 24/10/2009 If each dog year was equivalent to 15 human years, it would make a 15-year-old dog 225. I guess you're just gonna have to read past Step 2 rather than me correct it, right?