What is the age of a dog by human standards - calculation method, table

How to calculate a dog's age

There are many methods that allow you to find out the age of a four-legged pet in relation to a human one. But they are all quite arbitrary, since the life expectancy of a pet largely depends on the breed, nutrition, physical activity, the presence of chronic or congenital diseases, and the attitude of the owner.

Up to 2 years, veterinarians use the following coefficients to calculate the ratio of dog and human age:

• small breeds – 1;12;
• medium breeds – 1:10;
• large pets – 1:9.

A one-year-old dog, especially small breeds, is an adult and can control its actions; for comparison, according to human criteria, this age corresponds to 10–13 years.

Table of the age ratio of people and dogs without taking into account breed

What affects a dog's lifespan?

If you look at the statistics, you can still conclude that the average life expectancy of dogs depends on the breed. In addition, there are a number of factors that directly increase or shorten the time allotted to the pet.

Genetics

It’s not for nothing that a puppy is purchased with all the accompanying documents and a detailed pedigree. Already at this stage it will be clear how long the ancestors of this dog lived, you can take this indicator as a starting point.

Even the gender of the animal affects longevity. The lifespan of males is less than that of females.

Nutrition and care

A diet compiled with all the requirements and taking into account the age and weight of the pet will have a much more positive effect on its health and years than an illiterately selected menu.

Proper nutrition is the key to healthy digestion. The optimal combination of fats, proteins, carbohydrates and all other important nutritional elements gives the dog excellent health and good muscle development.

It is better to feed your pet with specially selected ready-made food or natural food, but you should not mix these two types of food. Because if mixed, it will be very difficult to calculate the nutritional value of the product

The food must not only have a suitable composition, but also be suitable specifically for this dog: this already takes into account an adult or a puppy, an elderly dog, a pregnant or lactating female, a neutered male. These are completely different feed nutrients.

Nutritional proportions are strictly observed: underfeeding will result in exhaustion and there will be no immunity. Overfeeding will also not do anything good: a lazy animal will not receive the necessary physical activity, to say nothing of the internal organs suffering from obesity, especially the heart.

There should also be a healthy attitude towards care. If your four-legged friend is regularly walked, she develops well physically. Outdoor training greatly affects the dog's health, which prolongs life.

Moderate physical activity, regular exercise and walks in the fresh air are necessary for the healthy development of a pet, which means they prolong its life.

Stress

Everyone experiences stress, not just people. Animals are also susceptible to stressful situations, which affects their health. The owner’s task will not be to create stress, but to reduce its amount.

The pet perceives a walk on a short leash as a concern for the owner, and also begins to worry and worry. When a person lets go of the leash, the dog relaxes, which means everything is fine.

You shouldn’t jerk your four-legged friend on walks in an attempt to stop him from sniffing the world around him. How else will the dog know everything and receive information about what is going on around him?

A dog becomes stressed if left in a car for more than 10 minutes. Especially, you should not do this on hot days.

The dog will also experience stress if it is abused: during training it is better to use reward methods. Physical education creates fear, and fear does not lengthen the life of a pet.

Surrounding ecology and setting

The environment is not only home conditions and ecological habitat, it is life itself. What is the chance of a stray dog ​​dying under a car, in a fight for a female, or suffering from human “kindness”? After all, a dog with the care of its owner definitely has more opportunities to live its life happily. You can also catch any infection on the street, but a pet that is vaccinated and treated for parasites will bypass this fate.

Weather conditions cause more problems for homeless animals, but those dogs that live in an enclosure can still suffer from serious bad weather. All this is entirely on the conscience of the owner.

In any case, you need to understand that the health of our little brothers depends on us: we give them water, and how clean it will be depends on the ecology of the region.

We recommend reading: To what age do dogs grow: stages of physiological development

Separately, it is worth mentioning the cleanliness of the walking area: it cannot be an area near a garbage dump.

Diseases

If a person does not visit doctors and neglects his illnesses, then the disease can significantly shorten his stay on earth. Animals are not much different from people in this: if a dog is sick, it is taken to the veterinarian.

A veterinarian helps to notice signs of diseases in the early stages, because hidden ailments may not be immediately visible to the untrained eye. The sooner treatment is started, the longer the dog will live, to the delight of its owners.

Factors that influence the longevity of dogs include timely vaccination. This is a series of vaccinations against plague, rabies and other diseases. It is important not to miss booster vaccinations as scheduled.

Upbringing

Raising a pet affects the number of years you live. If you do not pay enough attention to him, he begins to feel sad, yearning and experience a number of negative emotions. They will naturally lead to a stressful state, and we have already talked about stress earlier.

Educational moments include walking and jogging. This is both the physical and moral health of the dog, a charge of positive emotions.

Education and training regulate the pet’s activity, which also keeps it in excellent physical shape and allows it to remain cheerful. Against the background of such an educational moment, the dog’s sudden blues will be noticeable. Then you will need to immediately contact a veterinarian.

Education directly affects the safety of the animal. If a dog does not respond to his owner’s commands, then on the street he will easily eat poisoned bait and nothing will stop him. So obedience is taught for a reason. The same goes for behavior: if your dog bites another person, it can lead to such serious legal proceedings that the dog will have to be put down.

Frequent childbirth

The more often a bitch gives birth, the faster her life shortens. Yes, an animal can physically bear several litters a year, but bearing offspring still draws juices from the body of your beloved dog.

Pregnancy after pregnancy lowers immunity, the body wears out in any case, including the deterioration of the condition of bones, the gastrointestinal tract and other health indicators.

A nulliparous bitch or one that has given birth only 2-3 times will, in any case, live longer than a dog of the same breed that constantly gives birth.

If you do not plan to breed puppies, it is better to protect your beloved dog from pregnancy. It is up to the owner to decide whether to sterilize or not. This issue is worth considering in detail, since on the one hand it will help prolong the pet’s life, but there is also a risk of harming its health. In general, dogs with their gonads removed sometimes develop cancer or autoimmune diseases.

Stages of development - features

A pet goes through the same stages in its development as humans - toddlerhood, late childhood, early and late puberty, growing up, maturity, old age. But, unlike people, the formation of basic character traits and behavior is completed at 2 years.

How to determine the age of a four-legged pet:

1. Milk teeth - begin to erupt in puppies older than 1 month, fall out at 4 months, the change of dentition ends at approximately 8 months.
2. Molars – up to 2 years of age, dogs have sharp, intact teeth. The lower jaw wears down at the age of 4–6 years; after 7 years, teeth begin to fall out.
3. Coat – young pets have a soft coat that is evenly colored. After 6 years, the coat becomes coarser and gray hairs can be seen.
4. Eyes – in puppies, the eyes have a bright, uniform color, gradually the organs of vision become less transparent, and regular discharge is observed.
5. Activity - up to six months, puppies are in motion almost all the time; with age, active games and long walks attract dogs less and less.

According to veterinary statistics, the average age of domestic dogs is 12–13 years.

Cheat sheet for foundling owners

If a new family member is picked up on the street or taken from a shelter, then his age will be determined by the condition of his teeth, eyes and internal organs, as well as the appearance of his skin and fur. Often you cannot do without x-rays and ultrasound, so only a veterinarian will provide accurate data. If a trip to the veterinary clinic is not possible in the coming days, then pay attention to:

1. Elasticity and color of wool. Loose skin and gray hair are characteristic of older animals.
2. Eyes. The older the dog, the worse his vision and the cloudier his pupils.
3. Cleanliness and wear of teeth. Up to 2 months, puppies have milk teeth with snow-white enamel. By 7 months they change to native ones, but do not lose their whiteness. Darkening of the enamel and yellowness indicate that the animal is older than 7 months, but younger than 2 years. From the age of 2 the first tartar appears, and after 5 years there is noticeable wear on the surface of the teeth. The absence of some teeth and an abundance of tartar is observed in dogs over 10 years old.

Please note that the presented pattern directly depends on lifestyle. If a dog has lived on the street for a long time, then the condition of his teeth will be worse than that of a four-legged pupil from a good shelter.

Lebeau's theory

In the middle of the last century, a veterinarian from France A. Lebo developed his theory to calculate the age of a dog in relation to a human, which is based on the accelerated development of four-legged pets in puppyhood. In his calculations, he compared the period of puberty, maturity and average life expectancy in pets and people.

According to his calculations, the development of a dog at 12 months is the same as that of a teenager at 14–15 years old, 2 years correspond to 23–25 years of a person, each subsequent year of an animal’s life is equal to 4–5 human years. But in his calculations the doctor did not take into account the size of the pets.

Separation of dogs depending on body weight

How to find out how old a dog is by human standards?

To compare the age of an animal and a person, you need to use a mathematical coefficient (from 4 to 14). The maximum value of this variable is set by the first year of a dog's life. After this, its coefficient begins to gradually decrease.

On average, 12 months of a dog's life is equal to 7 years lived by a human (you can use a dog age calculator to calculate). Animal owners should remember that the calculations made are conditional. From a biological point of view, humans and dogs belong to different species, the lifespan of which can vary within fairly wide limits.

Kleiber's Law

Klaiber put forward the theory that the rate of metabolic processes in a dog’s body is directly related to its weight - the larger the animal, the longer it will live. But in practice, everything happens the other way around: small dogs live about 4–5.5 years longer than representatives of large and giant breeds.

The rule of correlating the number of years lived with the heart rate does not work on dogs either - small dogs have a faster heart beat, but they live longer. The weight of an adult mastiff is almost 40 times the body weight of a Chihuahua, according to Kleiber's theory, a large dog should live longer, but in fact, a small dog will live 1.5 times longer.

Scientists have not yet been able to identify the exact reason for this discrepancy, but many veterinarians believe that this is due to some hormonal characteristics of the dog’s body. Representatives of small breeds produce more of a specific hormone that slows down the aging process than large pets, and the concentration of growth hormone is lower. All this leads to the fact that small dogs are less likely to suffer from age-related diseases, which also has a positive effect on the total number of years they live.

The ratio of 78 human years and the age of small dogs and large pets

For all other warm-blooded animals, Kleiber's law works - large individuals live much longer than small representatives of the fauna.

A dog's life in periods

The average lifespan of dogs is 15 years - everyone knows this. Experienced dog breeders know that this figure is not entirely correct, since each animal has its own physiological characteristics due to its breed, congenital or acquired diseases, and even character.

Dog handlers agree on one thing - small breed dogs live longer, and it is normal for them to celebrate their 15th and even 17th birthday. Dogs of large breeds cross the threshold of old age at 10 years, but not far away - turning thirteen is considered a rarity for them.

Therefore, dividing a dog’s life into periods is also conditional: a Jack Russell at 9 years old is still full of energy, and a Tibetan mastiff is already old. But an approximate description of the stages of maturation of dogs

will be useful to every owner:

1. Infancy

   , or neonatal period - these are puppies up to 1 month. They begin to see, hear and try to walk.

2. Youth

   lasts up to 1.5-2 years. This period is characterized by increased activity and accelerated development of the body and brain. This is the easiest time to train a dog, although you will have to overcome its teenage stubbornness.

3. Maturity

   in different breeds it is determined until approximately 8 years of age. This is the time of greatest physical strength and good health. From 2 to 8 years of age, females and males are allowed to be bred; in addition, service dogs do their job best in this period of life.

4. Old age

   occurs between 8 and 10 years. Identifying the signs of aging is not so difficult: health problems appear, activity decreases, fangs wear down, and gray hair appears in the coat. In small breeds this process is slower, in large breeds it is faster.

The owner needs to select food, plan walks and activity of the dog in accordance with its age. Otherwise, the dog's health will deteriorate sharply.

Dog age table

Until about 3.5–4 years of age, dogs of all breeds develop equally, but then large pets begin to age rapidly. Therefore, modern gerontologists have concluded that the life expectancy of pets directly depends on its weight and size.

Table of the ratio of canine and human age indicators, depending on the size of the pet

Dogs, especially large ones, do not live long, very rarely reaching 15 years of age, which corresponds to 100 human years. How long a pet will live largely depends on the owner. To prolong the life of a pet, it is necessary to feed it only high-quality products, timely vaccinations, antiparasitic treatment, more walks, and regular visits to the veterinarian.

Long-lived dogs: records, breeds

Long-lived dog breeds:

• Yorkshire Terriers live up to 14-16 years.
• Poodles live up to 12-15 years.
• The Maltese Bichon can live up to 12-14 years.
• The Miniature Schnauzer lives up to 14 years.
• The lifespan of a Boston Terrier is 14 years.
• Shih Tzus live to be 11-14 years old.
• Labradors live up to 10-12 years.
• Chihuahuas can live 14-18 years.
• Pugs can live up to 14-15 years.

Long-lived dogs: Yorkshire Terrier

Long-lived dogs: Maltese Bichon

Long-lived dogs: Boston Terrier

One of the longest-living record holders is the dog Blue (owner - Lev Ball). The dog spent his entire life in the Australian city of Rochester and helped shepherds. The dog lived to be 28 years and 11 months.

1 year of life 7 years of life 70 years and 1950 a one-year-old dog was offered second year of life spent year four-legged

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Existing methods for calculating the age of an animal

Since 1950, veterinarians began using another method for determining a dog's age by human standards, developed by their French colleague LeBeau. For a long time he observed the development of animals and compared it with the development of the human body. Age began to be determined by several coefficients that correspond to the periods of life of people and animals.

You can convert the time spent by a dog by calculating the established coefficients. To accurately determine the age, dog handler Gino Pugnetti compiled a table.

This table will help determine the age match between an animal and a person in order to better understand the dog’s behavior and its psycho-emotional state.

The dog reaches sexual maturity at one and a half years

There is another way to calculate how old a dog is in relation to a person. It was developed by the Swiss biologist Kleiber back in 1930. According to his discovery, how long a dog will live when recalculated to human age can be determined by the weight of the animal, which must be multiplied by the coefficient established by the scientist.

Note! According to his theory, the smaller the dog, the longer it will live.

Small dog breeds include:

• Jack Russell Terrier.
• Yorkshire Terrier or Yorkie.
• Dachshund
• Toy Terrier.

Large breeds include:

• Bulldog.
• Labrador Retriever.
• German Shepherd.

How long a pet’s life will last relative to people depends on the breed:

• a Welsh Corgi who has lived for 13 years is equivalent in condition to a 68-year-old person;
• a Chihuahua can live a maximum of 14 years, which corresponds to 72 years of human age;
• A 15-year-old Pomeranian can be considered equal to a 76-year-old man;
• a miniature poodle lives a maximum of 15 years, that is, 76 human years;
• a boxer can live 10.5, or 60 years by human standards;
• the King Charles Spaniel reaches the age of 10, which is equal to the condition of a 60-year-old person;
• The Airedale terrier lives only 10 years, that is, 60 human years;
• the Dogue de Bordeaux can live from 7 to 8 dog years, which is equal to 56-64 human years;
• the Bernese Mountain Dog can live no more than 8 years, which is equal to 64 human years;
• The Irish Wolfhound will live a maximum of 7 years, which would be counted as 56 human years.

Important! Answering the question why there are such differences in the lives of dogs depending on their breed, veterinarians came to the unanimous opinion that it all depends on the level of the hormone that slows down the aging of the body.

Simple doesn't mean right

This approach to calculating a dog's age is considered simplified, but in fact it is incorrect. If a child under two years old knows practically nothing, then a dog at that age is completely independent and can perform its guard, hunting or shepherding functions. No matter how hard a person tries, he will reach this level of development at best at 15–16.

This is explained by the fact that development processes in humans and dogs occur at different speeds and at different times. But this does not mean that some stage can be skipped. Both will go through growing up, maturity and old age. Therefore, a comparison of the years lived will be quite appropriate. However, the relationship will not be linear. It is a more complex quantity.

Plus, in order to derive the most accurate coefficient for matching the age of a dog and a person, you also need to take into account the breed of the dog. The development of larger individuals proceeds much faster than small ones. A Shepherd or Labrador will have a shorter lifespan than small dogs such as Pekingese and Yorkies. And even larger individuals, such as Alabai and St. Bernard, live very short.

Simplified technique

How is age calculated in dogs?

The simplest method at the moment is considered to be multiplying the dog’s age value by 7. It was invented in the 30s of the last century. This calculation is considered an average and often shows an incorrect fit. After all, the life expectancy of a four-legged friend will be influenced by breed, weight, nutrition, climatic conditions, the presence of diseases and much more. Despite its complete inaccuracy, this method is widely used among dog owners due to its simplicity.

Why do small dogs live longer than large dogs?

This phenomenon still puzzles scientists, and they have yet to explain the relationship between a dog's body weight and lifespan. Generally speaking, large mammals like elephants and whales tend to live longer than small ones like mice. So why do small dogs live longer than large dogs?

Some researchers believe that the lives of large dogs are accelerating over time. Scientists have concluded that every 2 kg of body weight reduces a dog's potential life expectancy by about 1 month.

One likely reason for this is that larger dogs may become more vulnerable to age-related diseases more quickly, and that the increased growth of larger dogs may lead to a higher likelihood of abnormal cell growth and death from cancer. The researchers plan to conduct additional future large-scale experiments to better explain the relationship between size and mortality.