The lifespan of a dog is not as long as the lifespan of a human (about 1/7). That’s why the calculation for
dog age differs from how we check how old we are.
Many pet owners wonder: “how old is my dog?” We need a method to switch the age of the dog to human years. In this article, we share with you both the traditional and the new ways to do this. Please scroll down and have a look!
6 Life Stages of a Dog
The complete life span of dog must come through 6 different stages below.
#1: Puppy
Most pet owners consider their dog’s puppies, even when they are already 2 years old. However, a dog is not a puppy anymore if it is above 6 months old.
During this period, a puppy grows quickly, absorbs a lot of nutrients, loses teeth, and increases its size.
#2: Junior
After the puppy period, until the dog is completely 1 year old, your pet is considered a junior. The pets seem to behave naughty like a puppy usually does.
During this period, dogs develop their sexual characteristics quickly. As they are 9 months old, most dogs start reaching reproductive maturity.
#3: Adult
It may sound weird, but your dog is already an adult right after its first birthday. After this age, the dog has strong teeth and physical status. That’s why it can eat adult food and even make new puppies. Adult dogs will gain a lot of weight during this time.
#4: Mature
If the metabolism starts becoming slower, the mature period of the dog life span has begun. Your dog may become obese and fat very quickly.
#5: Senior
Senior is about the last 1/4 of the dog lifespan. During this time, dogs cannot eat or absorb a lot of nutrients as before. It will also become less active.
#6: Geriatric
Geriatric is the final period of the lifespan of dog. The pet will suffer from a lot of terrible diseases and physical problems at this time. We can mention limited mobility, dog dementia, body pain, etc.
Dog Age Calculator – 2 Ways
Here are the human years to dog year calculators. You can refer to it to check the age of your pet.
The Traditional Method
Typically, people use a formula to count the dog’s age, which is:
Age (Dog Year) = Age (Human Year) * 7
For example, if your dog has lived for 12 years since it was born, the age in dog year will be 12 * 7, which is 84.
If you know the dog’s age (Human Year), you can easily switch your dog’s age to human years by dividing it by 7.
The New Method
The traditional dog age calculator does not seem to work perfectly. For example, a 1-year-old dog is considered an adult. But in dog year, it is just 7 years old. Therefore, a study from the University of California, San Diego, in 2019 has released a new method to check the dog age, which suits the 6 stages of dog life.
The formula is then fixed a little bit. The dog years calculator uses the natural logarithm of the age of the dog in human years, multiplied by 16. The total result will then be added to 31. The sum is the correct age.
For example, a 2-year-old dog (Human Year) will be ln(2) * 16 +31, about 42 years old. You do the reverse calculation to switch dog years to human years.
How Long Can A Dog Live?
A whole lifespan dog age depends on its size. Each pet will have its dog age limit.
Here is a dog age chart for the average lifespan based on the size:
Maximum 20 years (1040 weeks)
10 – 20 years (520 – 1040 weeks)
7 – 8 years (364 – 416 weeks)
Note: the above dog age calculator weeks are calculated in human years.
Other Ways to Check The Dog’s Age
Use this scale to measure your dog’s age.
Check The Teeth Quality
The teeth quality does not tell you the exact age of your pet. But you can guess which stage your dog is at.
Puppies have all baby teeth at 6 weeks old. The baby incisors will lose. There will be no more baby teeth after the dog reaches 6 months old.
The teeth of the dog in its first 12 months are pretty white. The color will be darker after the first year.
When the age is 3 to 4 your dog’s teeth will be half worn. But at the age of 7 years, the dog’s teeth will become smooth.
Color of The Coat
You can see whether the dog is young or old by checking its coat color. The dog has smooth hair of its color as it is young. But the color turns gray or yellow after a while since it becomes older.
Please note that this method does not have high accuracy. Many young dogs may have gray color due to genetic problems in their body.
Activity and Flexibility
Dogs are a type of active animal. They are always full of energy. As the dogs are young, they move around and play a lot. Since they become old, the joints become less flexible, and the dogs are not so active anymore. They lie down on their bed the entire day. If you notice these signs, your dog probably has turned to the last period of its lifespan.
Body Pain
Dogs are strong. But like human-being, the body of dogs will become older and weaker. At high age, your dogs usually suffer from body pain as they move around.
Eyes
The eyes of the dog also tell whether it is old or not. Cloudy eyes are a symptom of dog aging known as lenticular sclerosis.
Many people misunderstand cataracts and lenticular sclerosis. While cataracts can happen in young dogs due to genetic causes, cloudy eyes don’t. Also, cataracts may affect vision, while lenticular sclerosis creates no harmful impact on the dog.
We have given you a dog year calculator. From now on, you can check the age of your beloved pet by yourself.
To summarize, there are 2 primary methods you can use to check the age, which are:
Age (Dog Year) = Age (Human Year) * 7
and
Age in Dog Year = Ln(Age in Human Year) * 16 + 31
Many health issues occur when the dog becomes old. You need to understand the age of your dog so that you can make suitable plans for treating your pet on time. Your dog can live longer with your attention and care.
For more questions about the dog age calculator, please get in touch with us. We will answer you with every knowledge we have.
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