Contents
The exact formula: how to convert a dog’s age into a human one
Unfortunately, pets age much faster than we do. Scientists have come up with several ways to understand how old your dog is when you compare it to a human.
Method 1: primitive
The easiest way to convert a dog’s age to a “human” scale is to multiply the dog’s age by 7. This formula was derived from the assumption that dogs live on average 10 years, and humans – 70.
In fact, everything is a little more complicated. If in relation to a small dog the formula X * 7 is still relatively correct, then it would be wrong to apply it to large dogs. For example: the dog is 5 years old. If you follow the formula, then the dog is 35 years old. The very prime of life, the peak of form. Small – yes, that’s about it, they begin to age closer to 10 years. Medium-sized dogs become elderly after 7 years of age.
However, large dogs that are 5-6 years old can already be considered elderly. They need special attention: arthritis, vision and hearing problems may begin. Starting from this age, you need to regularly visit the veterinarian, take tests in order to correct possible age-related changes in time.
Method 2: complex
The creators of this method took the matter very seriously: they examined more than a hundred dogs aged 4 to 14 years, analyzing changes in their DNA. To make the sample more reliable, they focused on only one breed – Labradors. Therefore, it is logical to assume that the method will definitely work only for large breed dogs.
In order to use the formula, you need to be able to solve logarithms. At school we were all taught to do this, but someone forgot, and someone never learned this wisdom. In general, the formula is: 16 * ln (dog age) + 31.
If we translate the dog’s age into human according to this formula, it turns out that a one-year-old dog is a 31-year-old man, a five-year-old is equal to a man at the age of 56,8 years, 7 dog years is 62,1 human, and a 12-year-old dog is is like a 70-year-old man.
Method 3: depending on the size
According to the American Veterinary Association, a dog’s first year of life is 15 human. And there is no difference depending on the size of the dog. Dogs of all breeds under the age of five mature at approximately the same rate. But after that differences begin to appear: the larger the dog, the faster it ages.
Experienced veterinarians can determine the age of a dog without even knowing its biography – by the teeth. At 8 weeks, the puppy already has all milk teeth, and at 7 months – permanent. At 1 – 2 years old, the teeth begin to fade, and the back teeth may turn yellow. At 3 – 5 years old, tartar may appear on the dog’s teeth, the canines begin to grind. At the age of 5 to 10 years, tooth wear becomes more noticeable, various diseases appear. And by the age of 10 – 15, a lot of tartar is formed, and some teeth may already fall out. By the way, this is one of the reasons why dogs need to brush their teeth.