Does One Dog Year Equal Seven Human Years?

Does One Dog Year Equal Seven Human Years?

Different Sized Dogs Have Different Life Expectancies

dog years

 

Does one dog year equal seven human years? Well, that depends.

We have all heard this rule of thumb. And figuring out how many ‘people’ years our dog may be, many humans find it easier to understand what to expect from their dogs if they might compare human years to dog years. It helps us understand what the health status might be as their dog ages.

As a point of reference this is helpful, yet it truly is more complex and complicated to compare human years to dog years. Dogs do in fact age differently than humans. Size, genetic disposition, and illnesses or injuries play a sizable role in a dog’s aging process.

Size plays a large part in aging. At one year old, most small and medium sized dogs are fully grown. At one year, a human is still an infant. At seven years, a dog is approaching senior status while a human is still a child.

At 2 years, consider your dog similar to a 25 year old human. From there add 5-7 years for each and every year thereafter.

Dog Years

Always keep in mind that different sized dogs have different life expectancies! Larger dogs tend to live shorter lives than smaller dogs.

A tip to improve the quality of life for our dogs as they age is:

An estimated 10 million dogs in the United States have been diagnosed with arthritis, and 31 percent of dog owners say that bone and joint problems are an issue for their pets.

 

See our articles on Canine Arthritis for helpful hints to ease the pain.

Dog Years