Do You own a Dog? If your doggo was a hooman, how old he would be?
If you ever owned a dog, you must be familiar with 1 equals 7 rule! One year of a Dog’s life equals to 7 Years of Human Life. It’s Not True!
Only if the Math was that Simple! Turns out, the age of Dog depends on various other factors, for instance, Breed and Size.
Modern Rule To Convert Dog Years to Human Age
This Modern rule will give you a more accurate idea of your Dogg’s age in Human Years.
The First Year of your Furry Friend equals 15 Human Years.
Year 2 of your Doggo equals 9 Human Years
After that Each Dog year will be approx 4-5 Human Years
So, if a Human Baby and a Puppy are born on the same day, after 3 Years the Human Baby will be 3 Year Old while the Doggo will be Approx. 28-29 Year Old.
Quite Overwhelming to see your Doggo age so Fast, isn’t?
Size and Breed also Play a Major Role in the Dog’s Age. Small breed dogs such as Chihuahua, Havanese, etc. tend to live longer than larger breeds.
What to Do if I adopted a Dog from a Shelter?
Shelter dogs don’t often come with a lot of History which makes estimating their age challenging.
If you have adopted a dog from the shelter and don’t know his age, don’t worry! Here are some of the Clues to Look For:
1. Look for Teeth
An easy way to guess your doggo’s age is by Looking at his teeth. However, this guideline varies from dog to dog and also depends on the dog oral hygiene.
- By 8 weeks: All Baby teeth are visible (these are sharp, you can easily feel them)
- Up to 7 months: White and Clean Permanent teeth are in
- Approx 1-2 years: Teeth become Big, less shiner and the back teeth may become yellowish.
- Between 3-5 years: Visible tartar buildup on all teeth and some tooth wear.
- 5-10 years: Visible signs of Tooth wear on several teeth and disease on a few
- Between 10-15 years: Missing teeth, Tartar buildup, signs of tooth wear a disease
These signs of aging vary from breed to breed and also depends on the lifestyle.
2. Look For Signs of Graying
Look for gray hairs around the muzzle. You cannot exactly guess the age of the dog but Gray hairs mean that the Dog is a Mature Adult.
3. Look into Your Dog’s Eyes
Well, you can see Love, that’s good! Do you see Cloudiness? As a dog ages, the lens of his eyes begins to change. An adult, mid-aged dog has cloudy lenses. You can see it if you look closely into his eyes.
4. Study Your Dog’s Behavior
Dogs of Age 1-2 Years are more energetic, active, and playful as compared to Adult Dogs of age 3-5 Years and above. As your doggo ages, his activity level begins to decline. Adult dogs and Seniors have trouble running, climbing stairs, and jumping up and down. They might spend most of their time sleeping.
However, Lethargy can also be a sign of Diabetes in Dogs, make sure you check the other Symptoms of Diabetes in dogs.
5. How Fit is Your Doggo!
Young Doggos are Fit, active, lean, and slim but as they get older they tend to gain weight. They gain weight during middle age (5-8 Years) and start losing weight as they grow old (senior dogs are often very thin)
Senior dogs may also get arthritis, joint stiffness, and face mobility issues. Your vet can easily access this condition.
