How old is my dog in human years?

That’s a question most of Pawrents ask themselves: how old is my dog in Human years?

A dog year equals X Human years:

Most of the time, you’re going to hear that a dog year equals 7 Human years.

But it’s not as simple as that!

You have to consider the size and the breed. A chihuahua doesn’t age the same way as a Great Pyrenees or a German shepherd.

According to scientific studies, larger breeds tend to age faster than smaller breeds. Here’s an article about one of the studies: INSIDE SCIENCE.

Dog age chart

This chart shows you how to calculate your dog’s age.

Of course, factors like the breed, the environment, the diet and healthcare play a big role.

Short snouts breeds have more health risks than others, for example.

A bit more complicated than multiplying by 7, right? And that gap between big and small dogs is shocking after they turn 6.

This chart shows how important it is to keep in mind that dog age differently and that we need to pay attention to the signs, sometimes subtle, that our dog is aging.

Having a healthy aging dog

We should be taking care of our dog’s health at every age, but senior dogs deserve a special attention.

Regular check-ups with the vet help monitor your dog’s health and make sure everything is going well.

It’s not because your dog is old that we have to just accept helplessly that he’s limping, fat or grumpy. We need to make sure we do our best to provide them the attention they need.

Especially nowadays, with all the progress made in that field and the easy access to services like chiropractor, special diet, natural treatments for pain…

I’ll talk more about aging dogs in another article.

Calculate your dog’s age in human years

I’m pretty sure you already had an idea of how old is your dog.

Now that you’ve checked the chart, were you right or far from the truth?

Let me know in the comments!