What are Dog Years?

Measuring the ‘dog year’ is an attempt to give an age to our ‘canine friends’ based on our own lifespan. In other words, it is a way to check the age difference between humans and dogs, as if the latter will live as long as humans do. Its a common fact that dogs age more quickly than humans and don’t stick around their owners for long.

One the most common way for calculating a pet dog’s age in dog years is to multiply it by seven (also called the Rule of Paw). For instance, the age of a one-year-old Miniature Poodle in dog years would be 7 and that of a 2-year-old Great Dane would be 14. This system assumes an average lifespan of humans of 70 years and for dogs 10 years.

However, using this calculation has many flaws, as a dog’s lifespan varies depending on its size and breed.It’s very likely that the one dog year equals seven human years method was created to simply show that dogs age faster than humans. Today, scientists have developed a more precise method of calculating a dog’s age to human years.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, studied the way human and dog DNA changes over time looking at patterns called methyl groups in humans and Labrador Retrievers. From this research, they concluded that you can calculate a dog’s age to human years by multiplying the natural logarithm of the dog’s age by 16 and adding 31 (human aage = 16ln (dog age) + 31)

Another easier way to estimate a dog’s age is — the first year of a dog’s life is equal to 15 human years; the second year of a dog’s life is equal to about nine human years; each additional year is equal to about four or five human years.

Why the new methods of dog years calculation are accurate? Because, small, medium, and large dogs age pretty similarly until they reach about age six. Then, larger dogs age much faster in comparison to smaller and medium ones. By seven years old, a small dog (Dachshund) will be six human years younger than a large breed (Airedale Terrier).

Scientists are not completely sure why smaller dogs age slower and live longer than larger ones. Some researchers hypothesise that it’s because larger dogs are affected by age-related diseases more quickly. Similarly, larger dogs progress from puppyhood to adulthood much faster, making abnormal cell growth, cancer, and other diseases more likely.