How Old is Your Dog?
Dog Years to Human Years Converter
| Dog's Age | Human Years |
|---|---|
| years | years |
Enter your dog's age (from 1 to 16) to get the human years equivalent. The calculation is made for a "medium" dog (21 to 50 pounds) using the AKC recommendation.
How old is your dog in human years? We used to simply multiply a dog’s age by seven. However, this calculation isn’t so cut-and-dried. See our dog age calculator and chart to discover your dog’s age.
The Easy Calculation of Dog’s Age
The easy way to calculate a dog’s age is to take 1 dog year and multiple it by 7 years. This is based on an assumption that dogs live to about 10 and humans live to about 70, on average.
For example, a dog which is 5 years old is 35 “human years.” This isn’t a bad way to go from a health perspective because it helps us humans realize that our dogs aren’t the same as children.
As pets get older, they need extra care and attention. Small dogs are generally considered “senior” at seven years of age. Larger breeds are often senior when they are 5 to 6 years of age.
Be aware of arthritis and related discomfort or irritability, weight control, sight and hearing issues, and any changes in behavior or activity which could indicate more serious issues.
Visit your vet for exams regularly; adjustments can be made to give your pets a more comfortable, longer, healthier life.
The More Accurate Calculation of Dog Years
Statistics from pet-insurance companies, breed-club surveys, and veterinary hospitals have helped us learn more about how dogs age.
Contrary to common belief, dogs do not age at a rate of 7 human years for each year in dog years.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association:
- The first year of a medium-sized dog’s life is equal to approximately 15 years of a human’s life.
- The second year of a dog’s life equals about nine years for a human.
- And after that, every human year equals approximately four or five years for a dog.
In other words, the number of human years piles onto a dog’s life more quickly during the dog’s rapid growth to maturity.
Dog Age Calculator: Dog Years to Human Years
If we think like a dog, here’s how a dog’s age compares to a human’s age! Note that this calculator is for a medium size breed of dog. Consult the chart below to see the differences between different size dogs (small, medium, large, giant). It should give you a good sense of where your dog is in the development/aging process.
|
Age of Dog (dog’s age according to the calendar) |
Dog’s Age in Human Years (dog’s age in equivalent human years, based on stage of breed size) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | Medium | Large | Giant | |
| 1 year | 15 | 15 | 15 | 12 |
| 2 years | 24 | 24 | 24 | 22 |
| 3 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 31 |
| 4 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 38 |
| 5 | 36 | 36 | 36 | 45 |
| 6 | 40 | 42 | 45 | 49 |
| 7 | 44 | 47 | 50 | 56 |
| 8 | 48 | 51 | 55 | 64 |
| 9 | 52 | 56 | 61 | 71 |
| 10 | 56 | 60 | 66 | 79 |
| 11 | 60 | 65 | 72 | 86 |
| 12 | 64 | 69 | 77 | 93 |
| 13 | 68 | 74 | 82 | 100 |
| 14 | 72 | 78 | 88 | 107 |
| 15 | 76 | 83 | 93 | 114 |
| 16 | 80 | 87 | 99 | 121 |
Source: AKC, “How to Calculate Dog Years to Human Years”
Related Articles
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Also, check our home remedies for your pet’s arthritis.
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Me best friend ,mate and loving companion igot him (jak)when he was 7mths old and now he s 13 an a half I lost him to a tumor on his spleen they told me he wouldn't survive the op we had so much fun together weather it was fishing in the boat or touring the north lsland and part of the south island hewas spoilt in lots of ways with ice reams fresh fish dinners and even salmon plus surlion steak I miss him heaps he was my little boy and I just hope that when the time comes we will.be together again forever jak was a foxy
My puggle was less than 2 months from his 18th birthday. Such a precious boy. I knew I would outlive him, but still hard. He was with me as long as a son now going off to college.
I have an 8 year old Chewini i had her since a little after i was born and I'm not sure what I will do when she dies too
I have the two most amazing brother and sister pitty puppies and it’s nice to know that since they are 2 human years old they are actually twenty somethings and not teenagers in dog years. At first I was sad because I realized that not only had we not saved up for their college fund but now we entirely missed that chance for them. No late night study groups in the dorm, or frat parties, no lifelong friendships formed through shared struggles and now no career opportunities :( I’m a little relieved however because honestly I don’t want them to get any smarter and I don’t want them to leave home for college. Not to mention the fact that we just dodged a financial bullet. We’ve decided that we’re going to spend their college fund on a fur family vacation celebrating the fact that they’re only going to be aging at a pace of 5 years to 1 instead of the 7 years we had been expecting. Here’s to old age and the joy of getting there together!!!
We had to put our little dog down, he was nearly 21. He was a rescued dog and we had him for over 18 years. Very sad and miss him terribly
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