Ask a hound owner how old their pet is and they might give you two act — Fluffy ’s " true " long time and her age in " dog long time . " The common way of thinking goes that because the life expectancy of an average - sized , medium Canis familiaris is about one - seventh that of a human , one human yr is equivalent to about seven class for frankfurter . By this amount , a 2 - yr - honest-to-god dog is really 14 , a 7 - class - old wienerwurst is 49 , and so on .
If this formula seems to simple to be dependable , that ’s because it is . The world is there ’s no easy trick that boil out the human - long time eq for all wienerwurst . think about your dog ’s age in human price is not only inaccurate , it can also be grievous when it forbid you from getting them the care they need based on which life stage they ’re at .
According to Jesse Grady , clinical instructor of veterinary medicinal drug at Mississippi State University , the best wayto key a firedog ’s age is to assort it into a family . The chart below take up data from the American Animal Hospital Association Canine Life Stages Guidelines [ PDF ] , and it ’s what veterinarians today use to treat their patients . This listing divide a blackguard ’s lifetime into six level : puppy , junior , grownup , mature , senior , and geriatric . And rate of growth looks a mess different in dog than it does in people . It takes a less than a year for a dog to attain the adult stage , and after that it takes nearly six yr for it to move on to the mature stage of its life history .
Even though the numbers above are more accurate than the seven - year rule , they still do n’t give to every dog . This chart was made with intermediate - sized dog in mind . The average life anticipation for a dog that size is 10 to 13 year . Small hound tend live longer , about 10 to 15 year on mediocre , with some stock reaching up toage 18 . A dog ’s wellness , weight , and breed are all factor that add to its single life-time anticipation .
These guidelines are n’t too helpful if you ’re the type of preferent proprietor who needs to know when exactly your weenie is entering its teen age , turning 21 , or reaching doggy retreat age . For a rough equivalent weight of your dog ’s eld in human years , see out the chart below , which breaks down " dog years " by sizing .
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