How to calculate the age of a dog? How long do dogs live at home? dog to human age ratio

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

A dog is not just a friend of man. Its content is also a big responsibility. Therefore, caring owners sooner or later face the questions of what human age the pet corresponds to, what physical condition it is in, what factors can affect life expectancy and how to extend the life of a pet. In the article, we will look at how to calculate the age of a dog, how old a pet is considered a puppy, and what affects the life expectancy of a pet.

How to determine the age of a dog?

If the owners adopted a pet from the street or took it from a shelter, it is only natural that they wonder how the age of dogs is considered and want to know how long a four-legged friend lived. To determine it, first of all, you should examine the condition of the dog's teeth. At 10 years, a shortage is possibleparts of the teeth and the presence of large areas of tartar. To a greater extent, this depends on the standard of living of the dog, so for a more accurate result, the following factors should be analyzed:

1. Eye condition. With age, the white of the eye becomes cloudy, and vision weakens.
2. Appearance of wool. In a young dog, the coat is shiny, grows back quickly, the skin is taut. A mature animal has gray hair and sagging skin.
3. The state of the internal organs. It can only be determined by X-ray or ultrasound.

Why do I need to know the age of a dog?

To maintain a pet's he alth and prolong its life, it is important to know the dog's age. It is necessary for veterinarians for timely vaccination. For a young animal, the procedure must be performed annually, then the frequency decreases, since immunity has already been formed, and the injection can become an unbearable burden on the pet's body.

You need to calculate the age of the dog in order to know when to spay the dog. Experts recommend performing the operation for animals no older than 9 years of age, regardless of the history of childbirth. Surgical intervention for older dogs in the future can cause neoplasms. Just like early sterilization before 5 months of age, it seriously harms a fragile body.

For males, castration is carried out. The owners themselves determine when and whether manipulation is necessary. The main thing here is he althpet. Sometimes an adult and he althy dog tolerates surgery better than a young and sick animal. Castration is desirable to do during the maturation of the dog. After seven years, even if the dog is he althy, it is dangerous to do so.

The easiest way

The easiest way to calculate the age of an animal relative to a human is to equate one dog year to seven human years. This technique was widely used in the middle of the last century at the suggestion of veterinarians, who proceeded from the average life expectancy of a person. The age of a dog is considered as follows: 7 human years are equal to 10 dog years. Due to the simplicity of calculations, this method has become widespread, however, it does not take into account many social issues.

A person for almost a quarter or a third of his life is under the care of his parents, he studies, learns the rules of behavior in the family and society. The animal does not have such an opportunity. Thus, one year old puppy corresponds to fifteen years old human.

In the table you can see the age of the dogs translated into human.

Lebeau's theory

French veterinarian A. Lebo in 1953 put forward a theory after studying the general stages of growth and development of the human and dog body. It takes into account the active period of growth and development of the puppy. Lebeau compared puberty, age of maturity and life expectancy.

According to the data given in theory, the first year of a dog's life is equal to 15years of a person's life. Next, you can calculate the age of the dogs like this:

• A two-year-old animal corresponds to a human at the age of 24, therefore, the second year is already equal to 9 human years;
• every next living year corresponds to four human years.

It is worth noting that this theory does not take into account the individual characteristics of the development of the dog, depending on the size of the breed.

Kleiber's Law

According to Klaiber's law, the metabolic rate in relation to the weight of the animal indicates that large animals should live longer. However, an attempt to link the dependence of age and the metabolic law of “three-quarters” turned out to be a failure. Moreover, in dogs there is an inverse relationship: representatives of small breeds live much longer. In fairness, it is important to note that Klaiber's law works on other warm-blooded representatives of the animal world, ranging in size from a mouse to an elephant.

The ratio of human and canine age directly depends on the breed of the animal. You can calculate the age of a dog like this: 78-year-old human age corresponds to: 10-year-old giant breed dogs, 12-year-old large breed representatives, 14-year-old dogs of medium breeds and 15-16-year-old small-breed pets. This phenomenon has been observed in mice, horses and even humans, however, it is most pronounced in dogs.

Consequently, the general rule for the animal world, linking life expectancy with the heartbeat of an animal, does not apply here either. According to him, the heartmakes 1 billion contractions in a lifetime. Small breeds have a higher heart rate and live longer. So, the weight of a mastiff is 80 kg, which is 40 times the weight of a chihuahua, respectively, according to Kleiber's law, he should live 2.5 times longer. In reality, lives 1.5 times less. Most likely, the whole point is that the concentration of IGF released throughout life slows down the natural process of cell death, which is lower in small breed dogs. As a result, their aging is slowed down, and the risks of age-related diseases are reduced.

Determination of age by teeth and body condition

Veterinarians and dog breeders are able to determine the age of the dog by the teeth, its appearance.

Main factors for determining age by teeth:

• teeth erupt by 1.5-2 months of age;
• baby teeth begin to change to permanent teeth from 4 months;
• tooth changes stop at 8 months of age;
• when the dog reaches two years old, bone formations begin to wear down;
• at the age of 7, the effects of grinding can be observed on each tooth;
• At 9-10 years of age, teeth begin to fall out.

Main factors for determining age by body condition:

• in an animal of age, the clarity of the gaze fades;
• young dogs are active, the physique is toned, the muscles are pronounced;
• Dogs at an early age have a shiny, silky and soft to the touch coat.

Iftake into account all these factors, you can determine the approximate age of the pet without the help of a specialist. For example, a 15-year-old dog won't chase you and fetch a stick, won't be able to chew bones, and will have vision problems.

Until what age is a dog considered a puppy?

There are no clear time limits. They determine up to what point at what age the dog is a puppy, and from what point it is an adult dog. It all depends on a number of indicators and factors: breed, growing conditions, genetics, nutritional quality, the presence or absence of training. On average, in most animals, the main period of physical development and psycho-emotional development occurs in the first year of life.

There are several stages in the development of dogs:

1. Sucking. Lasts from the moment of birth until the mother stops breastfeeding the puppy.
2. Puppy. This period lasts from one and a half to six months. Equivalent to a child of 10 years of age.
3. Young growth. At this time, the dog experiences hormonal changes that last from six to 12 months. In a year, a dog's age corresponds to 15 years of a human.
4. Ripening. This period of life lasts from one to three years, the appearance of the dog is formed and the character is manifested. At three years, a dog's age is equivalent to 28-30 human years.
5. Further, the dog is considered a sexually mature individual. At 10 years old, an animal can be considered a “beginning pensioner”, at 20 years old andolder is an old man.

How long do dogs live

At home, small breed dogs live up to 20 years, medium breeds up to 15 years, large individuals up to 8-10 years. It is also worth considering the breed and risk area, since bred dogs are predisposed to certain pathologies.

Almost 10 years ago, the British Veterinary Academy conducted an interesting study. His results were very impressive and showed that dogs visually (muzzle, body size) resembling wolves live longer than animals bred by selection.

Slightly less than half of pets die of old age, with only 8% of this figure reaching the age of fifteen. The cause of death in 64% of dogs is various diseases or euthanasia. Among the diseases leading to death, cancer ranks first, followed by pathologies of the cardiovascular system.