Dog Age Calculator
Table of contents
Dog year calculator principlesHow to count dog yearsLabrador research is here!Things to considerIf you ever wondered if your dog is still a rebellious teenager or a respectable pensioner, this dog age calculator might be right up your alley. It is a tool that lets you express dog age in human years for any dog breed. (Spoiler alert: a year in your buddy's life is not equivalent to seven human years.) Thanks to this calculator, you will learn how to count dog years in no time!
More fond of felines? In that case, check out the cat age calculator!
Dog year calculator principles
Unfortunately, there is no one simple formula to allow you to convert between dog age and human years quickly. Puppies grow up faster when they're still young, and they age slower once they reach maturity. Hence, the first year in a dog's life is always equivalent to 15 human years, but one year is only like 4 or 5 human years for older dogs.
The second thing that you have to consider is that small breeds tend to live longer (and hence age slower in the big picture). In general, dog breeds can be divided into three types that age at different speeds:
- Small: 20 lbs or less (when fully grown);
- Medium: 21-50 lbs; and
- Large: above 50 lbs.
Our dog age calculator takes into account only dogs 19 years old and younger. We know that older dogs have made the Guinness World Records, but they were exceptions - regular dogs don't live that long.
🔎 You can check your dog's life expectancy in our dog life expectancy calculator.
How to count dog years
- Begin by researching your puppy's breed. If it's a mongrel, you don't need to know the exact breed, but you should know how big will the dog grow.
- Choose whether your dog is small, medium, or large. Pick the appropriate type from the list.
- Enter the current or expected age into the dog age calculator.
- You will obtain a result - your dog's age in human years.
Labrador research is here!
It turns out that academics are also interested in the phenomenon of dogs aging! Together with a team of colleagues, Trey Ideker from the University of California, San Diego, led thorough research on 104 labradors. (Imagine how much fun that was!) In November 2019, they published a scientifically-proven formula for Labrador age in their paper,
. The dog age formula is as follows:human years = 16 × ln(dog years) + 31
Let's keep our fingers crossed for more research on different breeds of dogs!
Things to consider
Think about a regular check-up visit to your doctor. How often do you go to get yourself examined? Every two years? Hold on though, two years of a dog's life are like 24 human years. Can you imagine going to see a doctor only once during that time?
Remember to take your dog to a veterinarian much more frequently than you go to a doctor. Twice a year is an absolute minimum!
Like walking your puppy? Take a look at the walking calorie calculator to find out how many calories you burn in the meantime!
🐶 Why not check out these other dog-related calculators?