Since dogs life spans are usually limited
to 15-20 years it should
be enough to say that a 2 year old dog is young, a 9 year old dog
is middle aged, and a 14 year old dog is old. etc. However,
for some
reason humans feel the need to anthropomorphize every thing
that relates to animals.
The classic "one dog year
equals seven human years"
formula has somehow crept into our popular culture.
It is a very poor method for estimating your dogs "human age".
It is only accurate in the middle of the spectrum and does not
take into account the upper and lower ends of the scale, For example:
a 1 year old dog has reached sexual maturity and for all intents
and purposes has reached its greatest height and length at this
age. No one
would claim that a 7 year old child has reached sexual maturity and
has stopped growing. At the other end of the scale you must consider
the dogs ROUTINELY live past the age of 15, . That means in human
terms most everyone would be living well into their hundreds! In the
case of the worlds oldest dog (29) he would be 203!
There is a better method
Use this formula:
The first year of a dog's life=15 years
the second year of a dog's life = 10 years
every year there after is equal to 3 "Human
Years"
Example:
A ten year old dog would be:
15 + 10 + (3x8)=49!
A 15 years old go would be:
15 + 10 + (3x13)=64!
Happy Calculating!
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