Most of us have always heard that dogs age 7 human years to their 1 dog year. www.hillspet.com (the creator of Hill’s Science Diet Dog and Cat food) tells us that this old wives-tail is far from the truth. As a matter of fact, the age of a dog varies largely throughout it’s whole life.
In the first few years of life, small breed dogs age faster than large breed dogs, finally catching-up with each other around their second birthday. A large variation doesn’t occur until around the age of 5 years old, when a large breed dog is 43 human years and a small breed dog is only 37 human years. Just as they age different, they reach the age of maturity differently as well. A small breed dog is considered mature at age 7, being 46 human years. A large breed dog is considered mature at age 5, being 43 human years.
This chart will help you determine the approximate age of your dog. (The group of numbers should be read as follows… First number= Dog years. Second number= Small/Medium breed dog in human years. Third number= Large breed dog in human years).
3 mo, 6y, 3y
6 mo, 12y, 8y
1y, 17y, 12y
2y, 23y, 24y
3y, 27y, 30y
4y 32y, 37y
5y, 37y, 43y
6y, 41y, 50y
7y, 46y, 57y
8y, 50y, 63y
9y, 55y, 70y
10y, 59y, 77y
11y, 64y, 83y
12y, 68y, 90y
13y, 73y, 97y
14y, 78y
15y, 82y
16y, 87y
17y, 92y
18y, 96y
Source= www.hillspet.com
