![]() Still, the information above doesn’t tell the whole story. In all, the age at which breeds generally become geriatric (or required special care due to old age), averages to 11 human years for small dogs, 10 years for medium dogs, 8 years for large dogs, and 7 years for giant breeds. Animals with lower levels of the hormone tend to have slower rates of aging, as well as reduced risks of age-related diseases. Evolutionary biologist Cornelia Kraus believes that this may have something to do with the growth hormone IGF-1, which small dogs, like toy poodles, have much lower natural concentrations of than larger dogs. Most research insinuates that giant breed dogs age more rapidly than other breeds. ![]() Small = less than 20 lbs Medium = 21-50 lbs Large = more than 50 pounds Priceonomics, data via here and here. Each ages at a slightly different pace, and carries a different dog to human year ratio: Afghan hounds, Irish setters), and giant breeds (over 90 pounds ex. labrador retrievers, bulldogs), large dogs (51-90 pounds ex. chihuahuas, toy poodles), medium dogs (21-50 pound ex. Waters clarifies, “Eight years in one breed is not equivalent to eight years in another.”ĭogs can be categorized into four breed sizes: Small dogs (20 pounds or less ex. So, what is the proper way to translate human years to “dog years”? It largely depends on the breed and size of the dog in question. Subsequent studies sought to disaggregate this data further, by size, weight, and breed.Īpproximate dog age versus human age correlation, allowing for differing sizes of dog data via Wikipedia Lebeau’s eventual conclusion: The age of a dog of one year is equivalent to a human being a 15 years a dog of two years to a human of 24 years and from the age of two years, each year of a dog’s life is equal to four human years. Lebeau categorized life-stage markers shared by humans and dogs - puberty, adulthood, and maximum lifespan - and established, for the first time, that dogs age 15 to 20 times faster than a human in their first year of life, then, as they age, gradually slow to a ratio of one to five (dog to human) years: “It was a way to encourage owners to bring in their pets at least once a year.”Īs this “rule of thumb” gained traction as a truth, researchers and gerontologists began to question its validity. “My guess is it was a marketing ploy,” Kansas State vet William Fortney speculates in the WSJ. From there, veterinarians likely espoused the “seven-year rule” as truth. Georges Buffon, an 18th-century French naturalist, had more or less the same theory: Humans live to 90 or 100 years, and dogs to 10 or 12.Īt some point in the 1950s, a rhetoric emerged that humans generally live 70 years, and dogs 10 simple and easy translate, this became a “ratio” of sorts for dog owners to calculate their pets’ human ages. An Judgment Day calculation inscribed at Westminster Abbey in 1268 declared a ratio of 9 to 1 - that is, humans live to age 81, and dogs to age 9. The origins of the “seven year myth” are shrouded in mystery. In reality, contextualizing a dog’s age is a bit more complex. ![]() While the “seven-year rule” is nothing more than mythology, dog owners (and media outlets) continue to use it for its simplicity - it’s convenient, after all, to have a “one size fits all” method of understanding our pets’ equivalent stages of life. In 2008, when the world’s oldest reported dog - a 29-year-old labrador named Bella - passed away, Daily Mail wasted no time in sensationalizing the news: “The World’s Oldest Dog Dies at the Age of 203 (in Canine Years).” But in calculating the canine’s age, the paper relied on falsified “fact” that’s regurgitated more than chew toys: The notion that one “human” year is equal to seven “dog” years.Īs The Wall Street Journal’s Carl Balik points out, if this ratio had any truth to it, humans would be capable of reproducing by age seven, and high percentages of us would live to be 150.
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