Dog years to humans11/7/2023 ![]() Of course these guidelines are augmented based on a physician’s or veterinarian’s examination of the human or animal patient.Īnd as is the case for people, your pet’s overall health status can influence their “real age” for better or for worse. ![]() ![]() An adult woman likely needs a regular mammogram, just like an adult cat needs annual intestinal parasite screenings. Just like a normal human toddler doesn’t need a colonoscopy, a normal puppy doesn’t need its thyroid levels checked. Physicians already apply this very concept to human age-specific health screenings. And that’s important because it suggests what life-stage-specific health care the animal might need to prolong not just its life, but also its quality of life. The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: AAFP-AAHA Feline Life Stage Guidelines (2010)įiguring out how old Buddy is in dog years or Fluffy is in cat years allows a veterinarian to determine their life-stage. Since most healthy cats are around the same size, there’s less variability in their age at each life-stage. In a similar manner, the joint American Association of Feline Practitioners-The American Animal Hospital Association Feline Life Stage Guidelines also divide cats into six categories: kitten, junior, prime, mature, senior and geriatric. The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association (2012) Lining up canine and human developmental milestones over the course of an average life expectancy can provide a rough comparison. If you’re determined to figure out if Max would be graduating from high school or preparing for retirement based on how many “dog years” he’s lived, these life stages can help. The Conversation, CC-BY-ND Source: American Animal Hospital Association (2012)ĭog breed and its associated size is one of the largest contributors to life expectancy, with nutrition and associated weight likely being the next most important factors for individual dogs.īut this still doesn’t answer the question of how old your individual animal is. Life stages are a more practical way to think about age than assigning a single number even human health recommendations are based on developmental stage rather than exactly how old you are in years. So now we use a better methodology to define just how old rule of thumb that counted every calendar year as seven “animal years.”īased on the American Animal Hospital Association Canine Life Stages Guidelines, today’s vets divide dogs into six categories: puppy, junior, adult, mature, senior and geriatric. And vets are now able to provide far superior medical care to pets than we could even a decade ago. ![]() Human life expectancy has changed over the years. While cats vary little in size, the size and life expectancy of dogs can vary greatly-think a Chihuahua versus a Great Dane. Bigger animals tend to have shorter life spans than smaller ones do. Dogs and cats age differently not just from people but also from each other, based partly on breed characteristics and size. ![]() Not every dog is “average-sized” though so this seven-year rule was an oversimplification from the start. People observed that with optimal healthcare, an average-sized, medium dog would on average live one-seventh as long as its human owner – and so the seven “dog years” for every “human year” equation was born. There’s an old myth that one regular year is like seven years for dogs and cats. But determining a pet’s “real” age is actually important because it helps veterinarians like me recommend life-stage specific healthcare for our animal patients. It may seem like sort of a silly thing to ponder, born out of owners’ love for their pets and the human-animal bond between them. And most of us want to extend our animal friends’ healthy lives for as long as possible. People love to anthropomorphize pets, attributing human characteristics to them. “Just how old do you think my dog is in dog years?” is a question I hear on a regular basis. ![]()
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