How to Calculate Your Dog’s Age

Dogs are very loyal and affable animals. People who have dogs as pets consider them as a part of the family. But sadly a dog’s life span is very much shorter than that of a human. A dog’s life span varies depending on the breed, its size and weight. Large dogs like the Great Dane tend to live shorter than small dogs like Chihuahua. The life span of a large dog would be around eight to nine years whereas the life span of a small dog would be around thirteen to fifteen years. A dog’s life is just a portion of an average human life. A human aged six is very young but a dog aged six is already middle aged. Dogs have lower childhood period and prolonged adulthoods as they start walking at three weeks of birth, and attain their physical maturity at eighteen months of age. If you own a pet dog, and would like to know whether it is in teens, adulthood or old age then read further to know more.

Calculating The Dog’s Age

The best way to estimate the age of a dog is by examining its teeth.
Check the front four teeth of your dog, both in the lower and in upper jaws. Dogs have visible marks on their teeth, which remains there until the dog turns six years old.
Observe if there are any pointed and uneven teeth with sharp edges. At twelve months of age a dog will have white and clean teeth. As the dog grows these teeth will grow smoother, and the marks will slowly wear away.
When the dog is three to four years old, all the front four teeth in both the jaws will have worn out marks. They will neither be totally pointed nor completely smooth either.
When the dog reaches six years, all the front four teeth in both the jaws will smoothen and there will not be the slightest roughness in them.
At ten years of age, the teeth will be quite leveled and there won’t be any marks. The teeth will be flat and smooth.
Your dog’s age will be around ten to fifteen years when you find heavy tartar build up around the teeth, and some of the teeth missing.

General Ideas About Determining The Age Of The Dog

Though not scientifically proven, it is believed that a “dog year” is seven human years.
A dog’s age depends on its height and weight. And the life span depends on the breed and the size of the dog.
The first two years of a dog life is equivalent to 10.5 years of human life. Then keep adding 4 dog years per human year each year.
Most dogs reach adulthood in approximately 18 months of age, which is equal to a 10 year old child. A 15 year old dog will be the equal of a 105 year old person.

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