How To Calculate The Age Of A Dog
To determine a dog’s age, one must first know its biological age , which can then be converted into human years.
You can get a better idea of what needs the dog has depending on its age and, for example, adjust the diet accordingly.
Problems arise when one does not know the exact biological age of the dog. However, there are a few ways to determine the approximate age using the following characteristics:
- teeth
- size
- Condition of the fur
- eyes
teeth
In horses you can tell the age by the condition of the teeth. But what about dogs?
A dog dental exam can be very insightful. By around 8 weeks, dogs have all of their milk teeth, and by seven months they have all of their permanent teeth.
So if a young dog already has all of its permanent teeth and they are still white and flawless, the animal is between 1.5 and 2 years old.
After about two years, teeth gradually turn yellow and tartar slowly begins to form.
At the age of three to five years, the first wear and tear of the incisors can be seen.
From the age of five, more and more tartar builds up and inflammation of the gums can develop.
So the condition of a dog’s teeth is an indication of its age. However, it should be noted that other factors can influence the estimation of a dog’s age, such as: B. the breed or his chewing behavior, which can wear the teeth differently.
size
If a dog is still growing, it means that it has not yet completed its second year of life. However, it should be noted that small dog breeds are physically fully mature at one year and their growth phase is over. Medium-sized and large dog breeds, on the other hand, are only fully grown at around two years of age.
Musculature
Strong muscles indicate a young dog, as dogs are usually very active during this phase. The opposite is the case in older dogs, where the bones are more clearly visible or the animals are thicker. The latter, however, depends heavily on the respective diet and physical activity.
fur
At a young age, a dog’s coat is thinner and softer. Older dogs have coarser, oily, and thicker fur. In addition, gray hairs tend to grow on the muzzle of an adult dog.
How to calculate the age of your dog
As mentioned earlier, for an accurate calculation you must first know the biological age of a dog.
If the dog is older than 2 years, the following calculation can be made: Two years are subtracted from the biological age of the dog and this result is multiplied by four. In the last step, this second result is increased by 21 and you get the dog’s age.
Here is a small example: Imagine you have a 10-year-old dog, then this four-legged friend would be the equivalent of 53 years:
10 – 2 = 8
8 x 4 = 32
32 + 21 = 53
However, this calculation is only an estimate, as the size of the dog is not taken into account.
The reliability of the above calculation is far more accurate in small dogs than in their larger relatives. If you take a 10-year-old Great Dane as an example, it would be the equivalent of around 80 years old (according to its breed), although with the formula mentioned it would only be 53 years old.
However, the age of medium-sized dogs can be easily calculated using this formula.
Despite these aids, it is always better to ask a specialist who will give the animal a thorough physical exam to determine the age of a dog.
Source reference for cover picture: Jeff Ro
