Our dogs are becoming an increasingly natural part of the family, and it is common for us as pet owners to be curious about our dog's age in human years. For a vet, on the other hand, it is very important to be able to give the right recommendations and advice.
There are different methods for working out a dog's age in human years, which of course give slightly different answers. Everyone agrees, however, that a dog's age cannot be equated directly with human years, and it should therefore be seen more as an estimate. How you want to use the conversion and which source you want to base it on is up to you. If nothing else, it can be a reason to celebrate your dog's birthday several times a year!
The most common method for converting a dog year into human years is to count the dog's first year as 14 human years and then 7 human years for each dog year after that. For example, a dog that is 1 year old is 14 years in human years, a dog that is 3 years old is 28 years in human years and a dog that is 8 years old is 63 years in human years.
There is also research that points to other calculation methods. Some researchers argue, for example, that chemical changes to DNA over a lifetime create what is known as an epigenetic clock, which can be likened to a biological clock. The formula then used to determine a dog's age is: 16 * ln (the dog's age) + 31. This means that a 1-year-old dog is 31 years, a 3-year-old dog is 48.6 years and an 8-year-old dog is 64.3 years in human years.
| Dog's age | Human years, method 1 | Human years, method 2 |
| 1 | 14 | 31 |
| 2 | 21 | 42.1 |
| 3 | 28 | 48.6 |
| 4 | 35 | 53.2 |
| 5 | 42 | 56.8 |
| 6 | 49 | 59.7 |
| 7 | 56 | 62.1 |
| 8 | 63 | 64.3 |
| 9 | 70 | 66.2 |
| 10 | 77 | 67.8 |
| 11 | 84 | 69.4 |
| 12 | 91 | 70.8 |
| 13 | 98 | 72 |
| 14 | 105 | 73.2 |
| 15 | 112 | 74.3 |
| 20 | 147 | 78.9 |