Have you ever heard the theory that dogs age seven times faster than humans? Many pet owners try to calculate their dog’s ‘real age’ by multiplying their dog’s age by seven. Scientists now claim that this way of thinking is not accurate. Researchers have found that puppies are actually middle-aged and they age more slowly as they grow up.
Researchers looked at the DNA in over 100 labradors of various ages, from tiny puppies to 16-year-old dogs. Then they compared the findings to over 300 humans. What they found was that when a puppy is two years old, their DNA is equivalent to a human in their forties. By the time a dog is 10, they are equivalent to a 68-year-old human. This is compared to previous findings in the chart below…
The new chart for dog years vs. human years
However, they also found that dogs age slower than humans. “The expected lifespan of labrador retrievers, 12 years, correctly translated to the worldwide lifetime expectancy of humans, 70 years,” the researchers said. Very interesting! Those old charts always did seem a little off.
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What do you think about this new way to tell your dog’s age? How old is your dog in human years? Learn more in this fun video below: