zaro

How Many Dog Years Am I?

Published in Dog Age Calculation 3 mins read

To provide an exact answer to how many "dog years" you are, your age in human years is needed. The concept of "dog years" is a way to understand a dog's lifespan relative to a human's, and calculations typically convert a dog's age into an equivalent human age. However, based on the provided method, we can explain how to apply this scale to a human age.

Understanding the "Dog Years" Calculation Method

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), as cited by the AKC, offers a general guideline for calculating a medium-sized dog's age in human equivalent years. This method provides a way to benchmark a dog's development against human development.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association guideline:

  • The first year of a medium-sized dog's life is roughly equivalent to 15 human years.
  • The second year for a dog adds about nine years in human terms. So, a 2-year-old dog is roughly equivalent to a 15 + 9 = 24-year-old human.
  • After the second year, each subsequent human year is approximately five years for a dog. This means a 3-year-old dog is like a 24 + 5 = 29-year-old human, a 4-year-old dog is like a 29 + 5 = 34-year-old human, and so on.

This guideline helps us appreciate that dogs mature very quickly in their first couple of years compared to humans.

Calculating Your Age Using the Dog Years Scale (In Reverse)

While the guideline is designed to convert dog age to human equivalent, you can use the same scale to estimate a human age's equivalent on a dog-like timeline. To do this for yourself, you'd map your human age onto the dog-to-human scale described above.

Here's how you'd apply this scale to your human age:

  1. Your first 15 human years correspond to the first 1 dog year on this scale.
  2. Your next 9 human years (taking you from 15 up to 24 total human years) correspond to the second 1 dog year on this scale. At 24 human years old, you've reached the equivalent of a 2-year-old dog.
  3. For every 5 human years thereafter, add 1 dog year to the calculation.

Example Calculation

Let's say, hypothetically, you are 30 years old:

  • The first 15 years of your life account for the first 1 dog year (equivalent).
  • The years from 15 to 24 (9 years) account for the second 1 dog year (equivalent). You are now at 2 dog years (equivalent) after 24 human years.
  • You are 30 years old, which is 30 - 24 = 6 years beyond the 24-year mark.
  • Each additional 5 human years adds 1 dog year. For the remaining 6 years, this is 6 human years / 5 human years per dog year = 1.2 dog years (equivalent).
  • Total "dog years" equivalent for a 30-year-old human = 1 (first 15 years) + 1 (next 9 years) + 1.2 (remaining 6 years) = 3.2 dog years (equivalent).

Summary Table

Here’s a breakdown of how human years map to dog years equivalent based on the AVMA guideline for medium-sized dogs:

Human Years Dog Years (Equivalent) Notes
1-15 1 Represents the first year of dog life
16-24 2 Represents the second year of dog life
25-29 3 24 + 5 = 29
30-34 4 29 + 5 = 34
35-39 5 34 + 5 = 39
... ... Add 1 dog year for every 5 human years

To get your exact answer, apply your specific age using the steps outlined above.