The idea of 'dog years' and 'human years' is an easy way assess what stage of life your dog is at, whether that be: puppy, junior, adult, mature, or a senior.
How many dog years is one human year?
We often hear that one dog year is equal to seven human years, and this is based on the notion that dogs live about 10 years and humans live to about 70, but this of course isn’t true for every human let alone every dog, which can vary greatly, says PDSA Vet Nurse Nina Downing.
In fact with life expectancy in the UK now at 80 years old, you could say one dog year is equal to eight human years.
However all breeds and individual dogs have differing life expectancies, just as there’s no guarantee what age a human will live to.
Does a dog's size make a difference?
Some giant breeds average a life span of around seven years, which would make one of their years equivalent to 10 human years, whereas some smaller breeds that can go into their teens, meaning one of their years could be the equivalent of five human years.
But, as a rough guide, you can say any dogs over 10 are heading into old age and deserve to take life a little easier - and with some dogs this could be as early as seven.
If you really want to find out how old your dog is in human years, find the life expectancy for your breed or type and do the maths!
Here are some tips from the PDSA on how to look after an older dog
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