I was reading through the Sunday Chicago Tribune and came a cross an article on a website to help you determine your dog's age. For years we have been using the seven years to one human year as a rule of thumb, but this website feels there are a variety of things which need to be taken into account when trying to determine your dog's age.
Breed, weight, nutrition, manner of feeding, frequency of vet visits, regularity of vaccinations, exercise, training, amount of play with people and other dogs and teeth cleaning are all figured in to the formula.
I ran through the program, answering several minutes worth of questions. Defer happens to be a Shepherd/Beagle mix, so that was bound to throw their calculations off a bit, but their response was surprisingly low.
If you use the rule of 7 dog years for every human year, Defer is 105. He's struggling now with hip pain, and he's become a very finicky eater in his old age. He's lost most of his hearing, and we think this may be his last Spring. However, this program feels that his doggie age should be 58.5, based on the quality of care and relationship he has with us.
Still, I'd tell you to give it a try and see what it has to say about your pet.
Go to www.dogage.com
Comments (4)
Argh. I'm 63!
(I haven't got a dog so I thought I'd do it for me)
Posted by Legomen | April 19, 2004 8:06 AM
Posted on April 19, 2004 08:06
Hmmm... mine is 36.8 years old. Apparently 14.2 years younger than the average lab. I'll have to tell him - he'll be proud that he's keeping his youth ;)
Posted by Jenniy | April 19, 2004 3:01 PM
Posted on April 19, 2004 15:01
(scritching Leg behind the ears....) Leg....so, how's yer health, boy??
Jenniy, it seemed to me that the test encourages people to take better care of their dogs. I'm sure Defer is closer to his 105 age than they think, but it's comforting to know that the care we've given him has prolonged his life, and made his days better.
Posted by Buffy | April 19, 2004 8:44 PM
Posted on April 19, 2004 20:44
Missy is 17.3 years (7.2 years younger than the average dog her age) and Prince is 17.6 years (7.0 years younger the the average dog his age).
Posted by bogie | April 22, 2004 7:40 AM
Posted on April 22, 2004 07:40