Local Animal Expert Debunks ‘1 Year = 7 Dog Years’ Rule

If one year equals seven dog years, then my black lab is 112, and probably the oldest dog ever to dart long distances after a tennis ball like her life depends on it.

Something isn't right there.

So, it was neat yesterday when my longtime friend Andrea, who's a veterinary scholar (and clinical instructor at CSU) posted on Facebook that she's been telling people for years that the 7-to-1 rule is false.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, it's not that simple.  It goes like this:

• The first year of a medium-sized dog equals about 15 human years.  So they go from infant to adolescent almost immediately.
• Second year?  About nine years to them.
• From the third year on, it gets easier:  'Ruff'-ly five years for every actual year.

While that may still seem simple enough, it's not.  Because smaller dogs live longer, whereas some larger canines are lucky to celebrate the ol' 1-0.  So that skews the equation greatly.

My head hurts.  Let's get back to a more comfortable conversation (profane but awesome.)