The Importance of Spaying and Neutering
May 7, 2018
What Happens if a Pet is not Groomed
June 5, 2018
It is no secret that our pets live shorter lives than we do. It has given rise to comparing their age to our years which has been done for years. This helps us humans to understand what they are going through as they live their lives since they do suffer some of the same maladies with age that we do. For many years the rule of thumb was that one human year was the equivalent to seven years for your dog but that is not quite true.
7 Years – Not So Much
Dogs mature much quicker than humans do. All breeds of dogs age at about the same rate during their first five years. On their first birthday they are about the equivalent of a precocious teenager of 15 years of age and are about the equivalent of a 24 year old on their second birthday. On their third birthday they are the same as a 28 year old person and grow at human four year increments for their next two birthdays so that at the age of five they are the same age as a 36 year old human. From there the aging process depends on the breed and the size of the dog.
Smaller breeds age the equivalent of four human years every year so that by the time they are 15 years old they are the same as a 76 year old person. Medium sized breeds add about 9 human years for every 2 years of their life so that when they are 15 years old they are the same as an 83 year old person. Larger breeds of dog age between 5 and 6 years for every human year so that at their 15th birthday they are the same as a 93 year old person and get this: should a large breed dog live to their 16th birthday they will then be the same as a 120 year old person. For the record only one human is ever known to have lived to 120 years of age and the oldest living person alive today is 117.
Diet & Exercise
Aging can and will take its toll on your dog. Time is undefeated after all and will come for all of us at some point. Until that happens there are some simple things that you can do to not only help your dog live a longer life but for them to get more out of their twilight years. Proper veterinary care is a must as well as getting exercise and eating a healthy diet to maintain a healthy weight. At Doggie DoLittle we stock some of the best quality foods available on the market so that your dog will eat right and get all of the nutrients and vitamins that they need so that they will be at the door to greet your for years to come. Your dog will also feel much happier after a good grooming session and a happy dog is a healthier dog.
https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/how-to-calculate-your-dogs-age
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_people#Ten_oldest_verified_cases_ever
“People are born so that they learn how to live a good life – like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right? Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.” — Shane Belker “A Dog’s Purpose – from a 4 year old”
