How to Count Dog Years in Human Years

You may think that you know the formula to calcuate dog years to human years. That is, many people believe that one dog year equals seven human years. This, however, is far too simplistic when calculating how old your dog is in human years. The reason the old formula may not be as accurate as once thought is that dogs do a lot of maturing in the first few years of their lives.

Things You'll Need

  • Paper
  • Pen or pencil
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Instructions

    • 1

      Write down your dog's actual age.

    • 2

      Multiply the first two years by 10.5. That is, the first two years of a dog's life equals 21 human years. If your dog is only 1 year old, it is simply 10.5 human years. Similarly, if your dog is 2 years old, it is simply 21 human years. If your dog is older than two years, continue to step 3.

    • 3

      Subtract your dog's total age by 2 and write down a new total. For example, if your dog is 7 years old, you'll write down the number 5.

    • 4

      Multiply the total you came up with in step 3 by 4 and write down the number. For example, if your dog is 7, multiply 5 by 4 and write down 20.

    • 5

      Add 21 to the new total you wrote down in step 4. For example, if your dog is 7 years old, you would add 21 to 20. Your total would 41 human years.