How old is my dog in human years?
Enter your dog’s age to see roughly how old they are in human years, using a formula from ageing research rather than the old “times seven” rule.
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in human years
- Human age = 16 × ln(dog age) + 31
An estimate. Small breeds tend to age more slowly and large breeds faster.
How it’s worked out
The formula
Human age = 16 × the natural logarithm of the dog’s age in years, plus 31.
Where it comes from
Researchers compared age-related changes in the DNA of dogs and people and matched them up. Wang T, et al. Quantitative Translation of Dog-to-Human Aging by Conserved Remodeling of the DNA Methylation Landscape. Cell Systems, 2020.
Questions
Is one dog year really seven human years?
No. Dogs age fastest early in life. By this method a one-year-old dog is roughly like a 31-year-old person, and ageing slows down after that.
Does breed size matter?
Yes. The research behind this formula studied Labrador Retrievers. Small breeds tend to live longer and large breeds age faster, so treat the result as an estimate.
Why does it start at one year?
The formula is designed for dogs from about one year old. Puppies change too quickly for a single number to mean much.
