How old is your dog? Or what is the dog age in human years? Most of us wonder about the age of our dogs from time to time, because it gives us clues to the life expectancy of our dogs. We really want to know how much longer we will have with our dogs.
A general rule to follow is that the larger your dog, the lower her life expectancy.
Weimaraners are somewhere in the middle, so they live less than a small dog and longer than the giant or extra large breeds.
In fact, almost 40% of small dog breeds live to be older than 10 years, while only 13% of the giant breeds like Great Danes live to be 10 years old. Most don’t even make it to 8 years old.
Of course we would do anything to help our beloved dogs live longer. But in recent years, half of all dogs who live to be seniors die of cancer.
The 7:1 Theory
I’m sure you’ve heard it. People used to say that you could calculate a dog’s age by multiplying their actual age by seven. That would give you their dog age vs people age. Doing this gave people an idea of how long their dogs would live.
But advances in medical care have helped extend the lives of our dogs. So there is now a more sophisticated way to determine the age of your dog.
Calculate Your Dog’s Age
Here’s how to calculate your dog’s age and life expectancy. The chart below uses your dog’s actual age and the estimated human age.
But this is just an average, based on a medium sized dog that weighs 20-50 pounds. You’ll have to do a little math to calculate your dog’s age.
- For small dogs (under 20 lb.) subtract 5 years from each of the human age ages.
- If your dog is large (50-120 lb.), add 10 years to each of the human years.
- And if your dog is a giant breed (over 120 lb.), add 20 years to each of the human years. This will give you an approximate age for your dog.
Your Dog’ Age Approximate Human Age
8 months 13 years
1 year 16 years
2 years 25 years
3 years 30 years
5 years 40 years
7 years 50 years
9 years 60 years
11 years 70 years
13 years 80 years
15 years 90 years
What if Your Dog is Old?
So if your calculated to find out how old your Weimaraner dog is, and you found that she’s getting up there, don’t panic.
Dogs do not have a concept of age or dying. They don’t realize that going blind, becoming deaf, having arthritis or becoming incontinent means that they are closer to the end.
Keep a positive attitude toward your dog, and he will view life as he always has. He takes each day at a time, accepting changes as they come. And you should, too.
Keep Your Dog Younger
So, as you expected, your dog ended up being pretty old in people years. That doesn’t mean you have to put him out to pasture and treat him like an invalid!
There are things that you can do to help keep your dog more youthful and healthy. Even if he has signs of getting older like deafness, blindness or stiffness, he will still enjoy many of his favorite activities.
Do continue to take your dog on walks. Even though he may be a bit slower, run out of breath sooner and a bit stiff from arthritis, he will still love to go with you. Your dog will continue to enjoy the smells and familiar places.
Recent studies have shown that dogs who had enriched diets and intellectual stimulation lived longer than dogs who did not. Diets were enriched with antioxidants like vitamins A and C.
Adding antioxidants to your dog’s diet is easy if you use dog treats. Two that I recommend are NutraZita Antioxidant Boost Soft Chews and Get Naked Super Antioxidant Dental Chew Sticks (which also help clean your dog’s teeth and gums).
Keeping your dog active and making sure her diet is appropriate for her age will help you prolong her life and keep her healthier while you have time together.
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