Your Dog's Lifespan
Part 4 in a 10-Part Series
By Steph Bairey
Dogs are one of the most popular companion animals worldwide. This
series of articles will discuss the basics of feeding, habitat,
health, lifespan, size, grooming, time, breeding, equipment, and cost
of caring for your dog. The focus of this article is lifespan.
***
The average dog in the United States lives to be 11 years old. Of
course, there is a huge variation in the age at which dogs die, due
to illness, injury, care received during its life, breed, and
individual differences. Small breeds tend to live longer than large
breeds, with the biological expectancy (the age to which a dog could
live, barring accident) at about 14 years old for small breeds and 12
years for large breeds.
Small breeds mature more quickly than large breeds for the first four
years of life, but after that point their "aging" slows down, and the
large breeds pass them by. The old story that one "human year" is
equal to seven "dog years" is a broad generalization. A more accurate
representation is below:
Small Breeds
Dog's Age: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Human Age: 15 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76
Large Breeds
Dog's Age: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Human Age: 12 19 26 33 40 47 54 61 68 75 82 82 96 103 110
Most dogs are considered puppies until they reach two years old,
adolescents until they reach three years old, adults when they reach
four years old, and seniors when they reach 10 years old.
Copyright 2001, Steph Bairey -- All Rights Reserved
Steph Bairey is a web developer and pet owner, with 25 years of pet
care experience and 30-40 pets at any one time. Get immediate,
reliable answers to your pet care questions at Steph's website,
Practical Pet Care, located at
http://www.practical-pet-care.com.
