As a pet owner, it is important to understand that pets age more quickly than people do. To appreciate what stage of life your pet is at, it can helpful to try convert “dog years” to human years. However, the old guideline of one human year being equal to seven dog years is not really accurate – it tends to underestimate their relative age in the early years and overestimate their relative age in the later years. The American Veterinary Medical Association has produced the following chart to give pet owners a more accurate guide to estimating their pet’s age relative to a person.
