How old is your dog in human years? New equation may surprise you!

Posted by David Hallum on Jul 12, 2020

The new equation seeks to be more accurate by stating that a 1-year-old dog is equivalent to a 31-year-old roughly. Now, of course, this is subject to what kind of breed the dog is, and the new equation does seem to be more accurate in my case. Gone are the days that we just multiplied their age in years by 7 and said that is about how old they are in human years.

One of the more obvious answers as to why the old formula was not very accurate would imply that after a puppy turned 1, they would be 7 years old. It’s not very reliable when comparing the fact that after 1 year old, a dog is reproductively active and can have puppies themselves. With this new equation, the 1-year-old mark is more appropriate.

My dogs Rowdy and Max, which you all have seen on the DogSheetz pictures, are 73 and 70, respectively. That seems about right. Now, they are both terriers, so they are still quite bouncy and the most energetic 70-year-olds that I have ever seen, lol. But they do have to take longer naps to recuperate.

Pasted below is the excerpt from the article that I saw. Take a look and tell us in the comments about how old your dog is! Do you think that is more accurate than the old “multiply by 7” method?

When they compared the dog DNA data to information from humans, the researchers came up with a new equation to figure out the dog's comparable human age.

The equation: 16 ln(dog age) + 31 = human age.

For iPhone calculators that have the natural logarithm, or "ln," function (turn your phone sideways/horizontal to get to the scientific view), first type in the dog's age. Then hit the "ln" button. Multiply that result by 16; then add 31.

If you're using Google’s scientific calculator: First, hit "ln," then type in the dog’s age, then equal it out. Next, multiply by 16, and then add 31.

Using that equation: