Dobergirl

My Mom's friend says that age depends if the dog is big or small is this true?

Mikey

The age of the dog counts in years from when they were born. So if they were born two years ago-they are two years old. Period.

People try to put 'dog years' on dogs and 'cat years' on cats because their lifespan is 1/10 to 2/10 as long as ours. There are all kinds of forumula's to figure out your dogs 'age in people years' but it's gues and it really doesnt' mean anything.

And all else equal-small dogs live longer then large dogs (which is what your mom likely meant). Ponies live longer then horses. Dwarf rabbits live longer then giant rabbits.

fawkese1

there is some merit to this... not that the years are actually different as mikey said, but smaller dogs tend to mature faster then larger ones... a larger dog takes a bit longer to "grow-up" both physically and mentally....

Gone2Dogs

Smaller dogs tend to live longer than bigger/giants too. It is a generalization though.

Sorta side note...I just saw an article in a trade magazine that a longevity study showed female dogs spayed before 4 years old were less like to live to their longevity expectations. Dogs left intact through 6 years of age live 30% longer than average.

That is just longevity and not accounting for the other studies with cancer being more prevolent in S/N animals.

Makes you think.

Mikey

Scientists hate the popular media for that-they grab a poorly done or senational journal article-often not even published and make a whole story about ti and publish it in popular media.
I'm not saying that study is poorly done-but I wouldn't take anything you read in a magezine or newspaper as any 100% true ever. Be careful what your sources are

Gone2Dogs

GPMCF: Healthier Respect for Ovaries

it is a magazine about laws, health and pet products that aren't out yet.
The article is for vet med publication and not selling anything.

Mikey

I'm not saying it's selling something-I'm saying you should be careful of sources.

Gone2Dogs

I understood that. I went to college too. And so did the guy doing this research ....


>>Dr. Waters received his BS (1980) and DVM (1984) degrees from Cornell University and his PhD degree from the University of Minnesota (1992). He is currently Professor of Comparative Oncology in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Associate Director of the Center on Aging and the Life Course at Purdue University. Since 2000, Dr. Waters has served as Executive Director of the Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation, a not-for-profit research institute located in the Purdue Research Park that is committed to defeating cancer and other age-related diseases through basic, comparative, and clinical research. He is nationally recognized for his work on utilizing pet dogs as models of human aging, and is an expert on the comparative aspects of prostate cancer in men and dogs<<

OttosMom

My Otto will be 11 on Valentine's Day and he hasn't grown up yet, still thinks and acts llike a puppy at playtime!

That study is interesting....wonder if it's true with us humans, too??? YIKES!