How do dog years work? Why does my dad say my dog is 7 when he only just turned 1?
It's all based on the lifespan in comparison to a human life span. Seven years is used for a dog because on average a human lives 7 times longer than a dog - however this differs between breeds. The 7 year ratio is purely an average. In reality dogs, and cats, age very quickly in the first 2 yeras - with the first year actually equalling 15 human years. Larger dogs actually age quicker as they have a shorter life span - so a Great Dane would age about 20 years in their first year of life.
Other animals have different ratios depending on their life span in comparison to humans. For example:
Horses 3 years for every 1 human year
Brown Bears - 2 years for every 1 human year
Polar Bears - 3 years for every 1 human year
See if you can find out other ratios - some of them might surprise you!
