Your Dog's Lifespan

By Steph Bairey

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.