Would you believe if we told you that there’s a month dedicated to making the lives of older pets better by helping them find loving homes? Every year, November is celebrated as National Adopt a Senior Pet Month. During this period, people who are looking for pets are encouraged to consider adopting senior pets.
This is a great initiative, but how would you know when a pet is old enough to be called a senior pet? If you’re wondering how dogs and cats age and when exactly they become old, you’ve come to the right place!
How Dogs Age
You may have heard numerous times that one dog year is equal to seven human years. This ‘seven-year rule’ implies that dogs usually live 1/7th as long as humans. However, this is not a hard-and-fast rule. It varies with the breed of the dog. Let’s have a look at how a dog ages.
The age of the dog is more closely associated with the weight of the dog rather than its lifespan. A dog that is 5-year old and weighs 20 pounds is close to a 33-year-old human being. Similarly, a dog that weighs more than 90 pounds is said to be around 41 years old in human years. Smaller dogs age slowly as compared to their larger counterparts.
Whether a dog is in its puppy stage, the adult stage or senior stage depends on how big it is and how much it weighs. A dog that is fairly large in size may be classified under the label of a senior pet at the age of 5 or 6 years, whereas a smaller breed of dog may fall under the senior pet bracket at the age of 10 to 12 years.
Age Is Just a Number
You can’t say for sure how pets age. Every pet ages in a different manner and follows a different criterion. Age is just a number when it comes to your pets. Senior pets that are well-cared for can have longer life spans. Although they might start looking old, with white hair and a slower walking pace, your pet can live longer if you take adequate care of it.
