 |
|
Don't have an account yet? You can create one. As a registered user you have some advantages like theme manager, comments configuration and post comments with your name.
|
There are currently, 11 guest(s) and 0 member(s) that are online.
You are Anonymous user. You can register for free by clicking here
|
| |
How Old is Your Pet - Really?
Posted on Friday, August 01 @ 08:00:00 CDT by diana
|
Just how old is your dog really? More than likely you know the
dogs age in years, or at least have an approximation of its age,
but do you really have any idea how old it may be-
chronologically speaking?
I’m sure you’ve heard of the old “seven year theory”. You know,
the system where each year of a dog or cats life is the
equivalent of 7 of ours. An example of this thinking would be
that a 1 year old dog would be the age and developmental equal of
a 7 year old person. Now just how many 7 year old kids do you
know that are sexually mature -and able to reproduce? A cat or
dog is much more likely to have a litter when it is one year or
younger, or at the other extreme, ten years or older, than is a
human who is under the age of seven or over the age of seventy!
This system was simple- but too simple. Many people today may
still use these calculations when coming to some idea of their
pets chronological age. Still, due to examples like the one above
you can see why this most simple of systems is not accepted
today.
In the early 1950’s a French veterinarian, Monsieur LeBeau,
formulated another system to address this problem. In LeBeau’s
system, a dog/cat of 1 year in age became the equivalent of a 15
year old person- due to the onset of puberty in each species. The
second year of a dog/cats life became the equivalent of a 24 year
old person- someone/ something that has reached full maturity.
After two, each year of an animals life would equal 4 years of
human life.
Pop quiz time! Just how old would a 6 year old cat “really” be
using this newer system? According to the LeBeau theory, the
dog/cat would be the equivalent of a 40 year old person.
Remember, 24+ (4*4)= 40. How about a 10 year old dog? If you came
up with 56 then you were correct! It is interesting to note that
dogs and cats move up this newer age scale at the same rate until
they reach the age of 14. At that time the rates begin to differ
between dogs and cats compared in human age terminology. This
chart would work quite well for a dog or cat having an average
life expectancy (ALE) of 14 years. As we all know, oftentimes
animals, as do people, may exceed the ALE which would call for
further refinement of this age formula. For this we need to be
aware of something called the maximum life span (MLS). Basically,
the average life expectancy is the amount of years a person,
animal, etc. may reasonably expect to live. The MLS on the other
hand, is the genetically based maximum age beyond which no member
of that species may live.
Now, with that in mind, consider this addendum to the first age
chart. A human maximum life span is close to 110 years. A cats
maximum life span is around the mid-30’s, while a dogs maximum
life span is around 29. So, just how do you calculate a cat or
dogs age who lives past the 14 year mark? In this event, each
year of life past 14 for a dog would equal 2 1/2 human years, and
only 2 for a cat. Due to recent research it has been found that
many times an animal may live past his ALE when given improved
care, activity, social and psychological stimulation. If we
examine the oldest living dogs on record, we can begin to see
that most had a regular moderate exercise program that included
differing levels of psychological and social stimulation.
Currently, the oldest living dog on record worked as a herding
dog in Australia(29 years old). The runner-up, a mere 27 years of
age, was a Lab who lived in the home of a game keeper in England.
Other famous notables include Higgins, the terrier on Petticoat
Junction and the Beverly Hillbillies(20); Pal, the collie who
started the role of Lassie(18);and,last but certainly not least,
Rin Tin Tin, movie star and German Shepherd who lived to be at
least 16 years of age.
The following charts will show you just how LeBeaux theories work
when determining the age of your pet. We hope this material is of
help to you in the future.
AGE
Cat/Dog Human
1---------------------------15
2---------------------------24
3---------------------------28
4---------------------------32
5---------------------------36
6---------------------------40
7---------------------------44
8---------------------------48
9---------------------------52
10-------------------------56
11-------------------------60
12-------------------------64
13-------------------------68
14-------------------------72
AGE Cats/Humans Dogs/Humans
15------------74--------------------74.5
16------------76--------------------77
17------------78--------------------79.5
18------------80--------------------82
19------------82--------------------84.5
20------------84--------------------87
21------------86--------------------89.5
22------------88--------------------92
23------------90--------------------94.5
24------------92--------------------97
25------------94--------------------99.5
26------------96--------------------102
27------------98--------------------104.5
28-----------100-------------------107
29-----------102-------------------109.5
30-----------104
31-----------106
32-----------108
33-----------110
34-----------112
Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.
Debbie Ray, owner of: http://www.pedigreedpups.com is a lifetime
dog lover and owner and breeder of german shepherd dogs for over
15 years.
|
| |
|
Associated Topics
  |
|
| "How Old is Your Pet - Really?" | Login/Create an Account | 0 comments |
|
| | The comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content. |
|
|
|
No Comments Allowed for Anonymous, please register |
|
|
|
