The myth is known that seven years of a person are added to each year of the dog. But: will it be true? This study confirms it (or not)
By iProfessional
18/03/2023 – 11,44hs
There is a myth that says that each year of a dog adds seven of a person. For example, if our pet is two years old, it would be as if she were 14 human years old. But no one knows where this measurement comes from and how accurate it is.
That is why a team of scientists from California, United States, developed a mathematical formula that is based on changes in DNA and allows to determine the age of pets, and thus solve the enigma.
What is the formula to determine the years of a dog?
According to the study, the researchers created a mathematical formula that determines a dog’s age much more accurately.
To do this, the team carried out research on the aging process. That is It is based on the fact that the chemical modifications that a person’s DNA undergoes throughout life create what is known as the epigenetic clock.
The exact formula they use, based on science, is: 16 multiplied by the natural logarithm of the dog’s age, plus 31. The formula works as long as the dog is already one year old.
Dog age: how can you calculate it?
Researchers created a mathematical formula that determines a dog’s age much more accurately
To know the age of a dog in a simple way, it is convenient to use a scientific calculator and make the following calculation:
1.Introduce the age of the animal, as long as it is one year old and the day it was born is actually known.
2. Pulse to the ln key (neperian logarithm).
3.Multiply the resulting number by 16.
4. Add 31 to it.
The result will be the dog’s age in “human” years.
According to these calculations, a two-year-old dog is 42 human years old; one of 4 is 53; one of eight, 64, and one of 15, 74 years old.
However, the researchers stress that although the development of dogs is similar, there are breeds that age differentlyso this formula may not be exact for all dogs.
What about the years of the cat
The human age calculation for cats is different from the one used for dogs
During the first two years, the cat experiences a very rapid growth, as it would correspond to 24 years of people. From that moment, it is already developed and the age curve changes: each year of the cat is equivalent to about 4 or 5 years of humans.
- 1 month of a cat is equal to 6 human months.
- 2-3 months equals 2-5 years.
- 4 months equals 6-8 years.
- 6 months equals 10 years.
- 7 months equals 12 years.
- 12 months equals 15-16 years.
- 18 months equals 20-21 years.
- 2 years equals 24 years.
- 3 years equals 28 years.
- 4 years equals 32 years.
- 5 years equals 36 years.
The calculation continues in the same way during the years of the animal’s life.
