Is a dog year equal to 7 human years? Apparently not!

Our dogs are actually older than we thought!

You've probably heard that one year is equal to seven dog years... but that's not really accurate.

For instance, you might know someone whose dog lived to be 17 or 18... but you probably DON'T know any 119-year-old people. So researchers at the University of Georgia came up with a more accurate way to calculate dog years.

Dogs age at different rates depending on their SIZE... and their ageing slows down as they get older.

So here are the rules to come up with a SMALL dog's age:

• The first two years of a small dog's life are each 12-and-a-half dog years.
• After that, dog years are different by breed. Each year is 4.32 dog years for dachshunds... 4.87 dog years for Chihuahuas... 5.55 dog years for cocker spaniels... and 7.65 dog years for French bulldogs.
• So an 18-year-old dachshund is really 94 in dog years... not 119.

Here are the rules to come up with a MEDIUM dog's age:

• The first two years of a medium dog's life are each 10-and-a-half dog years.
• After that, the dog years are different by breed. Each year is 5.74 dog years for Labrador
• retrievers... 5.33 dog years for pit bulls .. and 13.42 years for bulldogs.

And here are the rules to come up with a BIG dog's age:

• The first two years of a big dog's life are each nine dog years.
• After that, each year is 7.84 dog years for German Shepherds... and 8.90 years for boxers.
• So a two-year-old dachshund and a three-year-old German shepherd are both 25 in dog years.

So interesting!