GREY FACES...WHEN IS YOUR DOG A SENIOR?

HOW DO I KNOW MY DOG IS OLD?

Does it seem like just yesterday you brought your new puppy home? He was the cutest little wiggling bundle of adorable and proceeded to eat your fave shoes, tear up your new copy of Oprah magazine and steal your heart totally...all within hours. Today you looked down and that sweet face has a grey muzzle and his eyes are not quite as clear and shiny as they once were. 

Sigh, your best buddy is getting old and if he is getting old, yikes, so are you! Watching our dogs age can bring on a lot of unexpected emotions, not just sadness that our dog is old, but the realization that we are too!

WHEN IS OLD REALLY OLD FOR MY DOG?

It is not as simple as one dog year equals seven human years, though that is a good starting point. 

This is from the AVA and gives a better feel for when your breed is old. Personally, I believe that Brachycephalic dogs like French Bulldogs, Bulldogs, Pugs and some others that are more exaggerated in body type age more like Giant Breeds than with their weight, A seven year-old French Bulldog is older than 44-47 human years, more like 60ish.

Here's a Kathy-Guideline-to-Dog-Years...if your dog is exaggerated in body type, like really flat-faced or really big or really tiny (exceptions to this). Then use the Large or Giant breed age ranges.

Many Toy Breeds like to be doggie Methuselas (spell check gave up), often well into their teens. But some that are smaller even by Toy size standards may not live as long. For example to "Teacup" version of anything has been bred for the extremely small size within an already extreme breed, which shaves years off.

In Dog Years

For the chart below: Small: 0-20 lbs; Medium: 21-50 lbs; Large: 51-90 lbs; Very large: >90 lbs