A Trending TikTok Just Proved That The "Dog Years" We Believed To Be True Is A Myth—You'll Be Stunned To Find Out How Old Your Dog Really Is

You'll never see your pup the same way after this!

Jesse

• Published in Animal Stories
• October 17, 2021

The popular saying "one year in a dog's life is equal to seven human years" is often used to console pet owners who are grieving the loss of their four-legged family member. But it turns out that this age equivalency formula has no scientific basis and is actually just an old wives' tale!

If you're like me, you've probably believed this your whole life, but a recent viral video is going to make you rethink putting your faith in this old myth once and for all! A TikTok from veterinarian Dr. Hunter Finn explained that one year of your dog's life doesn't equate to seven human years, as most people believe—In fact, he revealed something much more shocking.

Based on popular belief, this 2-year-old pup should be 14 human years.

However, Dr. Hunter Finn debunked this false belief and made some shocking revelations.

"1 human year does NOT equal 7 dog years"

You're little pup is way older than you think.

"A 1-year-old-dog = 31-year-old human"

Guess how old a 7-year-old dog is...

But wait, there's good news!

According to Dr. Finn, "We found out that aging does slow down. An 8-year-old dog is 64,"

Some dog owners on TikTok are freaked out by the video, after discovering that their pups aren't as young as they believed. Dr. Finn, on the other hand, emphasized why knowing the truth about your dog's age is vital.

"It's critical for pet owners to understand that animals mature at a different rate than humans, which makes keeping up with their health all the more important," Dr. Finn said. "I can't tell you how many times I've had to educate folks why yearly health examinations and lab work are necessary to ensure their pet's wellbeing."

Dr. Finn explained that many people would never imagine that their little pups would be susceptible to cancer. Still, veterinarians commonly witness such diseases in dogs as young as 3-years-old. According to him, this is a perfect illustration of our misunderstanding of pet aging, and it's an area that experts can educate people more.

While Dr. Finn admits that he's not sure where the "7 years" myth originated, he points to a recent study comparing canine and human DNA to come up with a more accurate timeline for how our furry pal's age:

The study looked at these chemical marks that change with age called “methylation marks,” which both human and dog DNA share. Through this method, they could quantify this information, determine how fast these people and dogs are aging, and compare it between dogs and humans. Again, this is all very new information that we are learning, but at the same time it’s very exciting and I can’t wait to see what else they discover.

You're probably curious about dog life spans that were left out of Dr. Finn's video. Well, here are some estimates based on that research:

If your dog is 3, 4, 5, or 6 years old, you may expect them to be in their late 40s, early 50s, about 55, or just shy of 60 years old, respectively. After that, the age difference narrows substantially, with canines 8 to 14 years old having a human equivalent age of 65 to 75 years.

So, you might want to abandon this old myth once and for all!

Check out Dr. Finn's lecture on dog ages below.

You can also follow him on TikTok and Instagram at @dr.hunterfinn.

Jesse