We have no idea how old our dog Riley is. When we adopted him, the shelter wasn't sure, so they told us he was between 2 and 5 years old. Pretty big gap. So now, 3 years later he's either 5 or 8 years old. I'm hoping he's not at the top of that age range....I want as many years as possible with him.
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SF Bay Area
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Re: My dog's age
Fri, March 28, 2008 - 7:09 AMIf you were closer, I'd recommend bringing him by so I could take a look at him. I'm a pretty good judge of ages.
My biggest pet peeve with shelters and adoptions agencies is they tend to take a few years of of the dogs to make them more adoptable. A man brought in a cocker spaniel that came from a shelter and the shelter told the man that the dog was 5 years old. Well, that was a load of crap....if that dog is 5, then I'm 30. This dog is at least 8 or 9 years old.
Good news is the dog is very sweet and loving and finally got a good home with someone who really loves him. Bad news is the man is going to have all the expenses and troubles of senior care, and he's not going to have the dog as long as he is hoping.
I wouldn't worry too much Ms. Purity...just from the photos I've seen of Riley, I'd say your shelter was being honest, but cautious. I'm sure you'll have many wonderful years with him. -
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Re: My dog's age
Fri, March 28, 2008 - 8:57 AMAre you in the SF Bay Area?
I've asked my vet and he doesn't seem real sure either. Riley's teeth were in really good shape until he broke two of them, which are now removed. The rest are still white, but we make sure to take care of them. He's kind of a lazy dog, but at the same time he'll play real hard with Squeek and he has his moments of spunkiness. Because of his markings he has a lot of white around his muzzle so it's tough to tell if he's got gray.
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Re: My dog's age
Fri, March 28, 2008 - 7:20 AMHow does a dog age in comparison to human years? I have always wondered what the real truth is. I have heard its 7 to 1, but I've also heard thats not completly true. -
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Re: My dog's age
Fri, March 28, 2008 - 8:08 AMI've also heard the first two years of a dog's life it's more than 7-1. Like by the time they are 2, they're 'adult', and it's like 10 years for those first two years.
Could be totally wrong, it's just what I've heard. -
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Re: My dog's age
Fri, March 28, 2008 - 8:29 AMMy sister had that problem with her dog. But the vet gave her a more accurate age by the shape her teeth were in.... -
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Re: My dog's age
Fri, March 28, 2008 - 8:43 AMI have heard that for the majority of a dogs life, well, the first half...
Just consider yourself dealing with a 4 year old.
For the most part, that about sums my two up. :o)
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Re: My dog's age
Fri, March 28, 2008 - 8:55 AM>>I've also heard the first two years of a dog's life it's more than 7-1. Like by the time they are 2, they're 'adult', and it's like 10 years for those first two years. <<
That's similar to what my mother in law says. She sees it more as behavior/emotional development rather than physiological. So consider 0-4 months akin to 0-10 years old in humans/pre-pubescence, 4-8 months akin to human teen years, 6-10 months akin to young adult hood in humans, and 1-4 years at maturity. It's just a rapid spike in development early on then it plateaus. Here's a link to her breakdown: diamondsintheruff.com/Develop...ges.html
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Re: My dog's age
Fri, March 28, 2008 - 6:52 PM
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Re: My dog's age
Fri, March 28, 2008 - 8:01 PMSmokey was aged at 2-3 yrs at the shelter due to his bad bad teethers. When I took him in for the first cleaning/extractions the vet aged him at 1 yrs.
I volunteered at a shelter and for the most part we were pretty honest about the ages. There were a few golden oldies that I may have fudged a year on but they all got adopted by people who knew they were seniors and I really dont feel bad about it....
3 years is a big gap, and judging by his pics he looks on the younger side and I know from your posts he is healthy & happy. I strongly beleive that dogs & kitties who never have to want for anything, who are loved, healthy etc live longer.
Both of my cats that I had when I was little lived for what seems forever, Muff passed on at 19 and Coco passed on at 23. Raggs our dog when I was little was 22. They all were spoiled rotten!!! -
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Re: My dog's age
Sat, March 29, 2008 - 5:07 PMhe was a small weenie/yorkie mix, and very very spoiled.
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Re: My dog's age
Mon, March 31, 2008 - 8:13 PMI worked at a shelter for almost three years and got really good at aging dogs under 1yr.
Dog b/w 3 and 7 are harder. So many variables.
Enjoy your time. I've seen dogs that look 100 who are 2 and a GSD that lived to 14. You never know!
Loki just turned 7 and has the teeth of a 3yr old. He also has the energy of a younger dog and freakishly soft fur. No one believes he's 7 when they meet him. Like mother, like dog. I'm 28 and get carded for smokes :)
