Select Page

This past week I celebrated my 10th birthday! Other than being a little bit slower and needing a few extra naps I am still eager to play with my sisters, Kippy and Roo, and my new brother, Clint.

On my birthday I got to relax and play! I got some new toys and lots of extra biscuits! It was a day filled with lots of fun and some extra special time with my mom.

As you know I retired from my job of being a service dog about a month ago. My mom had planned for me to be able to retire when I was about ten years old. So the timing worked out perfectly! 

My successor, Clint, stepped right into my role of helping our mom. Knowing that my mom would have the help she needed was reassuring for me. And made me feel that it would be okay to enjoy my retirement days! 

Many people wonder what their dog’s age is in comparison to that of a human. Over the years the thoughts on how to do this comparison have changed.

It was once thought that each year of a dog’s age was equivalent to seven years of a human. But upon a closer look, these guidelines have changed. In recent years there has been some research done to study the aging process of dogs. And what each dog year is equivalent to in a human.

Dogs mature much quicker early on than humans do. And they also mature at different rates depending on their size and breed. Smaller dogs tend to mature more quickly and live longer. While larger dogs mature slower but don’t live as long.

That all sounds complicated to me! Do you agree? All I know is that at the beautiful age of ten I am not as spry as when I was younger. And as I mentioned in my retirement post some tasks were becoming harder for me to perform. 

There are various charts out there that show an estimate of a dog’s equivalent age to a human. My mom found the below chart to share with you. It is probably a little bit hard for you to see here. If you want you can check out the article How to Calculate Dog Years to Human Years on the AKC website. And in this article, you will also find more info about the aging process of a dog.

According to this chart, I am approximately 66 years old in human years. That seems like a respectable age to be retired. Don’t you think? 

I am loving the relaxing pace of retirement. And the extra naps! Clint is taking good care of our mom when they go places. This allows me to stay behind and not worry. And at home when I want to do a little bit of work my mom is letting me help!