Physical & Mental Development

[fruitandnutz]

I’m a bit confused between the physical and mental comparison between dog years and human years. I know a common comparison is 1 dog year = 7 human years, but my understanding is that this is a physical comparison relating to how long a dog lives and how it ages physically.

I also have in the back of my mind from somewhere, that a fully matured Rottie is mentally comparable to a 2/3-year-old child.

It’s a little confusing therefore, when someone discussing a 5 month old puppy, says ‘…but he’s only the equivalent of a 3 year old child.’ when talking about the puppy’s mental development.

Have I got this wrong somewhere along the line? Does 1 dog year = 7 human years apply to both physical and mental development? I’d be grateful for any views on this… and then I have to go lie down cos’ my brain hurts…

[frontierrots]

There's a newer chart out that I saw at myvet that has a slightly different aging scheme based upon the dogs adult weight. Smaller dogs being younger physically at the same age as a say, Rottweiler that would be physicall older even though they were the same calendar age

Behaviorally I generally equate a Rottweiler of 7-24 months old in with a human 10-20 or 23 years old

mentally, supposedly a full grown dog has the mental capacity of a 2-3 year old child with a few being equal to a 5 year old child and in general terms I think that's safe for the average person. Though I've had a few geniuses!!

In general females mature faster in all respects while males often matre in all respects much slower

[Judi W]

and although the smaller breeds mature faster, they also live longer so any year ratio is not going to work because lifespan is contingent upon breed not just species. When talking about mental maturity you should consider maturity level for a dog from birth compared to the adult maturity of a dog. Not a human. The thought processes are different between species. It is appropriate to label infancy, babyhood, adolescent and adult and geriatric because those are terms used to describe the process of growth throughout the life an any species. In other words, that yardstick won't measure.

[BostonRott]

I've never understood the comparisons to human years, except as something silly for lay people and kids. What is it supposed to help you figure out? How are you to use this info?

Either the puppy is mentally handling a situation or it's not. This varies by breed, by bloodlines within a breed and by how the puppy has been raised. What an adult is comfortable with, or able to handle, is again in my opinion very much based on bloodlines.

I certainly don't expect Xcel (5mos) to work through the same distractions as Vikka (2.5yrs), but I have absolutely NO concept in my own head of "how old" I think they are.

As to physical maturation, and especially with regards to activity levels, I'm very much a believer in letting the dog show me what it can handle. This takes nothing more than common sense. Obviously I'm not going to hook up a 5mos puppy and take him for a 4mi run next to my bike. However Xcel did come cross-country skiing with us yesterday, and ran for 2 miles in shoulder-deep powder, bounding through it most of the way. I'm sure many would think this is way too much for a young pup, but he's an active boy who is well muscled and he handled it fine. The final piece to that story is that after a few hours nap, he was ready to rock again.....wasn't wiped out for all day.

I guess my disjointed point is that I tend to view each dog as an individual and work with them as such. Just as some kids walk at 10 mos and other not until 14-15mos, some are talking clearly by 20mos and others not until 2.5yrs .... it's an individual thing.

[fruitandnutz]

Many thanks for your help FrontierRotts. I hadn’t factored in the behavioural thing - thinking that mental capacity would directly reflect behaviour – ie a human with the mental capacity of a 3 year old will generally behave like a 3 year old.

However, there seem to be 3 different measurements here:
1. Physical age
2. Mental age
3. Behavioural age

So, are we saying that a physically mature dog (ie 5+ years old) will generally have the mental capacity of a 2-3 year old child and behave like a 23+ year-old adult? Can you see my confusion? It's not that I think these numbers are right or wrong, I'm just trying to find the logic.

Whoa… Lightbulb moment – thanks Judi W and BostonRott. So basically, trying to parallel-track dog and human maturity in human terms = v. stupid thing to do.

Now where did I put those Montessori flash cards… But seriously, thanks for your help.

[Judi W]

Thank goodness for light switches!

[BostonRott]

Originally Posted by fruitandnutz

So, are we saying that a physically mature dog (ie 5+ years old) will generally have the mental capacity of a 2-3 year old child and behave like a 23+ year-old adult? Can you see my confusion? It's not that I think these numbers are right or wrong, I'm just trying to find the logic.

That's because there is none to be found!

[fruitandnutz]

Yup, lights on... not always home...