You might consider switching to a senior diet if you haven’t already since dogs don’t need as many calories or fat as they did in their younger years. For example, a dog that lives about 12 years would be a senior when it turns 9. Your dog is considered a senior during the last estimated 25% of their lifespan. You might want to talk to your vet about switching to a low-calorie food. At this point, make sure that they don’t become obese. MatureĪ dog is mature or middle-aged when its metabolism begins to slow. The last three life stages aren’t as straightforward as the first three because they depend on your dog’s breed. With most of their linear growth behind them, your dog may continue to fill out and gain weight during their second year of life, losing the gangly appearance they might have had as puppies. At this time, you can switch them to adult food if you haven’t already, and they’re safely eligible to have puppies unless they’ve been spayed or neutered. AdultĪfter their first birthday, your dog will officially be considered an adult. Although they may still act like a puppy, they’re rapidly undergoing sexual development and will typically reach reproductive maturity between 9 months and a year. Your dog reaches their challenging adolescent period between 6 months and a year old. During their first half-year of life, your dog will grow exponentially, gaining and losing all of their baby teeth and achieving most of their height during this timespan. PuppyĪlthough people still consider a dog a “puppy” until it’s around 2 years old, it’s only a puppy developmentally until 6 months. Aging is correlated to breed, as small breeds tend to develop faster and reach seniority slower than large-breed dogs. For example, puppyhood lasts less than a year compared to human childhood, which lasts around 10 to 12 years before puberty. Your gray-haired dog could still be quite young, but their fur changed early due to genetics or a rough start in life.ĭogs experience life stages similar to humans, but they progress at different rates. However, like humans, genetic and environmental factors determine when a dog’s fur turns gray more so than age. The presence of gray hair may give you a hint of your dog’s life stage. Vets also can check the ridges of your dog’s teeth to guess your dog’s age - they’re typically half-worn around 3 to 4 years and smooth by age 7. Usually, dogs will have developed periodontal disease by the time they’re 3. During their first year, a dog’s teeth should also appear fairly white.īy their first birthday, your dog’s canines may already be turning yellow. If you’ve adopted a puppy, you’ll either notice the thinner, sharper pricks of baby teeth, missing teeth, or new adult teeth beginning to fill in the gaps. All of their baby teeth are gone by 6 months, replaced by 42 permanent teeth. They’ll lose their baby incisors around 4 months, followed by their canines. Puppies receive all of their baby teeth by the time they’re 6 weeks old. While there’s no way to get an exact number, you can estimate your dog’s approximate age in a couple of ways. Perhaps you adopted your dog with no background history, so you don’t know their birthday or even the year they were born.
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