Last Updated on February 14, 2023 by Becky Roberts
15 in dog years roughly equals 83 in human years.
This calculation was made for a medium-sized dog (21 to 50 pounds) using the recommendations from the AKC (American Kennel Club).
There are 2 ways of calculating the conversion from human years to dog years. The above result was calculated using the more correct way, we’ll explain what makes the other way incorrect later in this article.
The table below shows dog years and their equivalent to human years, with different columns for different sizes.
| Dog's Age in Years | Human Years (Small Dog) | Human Years (Medium Dog) | Human Years (Large Dog) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| 2 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| 3 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| 4 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
| 5 | 36 | 36 | 36 |
| 6 | 40 | 42 | 45 |
| 7 | 44 | 47 | 50 |
| 8 | 48 | 51 | 55 |
| 9 | 52 | 56 | 61 |
| 10 | 56 | 60 | 66 |
| 11 | 60 | 65 | 72 |
| 12 | 64 | 69 | 77 |
| 13 | 68 | 74 | 82 |
| 14 | 72 | 78 | 88 |
| 15 | 76 | 83 | 93 |
| 16 | 80 | 87 | 99 |
Calculating how many human years is 15 in dog years
As mentioned above, there are 2 main ways of calculating dog years to human years and vice versa. There’s a correct way and an incorrect way.
The old way
The majority of people still believe that one dog year equals 7 dog years. This belief probably started in the 1950s, but it’s not the correct method of calculating it.
While there has been a lot of research since then disproving that the ratio is 7-1, that people still believe in the idea. This formula might be based on an belief that dogs live for 10 or so years, and humans live to 70, but honestly we don’t know the date it was first introduced.
So while the 7 to 1 rule is simple to calculate and remember but it’s not the best idea.
The correct way
The correct way of converting human years into dog years is a bit more complex.
The American Veterinary Medical Association has the following things to add to it:
- The very first year of a medium-sized dog’s life is approximately 15 years human.
- The second year of a dog’s life is equivalent to 9 human years.
- From that point onwards each year of a human equals either four or five dogs years.
Keep in mind that smaller dogs tend to live longer than bigger dogs. Scientists concluded that every 4.4 pounds of body mass reduced a dog’s life expectancy by about a month.
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