3 in dog years roughly equals 28 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 3 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 incorrect way
The majority of people still believe that one dog year is equal to 7 dog years; this assumption likely began in the 1950s, but this isn’t the best way to calculate it.
Although there’s been a lot of research since then that disproves this ratio of 7 to 1, people are still holding on the idea. The formula could be based on an assumption that dogs live to 10 or so years, and humans live to 70, but honestly we don’t know when it first started.
Therefore, while the 7 to 1 rule is simple to remember and calculate, it’s unfortunately incorrect.
The new way
The best method of converting human years to dog years is a bit more complicated.
The American Veterinary Medical Association has the following things to say about it::
- The first year of a dog’s life is approximately 15 years human.
- The second year of a dog’s life is roughly 9 years for humans.
- 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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