Last Updated on September 20, 2023
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 old formula
Many people believe that one dog year equals 7 dog years. This assumption probably started in the 1950s. However, it’s not the correct way to calculate it.
While there has been plenty of research since then disproving the 7:1 ratio, it seems people continue to believe the idea. This formula might be based on the assumption that dogs live to 10 or so years, and humans live can live to 70, however we don’t know when it started.
Therefore, while the 7-1 rule is easy to calculate and remember, it’s unfortunately incorrect.
The correct calculation
The best method 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 lifespan equals around 15 human years.
- The second year of a dog’s life equals about 9 human years.
- From that point onwards each year of a human equals the equivalent of four to five dog 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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