Last Updated on January 17, 2023 by Becky Roberts
4 months in dog years roughly equals 3 years 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 4 months 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 calculation
Many people believe that 1 dog year equals 7 dog years. This belief likely began in the 1950s, but this isn’t the best way to measure it.
While there has been a lot of research since then that disproves that the ratio is 7-1, people are still holding on the idea. This formula may be based on an idea that dogs live to 10 or so years, and humans live reach 70 years old, but honestly, we’re not quite sure when it first started.
So while the 7-1 rule is simple to understand and keep in mind however, it’s sadly incorrect.
The new calculation
The proper method to convert human years to dog years is a bit more difficult.
The American Veterinary Medical Association has the following things to add to it:
- The first year of a dog’s life is about 15 years for humans.
- The second year of a dog’s existence equals about 9 human years.
- From that point onwards each human year is equal to four or 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.
Related:
[page-generator-pro-related-links group_id=”33552″ post_type=”post” post_status=”publish” radius=”0″ output_type=”prev_next” limit=”0″ columns=”1″ delimiter=”, ” link_title=”%title%” link_anchor_title=”%title%” link_display_order=”link_title,featured_image,link_description” link_display_alignment=”vertical” next_title=”%title%” prev_title=”%title%” orderby=”name” order=”asc”]
