How Old is 5 in Dog Years?

Last Updated on September 20, 2023

5 in dog years roughly equals 36 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 YearsHuman Years (Small Dog)Human Years (Medium Dog)Human Years (Large Dog)
1151515
2242424
3282828
4323232
5363636
6404245
7444750
8485155
9525661
10566066
11606572
12646977
13687482
14727888
15768393
16808799

5 in dog years

Calculating how many human years is 5 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

Many people believe that one dog year equals seven dog years; this assumption was probably first introduced in the 1950s, however it’s not the right way to measure it.

Although there’s been plenty of research since then disproving this ratio of 7 to 1, people are still holding on the idea. This formula may 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 first started.

Therefore, while the 7 to 1 rule is easy to remember and calculate, it’s unfortunately incorrect.

The correct calculation

The correct way of converting human years to dog years is more complex.

The American Veterinary Medical Association has the following to say about it::

  • The very first year of a dog’s life is approximately 15 years human.
  • The second year of a dog’s existence equals about 9 human years.
  • From then on 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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