The dog is man's best friend and often accompanies its owner for many years. However, the age of a dog depends on several factors.
What these are and what you as the owner can do for a long and healthy dog life is explained in this article.
How old dogs can become depends to a large extent on their breed and size. In general, small dogs grow older and life expectancy decreases with the size and weight of the breed.
Small dog breeds with a body weight of up to 15 kilograms reach an average age of 10 to 15 years. Medium sized dog breeds with a maximum weight of 45 kilograms die between 10 and 13 years, while large breeds with more than 45 kilograms usually live between 8 and 12 years.
Although there are breed-specific exceptions, the relationship between size and life expectancy in dogs is very well illustrated by the above examples.
When it comes to converting the age of a dog into human years, there is a widespread opinion that one year in the life of a four-legged friend corresponds to seven years in the life of a human being.
However, this is at best partly correct. Because also with the calculation of the dog age the race plays an important role.
For small dogs up to 15 kilos, the first year of life corresponds to 20, the first five to 40 and the first 10 dog years to 60 human years.
For medium-sized dogs up to 45 kilos, the first year of life is 18, the first five 45 and the first 10 dog years 75 human years.
For large dogs over 45 kilos, the first year of life is 14, the first five 49 and the first 10 dog years 94 human years.
The breed plays an important role in how old dogs get. But it is not the only factor that determines life expectancy.
Apart from that, the general lifestyle of the four-legged friend is also important. Dogs, which are exposed to much stress like service dogs with the police, die for example frequently earlier than their privately held conspecifics.
In addition, exercise and nutrition also contribute to the ultimate age of a dog. Lack of exercise and inferior food can lead to obesity and disease, and in many cases reduce life expectancy.
For you as a dog owner, this means that to a certain extent you can control how old your dog gets. Because even if you cannot change the breed of your four-legged friend of course, you can at least create the right conditions for a long and healthy dog life in everyday life.
Make sure that your dog gets enough exercise and avoid stressful situations as much as possible.
Also be aware of the great importance of a species-appropriate diet. Because also this contributes crucially to it, how old your dog becomes and how fit the quadruped is still in the age.
A species-appropriate dog nutrition primarily contains animal fats and proteins. In addition, the food should contain only natural ingredients and a low proportion of easily digestible carbohydrates.
In addition, you should pay attention to breed-specific characteristics and consider any pre-existing diseases that are relevant to the diet.
In addition, make sure that you cover the calorie requirement of your quadruped and do not supply him with too much but also not too little energy. It is important to consider your dog's age, weight and activities.
With a species-appropriate nutrition you can make an important contribution to a high life expectancy and counteract typical age complaints with your dog.
However, as you can see, there are a number of things that need to be considered. To support you, we have therefore developed the Bellfor Nutritionist.
The practical online tool knows exactly what your dog needs and considers all important details such as breed, age and state of health in its recommendations.
How old dogs get depends mainly on the breed. Large dogs usually have a lower life expectancy than their smaller counterparts. Apart from that, however, other factors such as sufficient exercise and an appropriate diet also play a role.
By adapting the nutrition of your four-legged friend optimally to his needs, you increase the probability that your dog lives longer and remains fit and vital until old age.
It is therefore best to use the Bellfor Nutritionist to obtain individual recommendations for your dog.
