Determine the dog's age: from puppy to old man

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There are a number of reasons why owners should know how old a pet is:

First, it is necessary in order to inoculate in time his four-legged friend. Most vaccines are administered precisely by age. A young animal is vaccinated once every 12 months. But when it reaches maturity, vaccination is carried out much less frequently, since the immune system at this age begins to weaken and the viruses injected with the vaccination can harm the dog's body.
Secondly, to determine the period suitable for mating. This is especially important for owners of bitches to calculate the beginning of estrus.
Third, to calculate a convenient time for castration or sterilization. Not all people want to deal with offspring, so they resort to the services of veterinarians. But the fact is that too early an operation, as well as in old age, can harm a dog. Most veterinarians recommend performing this procedure at the age of 6-7 years, not looking at whether the dog gave birth or not. Many owners castrate or sterilize a pet in order to prolong its life cycle, to help avoid health problems - oncological formations, prostatitis, prolapse of the uterus, genital infections, etc.

In addition, the ability to determine the age of dogs is necessary for those who are engaged in volunteering, attaching stray animals, working in shelters and veterinary clinics. After all, giving the four-legged friend to a new family, you must provide all the available information about him.

There are several options for calculating the age category of dogs.

Basic methods for determining age

It should start with the fact that experts divide dogs into several age groups:

puppies - dogs from birth to two months,
young individuals - up to one and a half years,
adult dogs - older than 18 months.

Experts most often use the method of assessing the teeth of a dog. This principle is based on the regularity of the appearance of teeth, their abrasion, and then the period of their change and abrasion of a permanent dentition. Like people, they change once in dogs, and if she lived in suitable conditions, had good nutrition and the right bite, then her teeth could be as accurate as possible to determine her age.

How to determine the age of the dog in the teeth? The following features are observed:

if there are no teeth in the oral cavity at all, then we are talking about a newborn baby, which is a maximum of two weeks old,
in three weeks, the puppy begins the process of teething,
the front incisors appear at monthly age,
on the 35th day, the molar teeth erupt at the puppy, while the milk teeth,
the baby has 1-2 months with normal development, the entire dentition is present.

If a puppy had not cut all his teeth by two months old, it means that he has significant health problems and it would not hurt him to show him to the veterinary. Page 2

The next age sign in dogs is a change of teeth:

In the period from 2 to 4 months puppies change the front incisors, including the hooks. Such a run-up in age is determined by the fact that, in different breeds, tooth change begins in different ways.
In the period from 3 to 5 months, the lateral and middle teeth are replaced.
By half a year, the puppies have milk fangs and the growth of new ones begins.
Complete replacement of teeth occurs at six, a maximum of eight months.

The final step in calculating the age of puppies occurs at 12 months. The dog is already formed, has a muscular corset, and often there is a full coat of wool (but not all breeds). The teeth of one-year-old dogs are snow-white, with tubercles (usually the dog bites off fleas) and resemble the serrated blade of a knife.

In the future, it is the hillocks that have an unusual trident shape, and are the decisive link for determining the age of the pet. It is on the level of abrasion and look professional veterinarians and dog handlers, if you need to say how old the dog is. Their condition is divided into several stages:

Two years. At this time, the dog is observed abrasion of the hillocks on the lower hooks. After this special change does not occur.
Four years. By this period, the bumps of the hooks on the upper jaw are erased, the enamel coating of the teeth loses its luster and becomes dull.
Five years. There is a complete erasure of tubercles on all incisors, blunting of the canines is often observed, the enamel acquires a noticeable yellow tint.
Six years. At this time, significant changes occur - the incisors change shape (have a concave), and the determination of the correct bite becomes very difficult. Enamel turns yellow even more.
Eight to ten years. Abrasion of the teeth is pronounced, the canines are dull, the teeth, in addition to the apparent yellowness, can be covered with bloom. The formation of tartar is often observed.
Older than ten years. At this age, the teeth of the dogs begin to stagger, fall out, often the formation of caries. This is the most obvious sign of a pet's advanced age.

Other age determination methods

If it is not possible to determine the age of the teeth, then you can try to do it by appearance and behavioral features:

The young pet has a well-developed musculature, which can be felt when stroking. In addition, the young animal spends little time sleeping, more in motion.
An old dog has a flabby muscular system, obesity is often diagnosed. The dog quickly gets tired on walks, sleeps more. Visible calluses appear on elbows and joints.

Such signs are very similar to human, because the old man is much less active than the young.

Determining the age according to the condition of the coat may not give reliable results, since not only age but also a lot of factors affect the wool. In addition, in some breeds it is completely absent.

But if there is a comprehensive assessment of the qualities of a dog, then silky wool with glitter is a sign of a young animal. And if it is dull, heterogeneous, with gray hair (especially in the muzzle area), then this may indicate that the animal is elderly. But you should also know that gray hair with pigmentation disorders may be in young individuals.

You can try to determine the age of the pet by the eyes. The young dog's eyes are clear, most often with a cheerful, mischievous brilliance. The old dog has a certain turbidity of the eyes, especially the pupils, there is no transparency, there is no enthusiasm and playfulness, funny sparkles in the eyes. Often, the eyes become more deeply set, the animal may have a decrease in vision and various eye diseases. But the turbidity of the eyeball can also signal the presence of the disease.

Comparing the age of a dog and a person

Many owners are interested in information on how to determine the age of a dog by human standards.

Modern experts have found that the old system of calculation, where one year of a person is equal to seven years of a dog, is absolutely wrong. Indeed, the development of dogs proceeds differently in different life periods. For example, only in the first year of life an animal undergoes a lot of changes - from a dairy puppy to an adult dog, that is, compared to a person - from a newborn baby to a 16-year-old. It turns out that the seven-year calculation is not at all suitable for these calculations.

At two years old, the dog corresponds to 25 human years, that is, it is a fully developed, adult animal. That is, in a year a pet overcomes a ten-year human period, it becomes more serious and obedient, its behavior differs significantly from that of a puppy.

After two years, the development of a beloved pet slows down significantly. And it is from this time that a classical calculation can be made - 1 year equals 7. But even in this case, taking into account the individuality of the dog and its belonging to one breed or another, the result will be averaged.

Everyone knows that dogs of small breeds do not age as quickly as large ones, and their life cycle is much longer. Their age is calculated based on the fact that one year corresponds to five human ones. Medium-sized dogs live six human years for a year, and representatives of large breeds — seven.

Attentive attitude to your beloved dog, good and caring care will help keep her healthy and prolong her youth.

The smallest puppies

Most newborn puppies are very similar to each other. The umbilical cord, which is cut or cut off at birth, has the appearance of a soft, wet thread in the first two days of life. However, by the third or fourth day of life, it dries out and falls off, leaving behind a small bump in the center of the tummy.

At about the age of five to eight days, the baby’s auditory channels open and although you can hear, in the full sense of the word, the baby can only by the end of the third week, right now, if you look closely, you can see that there are no more tapes covering the ear canal.

Ten to sixteen days after birth, newborn eyes open. If the puppies are fed artificially, this period may move 2-4 days back, but in general, it is at this time that the dogs begin to see.

From about 20 days, when the first milk incisors are cut, and until old age, the dog's age is easiest to determine by teeth. The remaining indirect signs of changes over time can only complete the picture.

Young dog

Between 4 and 5 months of life, the milky incisors are replaced by permanent ones. The next canines change, and by 7-8 months the young dog has a full set of permanent teeth. In animals of large breeds, as a rule, teeth change faster. In addition, the conditions of detention, the balance of the diet and the presence of essential minerals and vitamins in food also affect the speed of change.

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In the year the teeth of the animal reach the size inherent in the breed. In a one-year-old dog, teeth of a rich snow-white color, distinguished by a healthy shine and tight, without cracks, sit in the jaw. The incisors have three protruding lobes (called trefoil), clearly visible on the top of the tooth.

Heyday

1.5-3 years are characterized by erasing the upper, most prominent, petal of the incisor. In addition, depending on the feeding and maintenance of the pet, the first signs of hard plaque on the teeth appear at this age, and the enamel, first of all perfectly white, gradually acquires a slight shade of ivory.

By 4.5-5 years the incisors completely lose their protruding parts, and the sharpness of the canines is also noticeably reduced.

At 6 years old, the dog's teeth acquire a steady yellow hue.

Maturity and aging

At the age of 7, the cutting edge of the tooth retains a certain sharpness, the canines become dull, and the lower jaw hooks take the form of eggs, turned with blunt edges towards the lips, and sharp towards the tongue.

In 10 years and later most of the teeth are completely erased, making them look like short, blunt hemp. The incisors of the lower and later the upper jaw stagger and begin to fall out.

Caries, poor nutrition and diseases of internal organs are also not the best way to affect the teeth. Given these factors, a small correction should be made when determining the age of the animal. Moreover, the older the dog, the greater the error can be made in the analysis.

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In addition to the state of the dental system, along with the years lived, the dog has characteristic features of appearance that are absent at a young age:

Starting from 7-8 years, the first gray hair appears on the face, which subsequently extends to the stomach and front legs.
The older the pet, the lower its physical activity. And although this criterion, in addition to past years, depends on many factors, in general, young dogs are noticeably more cheerful and mobile than the elderly.
After 10 years, the muscle tone of older animals falls. This is especially noticeable in short-haired dogs with developed muscles.
At the age of 11-12, the cornea becomes cloudy, and the eyes themselves sink.
The weakness of the muscular corset leads to the fact that the back of the four-legged friend sags, and the stomach drops noticeably down.
Irreversible age-related changes in the shape of the joints lead to a characteristic change in the gait of an elderly dog. Stiffness appears in the movements of the hind limbs, the back hock joint as it straightens, losing its former flexibility.

Defining the approximate age of the animal, should be considered a combination of several signs, not highlighting one of them. In general, the younger the dog, the more accurately you can determine how old she is. At the end of life, the pet's appearance does not depend so much on the biological age, but on the image and living conditions of the animal.

Why do you need to know the age of the dog

Some of us may wonder, why even know a more or less accurate age of the dog? Surely, you can not do without it, just appreciating who is in front of you - a puppy, a teenage dog, or an adult dog. In fact, it is important to know the age of your pet, not only to celebrate his birthday every year. But, this information will definitely come in handy when you ask for help at a veterinary clinic, when you need to conduct a routine vaccination of your pet (about the need for vaccination and when you need to give the first vaccinations to your puppy - read here), so that you can could make the right feeding ration (find out what is the best way to feed a puppy and an adult dog here), properly care for a puppy ...

It’s hardly possible to ask the puppy itself or the adult dog, but to examine them and determine how many years the new member of the family can do it even without the help of a specialist. The main thing is to follow our recommendations. If you still have difficulties or difficulties, you can always consult a veterinarian for advice - this professional will definitely not make a mistake ...
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How can a puppy determine its age?

Determine the age of the teeth

It is believed that The most accurate method for determining the age of a puppy is the method of determining its age by its teeth.. So, as in humans, and in animals, the teeth during the life change only 1 time. And, by their condition, you can estimate the approximate age of the pet. Why, approximate? And where is the accuracy? The fact is that

if the dog has a correct bite, and it will be kept in good conditions, it will not have diseases of the teeth - then you can determine the age more accurately. But, if one of these criteria is violated - a mistake may occur for several months, or even years ... But, in principle, the chances of finding the full number of years for animals without documents are quite a lot ...

So, the newborn puppy has no teeth at all. Dairy hooks and canines begin to cut by the 20-25 day. And, the incisors begin to appear in 30-35 days, whereas the primary milk teeth - and then later. That is, by the age of 1-2 months the puppy should already have a full set of milk teeth, if of course there are no deviations and irregularities in its development. And, as a rule, at this age he is still with his mother.

The next important step in determining the puppy's age relates to changing teeth. So, the front incisors or hooks are replaced in 2-4 months, more accurate terms regulate the characteristic breed characteristics. In 3-5 months, there is a change of premolars or medium incisors, and until the puppy is 4-6 months old, its edges should change, and in 6 months new fangs will have to appear. If in the mouth of a puppy you see just such a “picture”, it means that he is no more than 6 months old.

The last important stage, which again concerns the change of teeth, is governed by a pattern that reads -

how much a dog grows - so much her teeth change.

After the replacement of the pseudoped and molar in a puppy, the remaining teeth grow, and by the year it should have a complete set of teeth — white and with characteristic tubercles ...

By the way, as a rule, the process of changing milk teeth to the molars takes place in puppies more quickly, but the puppy’s diseases can affect these processes and ... arresting his ears. As experience shows, such an operation slows down the development of the pet as a whole, but it is necessary to come to terms with it if the cropped ears are one of the breed requirements.
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How in the teeth to determine the age of an adult dog

In the future, in order for you to determine the age of a dog older than 1 year, you should pay attention to how its dental bumps are being used up, whether molars and incisors have specific bulges similar in shape to the shamrock as they grow older dogs they will disappear.

So, if a dog is 2 years old, then she must have tubercles worn on the hooks and on the lower jaw.
At 4 years old, the dog must have wiped up the bumps on the upper hooks, and the color of the tooth enamel should become dull.
At the age of 5, the dog has eroded tubercles from all incisors, and the enamel itself has a yellow tint. Dog fangs are not so sharp.
В 6 лет стертые резцы уже приобретают вогнутую форму, а сам прикус собаки деформируется, что существенно затрудняет определение его правильности.
В 8-9 лет зубные коронки взрослой собаки уже вытираются, клыки становятся тупыми и короткими, а зубы желтыми.
В более старшем возрасте (старше 10 лет) – зубы у собаки могут выпадать, возможно развитие зубного камня и кариеса…

От чего зависит истирание зубов у собаки

Виды прикуса у собак

На самом деле, истирание зубов у собаки зависит от многих факторов. And, one of the main ones is age, as well as pet care. So, if you want to keep your dog's teeth healthy longer, you should cement them, strengthen them, treat tooth decay timely, remove plaque and tartar - all this will keep your teeth healthy.

Also, if a dog had a bite originally formed, its teeth will wear out faster. If your pet has a scissor bite, then the abrasion process will occur 2 times faster. If the pet has an undershot mouth - on the contrary, the hooks of the lower jaw linger longer.

If you want to keep your dog's teeth longer and healthy and young, and thereby "hide" the real age of the pet - you should not give him to wear hard things - stones or iron, make sure that your four-faced friend does not have a tendency to perverse appetite. Too hard bones should also be discarded, as in other matters, and too soft food - as a result of it, the teeth become brittle and soft, loose, and more prone to the formation of caries and tartar.
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Other ways to determine the age of dogs

You can also, if the determination of the age of the dog in the teeth did not give an accurate result, use other methods. By the way

If you try to conduct a comprehensive assessment, then this result will be much more accurate than if you determine the puppy's age using only one of the methods.

So you can rate dog muscle tone. A puppy will be characterized by well-developed muscles, and the dog’s behavior itself will be active. Ideally, a healthy puppy should move more than rest. And, here are older dogs - on the contrary, they sleep more and spend less time playing (about games with dogs). They may also experience atrophy of muscle tissue, and in rare cases obesity.

It can help in assessing age dog coat. Soft and silky wool is inherent in young individuals, whereas for older dogs it is tough and becomes dirty more quickly. If the dog has a dark breed color, then the aged pet in the area of the muzzle and on the lips may grow gray hair. However, if the dog is deprived of wool or it is too meek, or it may be neglected — for example, if you have a decorative poodle that you haven’t washed or shorn for a long time (learn how to trim a poodle at home) - identify it age by this evaluation criterion will be very difficult.

Some experts claim that the dog’s age can tell sight, in particular, eye condition. So, if the pet's eyes glitter and clear - in front of you a puppy or teenager. If the pet's eyes are dull, dull and not transparent - most likely, you have an older dog. Moreover, most eye diseases in dogs develop in this very mature age ...
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The age of the dog by human standards

The scale of the age of dogs by human standards

There was already a publication on our website in which we talked about the age of cats by human standards, in order that the owners of dogs would not take offense at us - we decided to pay attention to this issue in our today's publication. So, how do you relate the age of the dog to the human age? Although this is not so important - here we are not talking about vaccination and about the features of care - dogs have their own calendar, but if you are really interested, then it will be useful for you to know the following.

Taking into account that we know the average life expectancy of a dog (10 years is an average figure) and a person (60-70 years), we can calculate the conversion factor, which will be equal to 7 human years of life for 1 year of a dog's life. However, at the age of up to a year, puppies develop much more intensively and have time for their development, if you carry out a bold parallel, to catch up with the development of a 16-year-old adolescent. Therefore, we would not equate 1 year of a dog's life to 7 years of a person's life - after all, this is too rough. We propose to approach the assessment more flexibly, and 2 years of dog life equate to 24 years of human life. After that, the process of growing dogs slows down.

So, for example, science has proven that

representatives of small and medium-sized decorative dog breeds age more slowly than dogs of large and large breeds age. And, long-lived dogs are considered to be just medium-sized breeds, which for a year of their life after 2 years, already live for 5 human years, whereas for representatives of large breeds, 1 year of life equals 6-7 years of human life. Accordingly, 14 years of life of the Mastiff or St. Bernard are 108 years of human life ...

In any case, no matter how old your dog is in human terms, experts suggest that dogs up to 1 year old should be considered puppies, up to 2 years old - as teenagers, from 2 to 5 years old - dogs in the prime of life, with 5 up to 8 years old - dogs at a mature age, from 8 years old ones ... From now on, they should reduce physical exertion, change their diet and be prepared for the fact that all those age changes that manifest themselves in old age dogs, will manifest itself in your pet in all its glory (read more about dogs old age and age changes s in their bodies here). Unfortunately, dogs, like people, do not get younger and healthier over the years ...

Video about interesting facts about the age of dogs

Today we talked about how to determine the age of a puppy and an adult dog, not knowing the date of their birth and not having documents on them, about what methods of determination for this can be used. And, also, we touched on the topic of the age of dogs by human standards. Well, as you can see, in order to properly care for your pet, you really need to know its age. Therefore, we wish you accuracy in defining it ...

Perhaps one of our readers knows a different way, how can you determine the age of a puppy or an adult dog, and compare it with the age of a person? Share this information with our readers. We are waiting for your comments and stories.

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About age do not ask, but dogs look in the teeth

The most accurate picture of the age of a quadruped bomber will give a comprehensive assessment of the condition of the teeth, eyes and general condition. Offhand to understand who is in front of you: a very young puppy, an angular teenager or an adult animal, is easy. Further difficulties begin. An experienced dog lover first thing carefully look into the toothy maw. But for this you need to know exactly where to look and what to evaluate.

Show teeth: anatomy

Canines are classified as heterodont animals. Their teeth differ in structure and perform different functions. In adult quadrupeds, there are 42 permanent teeth (20 at the top and 22 at the bottom), and puppies sport 28 milk teeth (14 per jaw). Knowledge of the atomic structure of the dog's jaw will help a lot when viewed.

What are the teeth of dogs?

When viewed from the center of the jaw, the incisors are six teeth, growing three to the right and left (the upper ones are much larger than the lower ones, only 12 on each jaw). They help the animal to bite off food. The central pair of incisors are called “hooks”, followed by the middle incisors and edges. The crown of all the incisors is in the shape of a wedge, and the cutting surface is as if divided into three lobes (trefoil)

They are difficult to confuse: 4 sharp fangs - a terrible dream of the attacker. The crown has a conical, forward curved shape, specially adapted to tear prey. We must not forget that even the sweetest baby is a ferocious predator in the soul.

Chewing teeth (molars and premolars)

The teeth, located from the canine to the beginning of the jaw, belong to the chewing group. There are 4 premolars (pseudopodia), 3 molars (indigenous) on each side on the lower jaw, and 4 premolars, 2 molars on the upper. For the convenience of closing and grinding food, their surface is provided with tubercles.

The method of estimating the age of an animal in the teeth is based on the general laws in the schedule of their eruption, changing and erasing.

Teething schedule

the baby is born blind, deaf and toothless. The problem of his protection and sustenance is perplexed by his mother, so there is no need for a dangerous weapon yet.
After living for 25 days, a shaggy child acquires milk fangs
Monthly puppy sports a full set of growing incisors
by 2 months (60-65 days), he is completely toothy and ready for damage to his property

How do baby teeth change

if the foundling has all the temporary teeth still intact, you can be sure that he is about 2 months old.
3-4 months: milk hooks leave the mouth
3-5 months: average incisors change
4-6 month: permanent okraki erupt
6 months: a half year old equator is marked by changing fangs
7-8 months: change of molar and mote teeth occurs
12 months (year): the milk teeth completely gave up the post to permanent ones, and those grew and got stronger.

For example, a puppy just started to grow a hook, so he was 3 months old. If the hooks have changed, and the average cutter just seemed - 4 months, fully grown - 5, and so on. Using this principle, you never make a mistake!

How to find out how old a dog is: appearance tells about age

Despite the specifics of the dental way, if you rely only on it, errors are possible. The fact is that the appearance of the teeth of an adult individual in addition to age is influenced by living conditions. Poor nutrition, overbite, other reasons why a dog is forced to survive rather than live - wear their teeth much faster. Therefore, it will be correct to assess the state of the pet's tail by several other indicators.

Muscle state

In older dogs, muscle tone is lower, slight atrophy is possible, bones stick out stronger. This is due to a decrease in overall activity. Young pets are always ready for hide and seek, catch-up and any other games. But the adult dog will never miss the opportunity to once again relax.

In search of information that how to find out how old a dog is, you need to take into account the fact that representatives of large breeds are aging faster. Whereas little ones keep their youth a little longer.

The last item, the most pleasant

If you are a kind soul and cannot indifferently pass by someone else's misfortune, do help with homeless animals or burn a loss, then the question: “How do you know how old a dog is?” For you is more important than important. Advertisements about the extension and the search for owners work the better, the more complete the information about the dog.

Methods for determining age in puppies

There are several methods at once, following which one can determine the age of both a puppy and an adult dog.

The most accurate method of determining age is the diagnosis of teeth. The fact is that in dogs, as, indeed, in humans, the teeth change only once in their lives. By the condition of the pet's teeth, you can determine its approximate age. But here, there are some nuances. For example, a dog that is kept at home, receives normal nutrition, attention and care, boasts teeth that are in better condition than domestic dogs. In such a dog to determine the age of the teeth is much easier. However, if the dog has an incorrect bite or at least one of the above criteria is violated, an error in determining the age can leave from a couple of months to several years.

So, for example, a newborn puppy has no teeth at all. Only after the onset of 20–25 days after birth does the first hitch and fangs appear in the infant.

A month after birth, the first incisors appear, and a little later - the molars. Thus, at two months of age, a puppy boasts a full set of milk teeth, but only if it develops according to a standard schedule, in accordance with the nuances of the breed.

The next stage, which determines the age of a puppy, concerns the change of its primary milk teeth. So, in the period from three to five months, the molars change, and until the age of six months, the incisors should change. If in the mouth of a puppy just such a picture appeared before your eyes, this indicates that he is not more than 6 months old.

When the puppy comes a year, he must have white molars with characteristic tubercles in his mouth. Usually this process ends before the onset of the year from the moment of birth of the puppy, however, it may be somewhat delayed, depending on the speed of development of the animal and its breed characteristics. Ear cupping also has a direct effect on the speed of teeth changing.

Methods for determining age in an adult dog

If the puppy's age is quite simple, then with this process, an adult dog may experience some difficulties. To do this, you should pay attention to the degree of wear of the teeth, as well as the state of the hillocks on them:

if the dog is 2 years old or so, the bumps on the hooks and lower jaw must be wiped out,
closer to four years of life, the tubercles on the upper hooks are wiped off, and the color of the tooth enamel becomes dull,
on all upper incisors, the hillocks disappear by five years. Tooth enamel turns yellow, and fangs are no longer so sharp,
at 6 years old, the dog's incisors become concave, and its bite is somewhat deformed. Determining how correct a bite becomes is much more difficult.
at the age of 8-9 years old, the dog’s dental crowns are wiped out, and its canines become rather short and dull,
Beginning at the age of 10, the dog’s teeth may be stricken with a stone, or even begin to fall out.

Several other ways to determine age in dogs

There are other ways by which the age of a dog can be determined. For example, you can assess the muscle tone of your pet. For puppies and young dogs is characterized by active behavior and well-developed muscles. If the puppy is completely healthy, then he should spend much more time in motion than rest. Dogs of more advanced age, on the contrary, tend to have more time for rest than to be in motion. And such animals can be observed atrophy of muscle tissue and even obesity.

According to the dog's coat, it is also realistic to roughly determine its age. Individuals of a young age can boast a soft and sufficiently silky coat, while in older dogs the wool dims and is more likely to become contaminated.

It should be noted that the above two methods for determining the age of dogs will give the expected result only when it comes to well-kept domestic dogs with a normal diet.

According to veterinarians, canine age can be judged by simply looking the animal in the eye. Clear and brilliant eyes indicate not only that the dog is healthy, but also of a fairly young age. And the opaque, dull, or even dim eyes indicate the opposite. Remember, the vast majority of eye disease in a dog occurs precisely in old age.

Experts say that all dogs can be divided into the following age categories: