Scientists claim dog years are myth and puppies are middle-aged

A new study suggests that dog years are a myth and puppies are actually middle-aged when they are two years old. Scientists have claimed that dogs age seven years for every one human year are wrong. The new study suggested that they are closer to a 50-year old human by the age of three. The researchers at the University of California examined how dogs age by focusing on a natural phenomenon called DNA methylation in more than 100 labradors, aged between 14 weeks and 16 years.

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Ageing slows down in dogs over time

It allows scientists to monitor the biological age of a species as the DNA contains marks that change over time as the cell matures. The research revealed that young dogs with a lot of energy may be considerably older than they appear. By the age of two, the DNA of the labrador was equivalent to a human in their early forties, rather than a 14-year-old human which the traditional formula would suggest. Ageing slows down in dogs over time and by the age of 10, a labrador is similar to a person aged 68. The researchers developed a new method to determine the age of dogs.

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Researchers perform genetic analysis of dogs

The study said that multiplying the natural logarithm of a dog's age in calendar years by 16 and adding 31 will show its equivalent age in human years. The study also said that there are also similarities in the aging process between humans and dogs. It also revealed that eight-week-old puppies resembles nine-month-old babies. The team performed a genetic analysis of dogs and humans to identify how dogs age over time. The researchers discovered that as compared  with humans dogs tend to age faster. The researchers also looked at the methylomes of mice. They discovered that two-and-a-half mouse years translates to about nine dog years.

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