You Know Who Turns Two

Our friend Jeep celebrated her second birthday on January 2nd!

Do you remember when Jeep first came to school how small she was?  She could sit in my lap, take a bath in our kitchen sink and be carried up the stairs.  Not anymore!

I am sure the one who is probably most surprised about Jeep’s growth spurt is Dot Com.  I am sure Dottie had no idea that Jeep would grow more than twice her size.  Now there is just more fluff to love!

I am often asked by students how old Jeep is in people years.  There is a common belief that a one dog year equals seven people years.  Using that formula Jeep would be fourteen people years old.  However, the math is not that simple.

According to the American Vet Medical Association, the first year of a dog’s life actually equals 15 human years.  By year two, a dog adds on nine years for a human.  So how old is Jeep now in human years?  (See if you can do the math in your head BEFORE looking below at the handy chart.)

Keep in mind the size of a dog matters.  Large dogs (like Jeep) age faster than small dogs.  Researchers are still trying to understand why that happens.  The average life span for a Great Pyrenees is 8 – 10 years although I met a male Great Pyr who was 14!

(By the way, I am delighted that the designer of the chart chose a Great Pyrenees picture for the “Large” dog.  That’s Pyr Power!)