How Long Is A Day For A Dog?

One year for us equals seven years for a dog as you may have heard of “dog years.” By multiplying 7 by one year for a dog we get equivalent “human years.”

A dog that is three years old will be twenty-one years old when multiplied by seven. Then we imagine that a dog has lived the equivalent of 21 human years.

If that were the case a dogs day would be the equivalent of seven human days.

Do you think thats true?

Why is time for dogs calculated in this way?

Dogs’ ages were probably calculated using the 1/7 formula as recently as the 1950s. This may be the result of observing that dogs live until they are 10 years old while humans live to be about 70 years old.

Alpo commercials in the 1970s popularized the phrase “Duchess is 13.”. That would be like 91 to you and me.”

It has led some to speculate that the 1/7 formula was developed as a marketing ploy to sell dog food and encourage owners to bring their pets to the vet.

A plot twist that was kind of predictable:

Science does not support the 1/7 formula.

DNA methylation which refers to alterations in genes over a lifetime was used to calculate a dogs age more accurately in a 2019 study.

A new formula was developed based on the findings of this study by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). It may be best captured in this chart from the American Kennel Club:

An AVMA expert estimates that a small to medium-sized dogs first year is equivalent to 15 human years. Yes thats correct. One-year-old dogs are teenagers. Does that make sense?

Dogs live about nine years after their second year. The dog you got two years ago is now 24 years old. Afterward each dog year is approximately equal to five human years.

The lifespan of large breed dogs is shorter and by the time they are eight they are well into their senior years. Senior discounts cruises etc. are all part of their retirement lifestyle. They’re the golden years.

How long is a minute for a dog?

The length of time varies depending on the dogs age size and likely its breed.

Based on the AVMAs guidelines we can estimate that a minute for a puppy is equivalent to approximately fifteen minutes for humans.

A minute equals about nine minutes for a dog that is two years old. Most older dogs can get through a minute in about five minutes.

How long is one hour for a dog?

The AVMAs guidelines state that it varies depending on the age size and breed of the dog.

It is possible for a puppy to spend up to fifteen hours in human time in one hour. This could explain why puppies need to go potty so frequently. Are you really capable of holding it for fifteen hours?

An hour is equal to approximately nine hours for a two-year-old dog. The same for older dogs.

Perhaps thats why they’re so glad to see us after being away for a few hours.

How Long Is A Day Fora A Dog?

The answer varies.

Puppies can live up to fifteen days in human time in a single day. Its no wonder they must be trained during the puppy years. It is important to learn and grow every day because every day is equivalent to more than two weeks.

Approximately nine days are equivalent to one day in the life of a two-year-old dog. The average life expectancy for older dogs is around five days.

How long is a week for a dog?

The same formula can be used to convert a week for a puppy to fifteen weeks for humans. Thats nearly four months! There are plenty of opportunities to instill good behavior and habits in your child.

Approximately nine weeks equate to a week for a two-year-old dog. About two months. For older dogs a week is equivalent to about five weeks.

How long is a month for a dog?

In human time a puppys month may equal up to fifteen months – over a year.

Its amazing how fast they grow up!

For a dog that is two years old a month equals approximately nine months. A month equals about five months for dogs that are older.

You have to wonder though…

Can dogs perceive time?

The amount of research into how dogs perceive time – if any – is limited. But we can safely assume that dogs see time differently from humans.

In spite of this research has shown that dogs are affected by time and can somehow differentiate between varying lengths of time.

Researchers studied dogs’ reactions to being left alone for thirty minutes two hours and four hours using hidden cameras and heart monitors. Thirty minutes of their owners’ absence did not seem to affect them much. After two and four hours however their reactions became enthusiastic and intense. I noticed that the number of hours did not impact their reactions.

Time seems to be a concept to them but they do not seem to understand what it is. Obviously they are unable to measure time. No seconds no minutes nothing. It is as simple as that.

Studies have found that dogs have internal biological rhythms – fluctuations in neural activity body temperature and hormones – that dictate their behavior. At a particular time in the day they’re reacting to a biological state or feeling.

Many people believe this has led dogs to be “stuck in time” and they cannot recall specific memories or anticipate certain events. Moreover some animal studies suggest that they do not have a sense of time.

There are some animal cognition researchers who claim that dogs can be trained to sit without remembering the event in which they were trained.

In addition squirrels hoard instinctively not because they anticipate.

They seem to be saying that the dogs body knows and in some way remembers even if their mind does not.

However some researchers say that dogs are not necessarily “stuck in the moment.” They argue that since dogs can be trained based on past events and can anticipate future events they possess episodic memory. This is a phenomenon we do not understand.

Lets now take this knowledge about dogs’ perception of time and apply it.

Does time seem longer for dogs with separation anxiety?

The ASPCA reports that separation anxiety in dogs can be brought on by being abandoned being given to a new guardian or family or a sudden change in schedule.

In the previous study we learned that dogs react differently when their owners are gone for thirty minutes two hours or four hours. Separation anxiety dogs however do not appear to be affected by time.

Dogs suffering from separation anxiety exhibit the following symptoms:

Disruptiveness
Panting
Saliva
I’m vomiting
Having diarrhea
Behaviors of panic and escape
After returning home clingy
Vocalization
Soiling of the house
Pacing
Hypoventilation
Inactive and withdrawn
When left alone would not eat
Exiting with anxiety

Exercising frequently and intensely is known to curb some separation anxiety behaviors. As the saying goes “A tired dog is a good dog.”.

What is the recommended amount of time that dogs should be left alone?

Age and health are two important factors but there are also others.

A U.K.-based company called Peoples Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) produced the PAW Report which concluded that dogs should not be left alone for more than four hours at a time. Puppies should not be left alone at all and young dogs should be gradually worked up to four hours a day.

According to some organizations 4 to 6 hours is the ideal time for safety and comfort. Leaving it longer can lead to a urinary tract infection.

The maximum amount of time an adult can be alone is eight hours but no longer than six hours. An older dog can be alone for between two and six hours depending on its size and health.

How has the pandemic affected the relationship between dogs and their owners?

It is interesting to note that 10% of U.S. adults adopted a pet last year. The result is that there are more dog owners and perhaps many owners who have never owned a pet before. It is likely that these “pandemic pups” did not experience a lot of separation from their owners.

Those who owned dogs before and who had to start working from home got to know them better.

Nevertheless “essential workers” may have spent more time away from their dogs.

There is no doubt that dogs and people are in this mess together.

As people stop working from home and return to work how might this affect dogs?

We discussed how dogs perceive time in our discussion of how they perceive time-based on their breed and age. Similarly dogs may find time flies when they’re having fun. As it goes for people so may it go for dogs.

As they spent all this time with us at home the time may have gone by quickly for our dogs. As we return to work it may slow to a crawl for them.

Show sympathy.

You can assist your dog in adapting to life post-pandemic by considering the following options: