One dog year equals seven of ours? Not even close.

The old "multiply by seven" rule is a guess. In 2020, scientists compared the chemical marks that build up on DNA with age in Labrador retrievers and in people, and found a curve instead: dogs race through their early years, then age more slowly.

31 human years for a dog of 1 year

Right now, each dog year is worth about 16 human years.

DNA-based curve: 16 × ln(age) + 31Old rule: age × 7

On the curve, a 1-year-old dog is about 31 in human terms, a 2-year-old about 42 and a 4-year-old about 53. After that it slows down: 7 years comes out near 62, 10 near 68 and 14 near 73.

The two methods cross once, at about 9.6 dog years, which is roughly 67 either way. Before that, the "times seven" rule makes dogs sound younger than they are. After it, the rule makes them sound far older. It calls a 14-year-old dog 98, while the curve says about 73.

Source: Wang et al., "Quantitative Translation of Dog-to-Human Aging by Conserved Remodeling of the DNA Methylome", Cell Systems, 2020.

What's not here: no breeds, no traits and no matching. The formula comes from one breed, Labradors, and small and large dogs age at different speeds, so treat it as a curiosity. It says nothing about any real dog's health. Breed profiles, Find My Match and Compare are in the app.

Pawscan

Which dog fits your life?

People choose a dog with their heart and regret it with their schedule. The fluffy puppy grows into a working dog that needs three hours of exercise a day, or the calm-looking breed sheds on every surface you own. Pawscan helps you choose with your eyes open, and stays useful long after the dog comes home.

  • Sporting
  • Hound
  • Working
  • Terrier

Every breed has an honest profile: its group and size class, typical weight, height and lifespan, coat type and how much it sheds. Trait meters cover the things that shape daily life: energy, trainability, how it tends to be with children and other pets, grooming, barking and how well it copes with flat life. A plain-language temperament note says what the breed is like to live with, and a "good for" line says who it suits.

Find My Match is the part that saves the most heartache. Describe your life, with the size you want, how much energy and grooming you can handle, and whether you need a dog that's good with children or fine in a flat. Pawscan ranks the breeds that actually fit. Then drop any two into Compare and see their facts and meters side by side.

Star favourites, browse by group, sort by size or energy, search by name and choose a look you like. It all works offline, with no account and no ads.

Get Pawscan on Google Play

Package com.tailco.pawscan

Breed traits describe tendencies, not promises: every dog is an individual, and upbringing matters as much as breed. Pawscan doesn't identify breeds from photos. It's a reference to read before you decide, alongside talking to breeders, rescues and vets.

He's watching your pointer. He can't tell you his breed.

IronCove Labs

IronCove Labs is a small UK studio building Android references that do one job clearly, work without a connection, and don't ask you to sign up.

Company
PLASTIC PLUS LTD, trading as IronCove Labs
Director
Mohammed Junaid Arif
Address
Unit C, Station Works, 2 Bury Road, Radcliffe, Manchester, M26 2UA, United Kingdom
Email
fetch@plasticplus.autos

Know a breed well and think a trait meter is off? Write to us with the breed and what you've seen. Owners' corrections are how the profiles get better.