How To Tell A Dog S Age

Because the change is so rapid this is the most accurate time to be able to tell a dog s age.

How to tell a dog s age. The eyes are another place where your dog might show their age. As a dog gets older their eyes might start to get cloudy or develop some discharge. Chances are you know the approximate age of your adopted dog based on what you were told when you got him but it is often difficult even for a veterinarian to tell the exact age of your pup. At certain intervals teeth will erupt.

The first baby teeth to appear will generally be the canine teeth at 3. Tiny and toy breeds don t become seniors until around age 10. Look at their eyes. You know your dog better than anyone.

The early onset of this can be distinguished by thin lines across the lens of the eyes later on say aged eight the pupil will start to get a slight grey white or bluish tinge. Ridges or bumps on both front teeth can only be seen when the dog is 1 year old. We can make an educated guess based on a few factors like teeth and fur color. At the age of 5 months the dog will have a full set of teeth near the front of the mouth.

A blood panel is a good general indicator of your dog s health and it can also identify problems before they become serious illnesses. With changing age ridges of 4 incisors change at the age 3 0r 4 dogs only will have some ridges. Size and breed also play a role. Medium sized pooches are somewhere in the middle on both counts.

Count the type and position of your puppy s teeth to estimate their age. Smaller dogs tend to live longer than larger ones but they may mature more quickly in the first few years of life. The only way to know your dog s age for sure is to know their birthday. Dogs do get cataracts but sclerosis is far more common and can be an indicator of a dog s age.

A huge pup might age more slowly at first but be nearing middle age at 5. At the age of 7 dogs have completely smooth incisors. If you don t know much about your dog s history then you might want to take them to see a veterinarian and have bloodwork done anyway.