# How do you tell how old a dog is?



## MillysMom (Nov 5, 2008)

I've asked a few vets how old they think Milly is, and I've gotten a few answers (all within 2 years of each other). I noticed when I asked this question they took into account her entire body, and not just her teeth and mouth. It seemed like each vet was looking at more than just the gray hairs on her face.

So, are there any things you look for in determining age? And, what do the teeth and mouth in dogs tell us about age? In horses it's fairly easy to get a good idea of age by looking at the teeth, but I honestly can't tell much about Milly's teeth except the bottom teeth are worn to the gum line, and have been since I got her. They look exactly the same as they did 4 years ago, except they have less tartar now.

I can usually tell a younger dog, a middle aged dog, and an old dog just by the way they look. But, I couldn't tell you within 2 years their age by examining them (except with the young dogs).


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I dont know but when I had first gotten my foster Joey last year, the shelter and the first vet told us he was around 2 years old but when xrays were done on him his growth plates were still open. So he was less then one year old. He had alot of bad tarter because he was on a bad diet and then almost starved to death. 

I think they look at alot of things. But the biggest is teeth.


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## Kelmel (Apr 7, 2009)

I don't know, I wish I did. We rescued Jack a few weeks ago and the rescue told us he was around a year old. Now that we have him, we think he may be closer to two with his calmness, build and teeth. We haven't taken him to the vet yet so we don't have her opinion. This is my first dog that I didn't know his history and it is different. I wish he could talk and tell me his experiences, but instead we make up all kinds of stories to explain his quirky behaviors : ).


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I don't really think that judging by teeth _alone_ can be that reliable... I mean, take my 5 y/o cat for example. He only eats dry food on a regular basis. We offer wet food to him on occasion, but he just licks up the gravy and pushes the actual food off the plate. Our vet is amazed by how good his teeth are for his age. He was just in for his yearly shots and again we heard the vet marveling about how he doesn't see teeth like that in a cat Lu's age. I do know they didn't just go by his teeth when we first brought him to the vet a few years back. When they sorted out how old he was, they compared him to other cats and clocked him at 5-7 mos. based on his body shape and overall looks. 

Our collie too... his teeth are pretty bad. I'd chalk that up to the fact that the family he lived and bonded with for his first two years gave him up due to the economy. That stress gave him chronic intestinal issues, which likely affected his teeth. Add to that the fact he is almost completely on wet food. He's only 5, but his teeth kinda look like they belong to a 9-10 year old dog. 

Personally speaking, I can usually tell within a couple years how old a dog is - simply by comparing them to how my dogs or other people's dogs (whose ages I know) looked at various ages. It helps knowing a little about the dog's breed.

- maturity (length, coloring, feel) of the coat 
- overall shape of the dog, particularly muscle and bone build (chest, shoulders/withers, back in particular)
- look of the dog's teeth 
- whitening around muzzle, eyes, brow, shoulders, back
- tightness of the skin around dog's eyes as well as around his mouth and neck
- head set/shape/size 
- facial expression 
- energy level or drive
- weight distribution

Each one of the above items alone would not be entirely reliable if judging on that aspect alone. Like the teeth or the white hair or the energy level. Furthermore, it's a bit harder to tell how old a dog is if he's overweight, sick, or overall not thriving. Case in point, I can show you a picture of my one past goldens during his last year. He was only six, but he looked like a 9 or 10 y/o dog. 

I do think it's easy to sort out the three life stages though - young, adult, senior - based on overall. Narrowing it down to specific years... again, I'm NOT always right, but it's fun to guess.  

- about the horses, I've never been able to guess based on teeth alone. I've been hanging around them since I was 5, and I still have no idea what people are looking at when they pull a horse's mouth open. :


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Well in horses it is the length of the tooth, and the angle, the horses teeth do start to protrude forward as they age. The molars get very worn too. 

I would suppose in dogs, good teeth or not, there would be some degree of wear consistent with approximate age. I do think it would be harder now to get a better idea, now that there is better medical care, more conscientious owners who get dental health, which is why in general I think dogs (and horses) are living longer. 

I am no expert in either horses or dogs. I used to be able to guesstimate in horses, but unless they have a distinct puppy look I am horrible at dogs. 

Ann


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## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

I usually look at the face of a Golden.

No white face I would say 5 years or younger. Just a touch, 5-7 years. Moderate 8-10 years and well established "Wisdom-White" would be 10 plus.


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## Mssjnnfer (Aug 9, 2009)

We just went through this at the vet with Sadie. They weren't looking to see how clean the teeth were, but how worn down they were. The vet was stumped, though, because with her tumor she figured she was olderish... but her teeth weren't worn down very much, which made her think she was younger, like around 3.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Well, we had 3 vets tell us that our old rescue border collie was between 4 - 6 years old when we got him. I think they were going by the white eyebrows and the white around his muzzle. He had suspiciously white teeth though, which makes me think now that he had to be around 1-2. My family didn't know any better and he was certainly CALM for a border collie (calm for any breed of dog) and I think that's also why they thought he was older. That sweet soul was with us for 12 years, so I think the vet's estimation was off! No way was he was 16 - 18 years old when he passed away. I think he was actually closer to 2 when we got him and the white on his face was just his markings, not greying. Once he got older, you could see the greying coming in on his face.

But you can see why they thought he was so old: below are pics - the first pic was the second year we had him, the second one was a few months before he passed away. There's a ten years difference between these shots:


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

NuttinButGoldens said:


> I usually look at the face of a Golden.
> 
> No white face I would say 5 years or younger. Just a touch, 5-7 years. Moderate 8-10 years and well established "Wisdom-White" would be 10 plus.


That's what I used to think... until I got the current guy. 

He was a couple month's past his second birthday here, with a little white spreading around his mouth - 










I need to take an updated headshot with the same lighting, but he now has white creeping in around his eyebrows and between his eyes. Furthermore, you can spot white hairs on his back. :uhoh:

My vet says it's perfectly normal for some dogs to go prematurely white.


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## jenlaur (Jun 24, 2009)

NuttinButGoldens said:


> I usually look at the face of a Golden.
> 
> No white face I would say 5 years or younger. Just a touch, 5-7 years. Moderate 8-10 years and well established "Wisdom-White" would be 10 plus.


Not sure if this is very accurate...we just adopted a boy who has what I would call a "wisdom white" white face who is only 6. He looks 9 or 10. We have his original papers to prove his age.


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## firedancer722 (Apr 12, 2010)

I got very conflicting reports when I first got Charlie too! The shelter people estimated him at 18 months old. The vet that neutered him estimated him at 6 months old, and my vet that gave his shots estimated him at "no more than 1 year old." I figured I'd trust the vets over the shelter people and seeing how puppy-ish Charlie acted, I couldn't believe he was 18 months old. So, I just went somewhere in the middle and picked a birthday of July 15th for him (it's 2 DAYS AWAY!!!!)  Then yesterday, when I took him to the vet for his itchies, I asked that vet (who is different because I have moved) what she thought of his age, and she said "ohh, he's a baby... I would put him right at a year old at most." So, I've settled on that. 

It does seem to be difficult to tell and with golden's, i think most tend to have a puppy face for a long while! I know Charlie still has a puppy face for sure.


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## NuttinButGoldens (Jan 10, 2009)

It's not. But if it's all ya got...



jenlaur said:


> Not sure if this is very accurate...we just adopted a boy who has what I would call a "wisdom white" white face who is only 6. He looks 9 or 10. We have his original papers to prove his age.


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