What do people mean by “dog years”? We people live for about 78 years, but dogs live a much shorter life, about 1/7 of ours. So each calendar year for us feels like 7 years to them. Can this work with other animals? See how many times an animal’s life divides into one “people-life,” and that’s how long 1 year feels to them. If cats live 10 years, 1 year for us feels like 8 years for them. Hamsters live about 3 years, so 1 year for us is 26 hamster years! That sounds like one busy year.
Wee ones: If a “cat year” is 8 years and a “rabbit year” is 1 year longer, how long is a rabbit year?
Little kids: If guinea pigs live about 6 years and cats live about 10 years, for which one does a real year feel longer? Bonus: If your dog has been chewing on your family’s shoes for 2 years, how long is that in dog years? (Reminder if needed: A year for us feels 7 times as long to a dog).
Big kids: Some say that the first 2 years of a dog’s life each feel like 10 years to them, then each year after that feels like 4. If a dog has lived 5 real years, now how long is that in dog years? Bonus: If goldfish live about 2 years, how long does 1 of our years feel to them, if we live to 78?
Answers:
Wee ones: 9 years.
Little kids: For the guinea pig, since it’s a bigger fraction (piece) of his life. Bonus: 14 years.
Big kids: 32 years, since it feels like 10+10+4+4+4. Bonus: 39 years.
