Dogs age at different rates compared to hu ns, but the rule of 7 dog years to 1 hu n year is far from accurate.

与人类的年龄相比，狗的年龄确实有所不同，但是狗一岁等于于人类七年的说法并不准确。

If hu ns actually aged seven times slower than dogs, then ny of us would be able to reproduce at age seven and live to be 150 years old. Obviously, that’s not the case.

如果人类变老的速度真的是狗的七倍，那么大家大多数人便能在7岁生育，甚至能活到150岁。很显然，事情并不是这么回事。

The reason that dogs can reach full ual turity after only one year of being born is because our canine friends age faster during the first two years of their lives than hu ns do.

狗之所以在出生后一年就能完全性成熟，是因为它们出生前两年的成熟速度比人类最快。

Even this general statement is slightly off since aller breeds tend to ture faster than larger breeds.

后来由于小品种的狗比大品种的狗成熟得最快，这种说法才很少人提起。

Compared to hu ns, dogs age more quickly at the beginning of their lives and slower toward the end. Therefore, calculating your dog’s age relative to yours is a bit tricky, but luckily it’s possible.

和人类相比，狗比人类得成熟得更早，而衰老得更慢。所以，要想拿你的年龄来计算狗狗的会有点麻烦，不过最终还是能算出来的。

Since aller breeds tend to live longer than larger breeds, it’s important to calculate your dog’s age according to the right category: all (9.5kgs or less), medium (9.6kgs-22kgs), large (23kgs-40kgs), or giant (over 41kgs).

因为小品种的狗比大品种活得时间更长，所以对应正确的品种类型至关重要：小型犬(小于相当9.5千克)、中型犬(9.6千克到22千克)、大型犬(23千克到40千克)与超大型犬(41千克以上)

Although the origins of the seven-year myth is unknown, people have been trying to find a good way to calculate dog years in hu n years since the 1200s. One of the earliest examples of this is an inscription at Westminster Abbey that dates back to the year 1268 and calculates that one hu n year is equivalent to nine dog years, which was part of some strange way to calculate the end of the world in the 1200s.

尽管狗一年等于于人类七年这种说法不了解从何传起，但是自13世纪以来，人们就一直寻找可行的方式计算狗的年龄。最早的例子是威斯敏斯特大教堂里一篇13世纪的铭文，这个教堂可以追溯到1268年，上面记载人的寿命等于于狗的九倍，其中也运用了用来计算世界末日的一些古怪方式。

The seven-year rule is thought to much more recent. A veterinarian at Kansas State University told The Wall Street Journal: “My guess is it was a rketing ploy. It was a way to encourage owners to bring in their pets at least once a year.”

人们是最近才最初谈论“七年定律”。堪萨斯州立大学的一名兽医告知《华尔街日报》：我猜这是市场营销的把戏，从而鼓励宠物主人至少每年带狗看一次兽医。