According to a research conducted at the University of California, puppies are middle-aged by the time they are two. They then age slowly after the initial few years.
The research conducted using the DNA methylation of 104 labradors focused on dogs aged between 4 weeks and 16 years old.
The findings indicated that the labrador DNA, at the age of 2, was equivalent to humans in their early forties. Traditionally you would say 14 if you went by the earlier belief.
The long-held formula, used earlier, was based on the assumption that humans had an average-life expectancy of 70 compared to 10 that of canines.
The expected lifespan of labrador retrievers, 12 years, correctly translated to the worldwide lifetime expectancy of humans, 70 years.
Our bond with dogs goes well beyond age and number and this new study goes on to prove it once again.