Dogs age at different rates compared to humans, but the simple rule of 7 dog years to 1 human year is far from accurate.
和人類的年齡相比，狗的年齡確實有所不同，但是狗一歲相當於人類七年的說法並不準確。
If humans actually aged seven times slower than dogs, then many of us would be able to reproduce at age seven and live to be 150 years old. Obviously, that’s not the case.
如果人類變老的速度真的是狗的七倍，那麼我們大多數人便能在7歲生育，甚至能活到150歲。很顯然，事情並不是這麼回事。
The reason that dogs can reach full sexual maturity after only one year of being born is because our canine friends age faster during the first two years of their lives than humans do.
狗之所以在出生後一年就能完全性成熟，是因爲它們出生前兩年的成熟速度比人類更快。
Even this general statement is slightly off since smaller breeds tend to mature faster than larger breeds.
後來由於小品種的狗比大品種的狗成熟得更快，這種說法才很少人提起。
Compared to humans, 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.
與人類相比，狗比人類得成熟得更早，而衰老得更慢。所以，要想拿你的年齡來計算狗狗的會有點麻煩，不過最終還是能算出來的。
Since smaller breeds tend to live longer than larger breeds, it’s important to calculate your dog’s age according to the right category: small (9.5kgs or less), medium (9.6kgs-22kgs), large (23kgs-40kgs), or giant (over 41kgs).
因爲小品種的狗比大品種活得時間更長，所以對應正確的品種類型至關重要：小型犬(小於等於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)和超大型犬(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 human 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 human year is equivalent to nine dog years, which was part of some strange way to calculate the end of the world in the 1200s.
儘管狗一年相當於人類七年這種說法不知道從何傳起，但是自13世紀以來，人們就一直尋找可行的方法計算狗的年齡。最早的例子是威斯敏斯特大教堂裏一篇13世紀的'銘文，這個教堂可以追溯到1268年，上面記載人的壽命相當於狗的九倍，其中也使用了用來計算世界末日的一些古怪方法。
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 marketing ploy. It was a way to encourage owners to bring in their pets at least once a year.”
人們是最近纔開始談論“七年定律”。堪薩斯州立大學的一名獸醫告訴《華爾街日報》：我猜這是市場營銷的把戲，從而鼓勵寵物主人至少每年帶狗看一次獸醫。
