Dog years
87 in dog years
If you are 87, you are at about the same stage of life as a dog of 12½ years to 18 years, depending on the dog's size. For a cat it is about 17½ years.
87 human years, for a medium dog
16 years
A dog that age is a senior. Size changes the answer because big dogs age faster.
Try another age →| Pet | Same stage of life as 87 |
|---|---|
| Small, under 20 lb dog | 18 years |
| Medium, 20–50 lb dog | 16 years |
| Large, 50–90 lb dog | 14½ years |
| Giant, over 90 lb dog | 12½ years |
| Cat | 17½ years |
Why it is not 87 divided by 7
The seven-year rule would put 87 human years at a dog of about 12½ years. It is a tidy sum and it is wrong, because dogs do not age at a steady rate. A dog reaches the equivalent of about 15 in its first year and about 24 in its second, then adds four to six human years for each year after that.
The bigger the dog, the faster that later stretch goes, which is why the table gives a different answer for each size. Cats follow a similar curve: about 15, then 25, then four human years a year.
These are averages that describe a stage of life, not a health check. To go the other way, from your pet's age to human years by breed, use the pet age calculator.
Other ages
In human years.