Dogs age at different rates compared to humans, but the simple rule of 7 dog years to 1 human year is far from accurate.

　　和人类的年龄相比，狗的年龄确实有所不同，但是狗一岁相当于人类七年的说法并不准确。

　　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.

　　如果人类变老的速度真的是狗的七倍，那么我们大多数人便能在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 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更快。

　　Even this general statement is slightly off since smaller breeds tend to mature faster than larger breeds.

　　后来由于小品种的狗比大品种的狗成熟得更快，这种说法才很少人提起。

　　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.

　　与人类相比，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 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(小于等于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.

　　尽管狗一年相当于人类七年这种说法不知道从何传起，但是自13世纪以来，人们就一直寻找可行的方法计算狗的年龄。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，上面记载人的寿命相当于狗的九倍，其中也使用了用来计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.”

　　人们是最近才开始谈论“七年定律”。堪萨斯州立大学的一名兽医告诉《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。