How can you tell a dog's age?

While there is no fool-proof way to tell your dog's age, the following can help you make an educated guess:

Teeth: Your vet will look at the amount of plaque buildup on the teeth as well as the amount of wear and tear. 

Coat:  Older dogs, just like humans, begin to accumulate more gray and white hairs.

Eyes:  At the end of the mature adult life stage and transition into the senior years, the eyes often become cloudy and there may be more discharge.

Luckily, there is a new, more scientific way to estimate age in animals. Epigenetic age estimation looks at molecules that interact with the DNA sequence and have been found to change with age. All that is needed is a DNA sample from a mouth swab and an age estimate within a year of the actual age of the pet can be given.