“Grandma” Penny: Living with a Dog with an Old Soul

Hi, I’m Savanna! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my spunky Chihuahua mix, Penny.

Is your dog an old soul? And by that I mean, does your dog act mature beyond his or her years? Are they very serious most of the time, maybe even wiser than you would expect? Do they have that typical “grandma” or “grandpa” personality?

I think Penny is an old soul, despite being only around 4 years old. It makes sense after all, because dogs do age faster than humans do. But, I think Penny acts even older than her age in dog years. Let’s explore how old Penny really is and how old she acts like she is.

How Old Is Penny in Dog Years vs Human Years?

We’ve all heard that dogs actually age 7 human years for every dog year. If we go by that equation, then Penny should be around 28 years old. But, this equation was based on the average dog lifespan of 10 years and the average human lifespan of 70 years. Scientists and veterinarians think that rule isn’t exactly accurate, since dogs of different sizes age at different rates.

For example, smaller dogs like Penny tend to have longer lifespans and age more slowly than larger dogs like Great Danes with shorter lifespans. So, there is no true answer or “formula” that can be used to figure out how fast dogs age.¹

However, most experts seem to agree that unless you have a dog that can weigh over 100 pounds when fully grown, most dogs will age about 15 human years during their first year of life. At 2 years old, dogs age the equivalent of around 9 more years, then around 4 more years for every year after that.

You can use this handy chart based on your dog’s weight to figure out how old they actually are. If we go by that chart, at 4 years old, Penny is actually around 32 years old.

How Old Does Penny Act Like She Is?

If I had to guess, I’d say Penny acts more like a 70-year-old woman. She’s still vibrant, healthy, and youthful, and she loves to play about twice a day. But most of her day is spent acting like a grandma. What do I mean by that?

She Makes Sure I Wake Up on Time

I’m not someone who can just pop up out of the bed at the sound of my alarm. I have to wake up gradually, so I usually set my alarm clock for 15 minutes before I actually intend to get up so that I can snooze it three times. It gives me time to adjust to the thought of getting up out of my nice, cozy bed.

Penny sleeps in the bed with me and never gets up until I’m ready to. But she has got the timing down, and if I don’t wake up immediately after that third snooze alarm goes off, she’s in my face, trying to lick and paw at me to make sure that I get up since she knows that when I usually get up.

She Sticks to Her Routine

Yes, I know that most dogs have a routine because it helps them know what to expect. But Penny has her own little routine after we wake up. This is something she developed on her own, not something that we created for her.

For example, an old person might wake up in the morning, get dressed, make a cup of coffee, and read the newspaper. They created that routine and they follow it to a T every morning. Penny’s morning routine looks something like this:

• Wake up (and wake mom up, too).
• Walk to the back door, go outside, and go potty.
• Walk back inside, go to the front door, go outside, and check to make sure nothing is out of place in the front yard.
• Come back inside, play with her toy for 5–10 minutes.
• Eat breakfast.
• Locate all three kitties.
• Lay back down for nap time.

She Rounds Up the “Grandkids”

Speaking of kitties, sometimes Penny acts like they’re her grandkids. She’s always trying to round them up to make sure they’re in the same room. If the kitties are grooming each other or playing together, Penny thinks they’re “misbehaving” and will start grumbling at them like she’s telling them to behave.

She acts like the kitties are 100% her responsibility to take care of, making sure they’re on their best behavior and not getting into mischief.

She Loves to Sit on the “Porch”

A lot of us always joke about how we can’t wait to grow old so that we can just sit on the porch all day and watch the world. I think Penny is already there because she loves to just go outside just to sit.

Okay, she doesn’t sit on the actual porch. But she loves to sit in the driveway or on the back patio and just look around. She could do that for hours if we’d let her. I honestly think that of the times she asks us to go outside, only 20% of the time is for her to go potty. The other 80% is for her to just go out there and sit.

She’s Not in a Hurry

Finally, Penny is never in a hurry to do anything. She takes her time, whether it be eating, going potty, whatever. Except for the occasional bout of zoomies, she truly lives her life as if she has nowhere to be and all day to get there. Sometimes I wish I could just slow down and “be” like Penny.

Life with Penny Is Relaxing

Living with a dog with an old soul really is quite relaxing. I know a few dogs that are older than Penny and act much younger than her, just wanting to be on the go all the time. Yes, a lot of that depends on the breed, but you’d think with Penny being a mix of Chihuahua, Poodle, and Pekingese, she’d be a little more energetic than she is.

It just goes to show that every dog is different, and they don’t always live up to the typical breed temperament, even if they are perfectly healthy. Some dogs just have “old souls” despite still being fairly young. Even though her true age is 4 and around 32 in human years, she definitely acts like she’s at least 70. But I truly love my little “grandma” dog, and I wouldn’t have it any other way, because I consider myself an old soul, too.