The world's older dog, according to the Guinness Book of Pet Records, is an Australian Cattle dog named "Bluey" from Victoria, Australia. He died when he is almost 29 years old - 146 human years.

As you learn about the different traits inherent in the various type of dogs, be honest with yourself about who you are and what your personality can and cannot tolerate, as well as the feelings of other people in the house. For example, if patience is not one of your virtues, then certain dogs may not be for you. Years ago, for example, when the remake of the movie 101 Dalmatians came out, the breed's popularity soared. However people who obtained the dog later learned that Dalmatians are strong-willed and difficult to train, and many of these dogs ended up in the animal shelters or were abandoned. Real-life endings were far less happy than in the movie. On the other hand, if the adopters had strong personalities, they might have looked on the strong-willed persona of the dog as a challenge and even liked the dog for his willfulness. Of course, what you will have to handle may not be so obvious with dogs of mixed parentage, but if you try to determine what breed is dominant in the dog, you should be okay.

The idea that one year in a dog's life equals seven years of human life is not exactly true. (Indeed, some dogs live to 20 years or more, which would mean 140 plus!). There are a greater number of dog years associated with a young dog than an older dog. For example, a dog of 6 years of age will have aged about 45 years; at 10 years of age, he's like a person who's 65; at 12 years of age, a person of 75; and at 15 years of age, a person of 90.