The idea that dogs age seven years for every one human year is wrong, scientists have claimed.

Researchers at the University of California say they have found puppies are middle-aged by the time they are two, with dogs tending to then age more slowly in later life.

By the time they get to three, dogs are roughly equivalent to a 50-year-old human, according to the study.

The researchers looked at exactly how dogs age by focusing on the DNA methylation in 104 labradors aged between four weeks and 16 years old.

The DNA changes over time as cells mature, allowing scientists to track an animal’s biological progression.

Animals in entertainment Show all 20 1 /20 Animals in entertainment Animals in entertainment Dogs perform tricks at a circus in France Jo-Anne McArthur/One Voice Animals in entertainment Dolphins perform at an aquarium in France Jo-Anne McArthur/One Voice Animals in entertainment Kiska, a lone orca, in the tank at Marineland in Canada Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment A dolphin performs tricks for tourists at the Kahala Hotel in Hawaii Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment A bull lays dying as a matador prepares to deliver the fatal blow to its spine Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment Zeus, a walrus at Marinepark in Canada, performs for spectators Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment Penguin enclosure at SeaWorld in San Diego, California Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment A competitor is thrown off a bull during a rodeo event in Montreal, Canada Jo-Anne McArthur/Montreal SPCA Animals in entertainment Saw fish in an aquarium Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment A picador stabs at a bull Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment Orcas perform at SeaWorld in San Diego, California Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment Visitors feed fish to sea lions at Marineland in Canada Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment A frog tank in an aquarium Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment A sea lion performs at SeaWorld in San Diego, California Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment A competitor rides a bull during a rodeo event in Montreal, Canada Jo-Anne McArthur/Montreal SPCA Animals in entertainment The Beluga whale tanks at Marineland in Canada Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment The Beluga whale tanks at Marineland in Canada Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment Gift shop trinkets at the Kahala Hotel in Hawaii Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment A young boy reaches out to touch a dolphin as it swims by at the Kahala Hotel in Hawaii Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals Animals in entertainment Turtles at an aquarium in Havana, Cuba Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals

After assessing the results, the researchers then compared their findings to those from 300 humans.

By the age of two, the labrador DNA was equivalent to a human in their early forties, rather than a 14-year-old human, which the traditional formula would suggest.

However, ageing slows in dogs over time, meaning that by the age of 10, a labrador is similar to a person aged 68.

This ties in with the long-held formula for calculating the age of dogs, which was developed on the assumption that most canines lived until around 10, while humans lived until around 70.