Estimate age and life stage

Rescue pets often arrive without a birth date. Life stage decides which exercise, diet and health advice applies, so an estimate is better than nothing. If you know the date of birth, send date_of_birth when you create the pet instead.

curl -X POST -H "x-api-key: YOUR-API-KEY" https://api.thedogapi.com/v1/pets/{pet_id}/estimated-age

{
  "age_months": 36,
  "plausible_range": "30-48 months",
  "life_stage": "Adult",
  "reasons": "Fully developed frame, no greying around the muzzle, teeth show light wear.",
  "generated_at": "2026-09-30T02:11:04.000Z"
}

• age_months is the single best estimate. Show plausible_range to the owner rather than a precise age.
• life_stage is Puppy (or Kitten) under 12 months, Adult, or Senior from 7 years, the same names the life-stage datasets use. Breeds mature at different ages, so for exercise by life stage compare age_months with each entry's age_range.
• The result is saved on the pet and reused until new photos are added. That includes lang: the language of the first call sticks until then.

Photos that work

A clear shot of the face and teeth, and one of the whole body.

Switching it off

estimated_age on the capabilities list.