Thursday 22 November 2007

How old is your dog?


Well, obviously I don't know how old your dog is, but I do know how old Bingley is. Or at least I think that I do!

When I mentioned on the 6th November that he was six months old, I did so because he was 24 weeks old that day. I have a chart that gives me this information at a glance. I like charts: they help to give me the impression that things are well organised and under control. In this case it also helps me to make sure that we're feeding Bingley the right amount of food for his age and weight.

But as Bing's very good friend Claire pointed out, if he was born on the 22nd of May shouldn't he be 6 old months today: the 22nd of November? Well, yes...and no...or maybe. But what about my nicely planned chart?!

Of course, using the four weeks equals one month approach would mean that Bing's 1st birthday would be on the 22nd of April rather than the 22nd of May, which is a bit daft I admit (though I'm definitely going to adopt this method for my own birthdays - that way I'd turn out to be much younger than I am!).

I like my chart and I'm going to keep using it; but I also think that a good point has been made.

The answer, of course, is 2 birthdays - just like royalty: an official and an unofficial. So, if you want to come to Bing's 1st birthday party that'll be on the 22nd of May, but if you want to send him a card that should get here on the 22nd of April.

Of course all this will suit Bing down to the ground; he always assumes that he's the centre of attention anyway. But two birthdays really are going to give him a big head.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh I hope I haven't ruined the Bingley fun. I certainly agree that if two birthdays are good enough for Her Majesty, it is most definitely good enough for the mighty Bing!!!

Harvey will be jealous!

Claire.

Rob said...

Claire, you don’t need to worry: I think that Bingley would have fun regardless of how many weeks old he might be!

But I definitely find using a 4 week month useful when planning his meals & checking his weight, etc. It just feels more accurate. However, it's good to be reminded that calendar months aren't quite as regular as this, and that my 48 week year would have had Bing out of sync with everyone else. At least now we all know when his birthday will be!

And I promise not to tell Harvey that Bingley’s going to be having two birthdays – we don’t want to set a precedent with this!