The whole point of "dog years" is not that dogs perceive years as differently to us, or that we want them to look like they live longer, it's to give us an idea of the equivalent age a dog would be if they were human. (Our dog is six, which I see as being early-middle age for her.)
I guess living conditions would have a significant impact on the overall longevity of a species (*has muddled her words but thinks she's getting the point across so leaves it*). But then, the whole idea of "dog years" brings up another point - different species age differently. So maybe with the shorter lifespans it's a case of something like "live fast, die young". Which I why I guess sligs would mature fast (after all, there'd be no puberty to have to worry about, as I think most are sterile...?).
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