I have a black female cocker spaniel. I don't have its papers, and,
therefore, don't know her birthday. How can I figure that out?

does she have a "tattoo number" in her ear?

Veterinarians are pretty good at predicting an animal's age. They
won't be able to give you an EXACT date, but will be able to tell you
roughly how old your dog is.

I'm lucky. I witnessed my cat's birth so I know when his birthday is ;)

Steph53

Anyway, here's how it works. Get around "dog people" and ask them how
old they think your dog is. Then go to your vet and ask how old he or
she thinks your dog is. When you get a number that "feels" right, grab
a calendar and work backwards until you find your dog's birthday.
Ta-da! You now know when your dog was born and so you know his exact
age.

The short answer is, you make it up! As long as it's reasonable nobody
will question it.

http://www.agilitytrial.com/dog-agility-qanda.htm

Do the Sire and Dam have papers and litter records?

I took my dog Daisy to the vet this morning and asked her (the vet,
not Daisy)the question.

She said that it was impossible to guess THE AGE of a mature dog or a
cat but horses were easier.

And that is just their age ... To get a fix on an actual date of birth
of a mature animal is much more impossibler.

Daisy agrees.

Scotty,

Is the age in question, or just her birthday?

And if the dog was replaced by a horse the answer would be August 1st.

More to the point .. the dog won't know the difference anyway. Go on,
spoil it, give it a birthday every day!

Phil