STUDY: Dog Walks Help Seniors Stay Active

STUDY: Dog Walks Help Seniors Stay Active

Your dog is a faithful companion; he’s by your side everyday, playing, exploring, and being generally just about the best friend you could possibly ask for. Whether you originally adopted her as a service dog, a hunting companion, or just a treasured family pet, you already experience the incredible benefits of dog ownership every single day. A recent study is revealing surprising and unique dog ownership benefits for adults over the age of 65. The study reviewed 43 pairs of dog owners, using 43 pairs of non-dog-owners as the control group. All participants qualified as “independently-mobile, community-dwelling older adults” and were either 65 or older. Their goal was to see exactly how and why owning a dog might benefit the elderly, with a special focus on physical health and movement.

Study Results

Using a device called the activPAL monitor, researchers followed the lives of both groups to see exactly when and how often they walked. Life FitBits, the activPAL kept track of a variety of statistics like total steps taken, heart rate, and overall level of exercise. Participants were also asked to keep track of everything from walks with the dog to average daily activities, including housework, making meals, actual exercise (e.g. attending the gym, swimming), and wake times. What they were looking to differentiate fell under two distinct categories: physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB). The first is self-explanatory; the second (SB) describes your typical, sitting-around-the-house, couch-potato, low-activity lifestyle that’s common across most of North America. What they discovered was that the group with dogs walked an average of approximately 20 minutes per day longer than their non-dog-owning counterparts. That’s around 140 minutes of exercise per week in dog walks alone, or 2760 additional steps per day!

Understanding Why It Matters

The difference becomes even more clear when you consider the recommended weekly exercise requirement for older American adults; it’s somewhere around 150 minutes per week. Divided by seven days, that’s equal to around 21 minutes per day. What this tells us is that older adults who own a dog are much more likely to meet the suggested requirements just by talking the dog for a walk. And, as any dog owner knows, there is no creature on this Earth as persistent about going for a walk as a dog who wants to explore. For older adults who struggle with motivation, owning a dog could provide the encouragement needed to stay active and fit later into life.

Moderate Exercise?

For the purposes of the study, researchers considered walking >100 steps/min as “moderate exercise,” and any sitting for over 30 minutes at a time as sedentary behavior. Obviously, it is possible for older adults to exercise mildly or vigorously, but the study was most interested in moderate exercise as it applied to dog-walking. Exactly how vigorous could walking the dog really be? Opinions differ, and really, it depends on the dog. A calm pup that toddles along beside you is more likely to produce mild exercise, while a boisterous, excited pup could even fall on the vigorous side. Either way, most experts agree that a brisk walk with the dog (even with multiple sniff stops) qualifies as moderate exercise, which is exactly what the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends.

Special Situational Benefits

Although this study pointed to improvement specifically for older adults, it may also point to the possibility of benefits for other special groups, including children, teens, and young adults. It stands to reason that if older adults become more active with dog ownership, so, too, should teens and children --- perhaps aiding parents in the fight against growing youth obesity rates. People of any age with chronic illnesses and/or chronic pain from issues like fibromyalgia, arthritis, degenerative disc disease, and other health struggles may also find that owning a dog provides the motivation to exercise (if even in a limited fashion) when it’s a struggle. We already know that mild to moderate exercise can provide immense benefits to patients with certain chronic illnesses. We also know that owning a dog can benefit emotional regulation and reduce rates of depression or anxiety. It stands to reason that a chronically ill patient who adopts a dog might be better able to cope with their illness because they naturally become more fit. Becoming more fit could theoretically improve disease management, flexibility, pain levels, coping skills, and even prognosis depending on the disease. More research is obviously needed to prove these suggestions, but the potential for benefit is already quite obvious to many people. After all, that’s why service and therapy dogs exist!

Getting Fit With Your Dog

Feeling the “get fit” bug? Whether you’re considering a new adoption or working with an existing pet, there’s a few activities that make it easier for both you and your dog to get excited about getting active. First, make once or twice-daily walks a part of your daily routine. Even a 10-minute walk in the morning and again in the evening will help you to stay fit while reducing your dog’s risk for canine cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Expand your walk slowly, adding five minutes per week, until you both feel comfortable without being exhausted after your walk. If you’re already highly active, consider taking your pup along with you. As long as your vet okays it, it’s fine to bring your dog along on jogs and runs. Some pups even love to run along beside you while you ride a bicycle; just be sure you do so safely with a leash that can’t get caught up in the wheels. Sailing, swimming, canoeing and other watersports are all fine for humans and dogs who don’t mind water, too. Both of you should wear a lifejacket at all times. It’s best to test your pooch for anxiety before heading out too far; some dogs experience anxiety on the water, especially during the first few times. If you really want to take canine and human activity to the next level, consider agility sports, either at the competitive or amateur level. Many owners are surprised at what a good workout they (and their dogs) receive working patterns around the track. It’s pretty darn fun to watch your favorite furry friend succeed (or hilariously fail), too.

STUDY: Dog Walks Help Seniors Stay Active