Walking A Dog Makes You Feel Happy

Dog walkers are motivated to go out walking as it increases physical activity, social interactions with other dog owners and most importantly makes them feel happy.

Dog owners are motivated to go walking with their dogs not because of certain health and social benefits, but because it makes them feel happy, reveals a new study by University of Liverpool.

It appears to be a case of 'do what makes you happy' //for people who regularly walk their dogs.

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Dog owners who regularly walked their pets were found to be more active and less sedentary on the days even with the worst weather conditions.

‘Dog walking not only meets the needs of the dog but also the emotional needs of the owner are met.’

In the most in-depth study of dog owner's perceptions of dog walking to date, 26 interviews were combined with personal written reflections of dog walking experiences.

The researchers found that while owners may say the reason they go walking is to benefit the dog, the importance of their own improved happiness and well-being is clear.

These feelings of happiness, however, are contingent on the owner believing that their dog is enjoying the walk too. Anything that threatens this, such as behaviour problems, a perception that they have a 'lazy' dog, or their dog is too old, reduces their motivation to walk.

Increased physical activity and social interactions with other dog owners were found to be secondary bonuses but were rarely motivating.

Study lead Dr Carri Westgarth, a research fellow at the University of Liverpool, said: "The factors that motivate dog walking are extremely complex, yet we know they can strongly motivate human health behaviour."

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"It is crucial to understand why owners walk their dogs if we are to be able to effectively promote owners to walk their dogs more."

With more than eight million dogs in households across the UK, dog walking is a popular everyday activity. Dog owners are generally more physically active than non-owners, yet some rarely walk with their dog at all.

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Dog walking is associated with lower body mass index, fewer doctor visits, more frequent exercise and an increase in social benefits for seniors.

An owner briskly walking their dog for at least 30 minutes each day easily exceeds the 150 minutes recommended minimum physical activity per week. If all dog owners did this it would dramatically boost population levels of physical activity.

Dr Westgarth added: "It's clear from our findings that dog walking is used to meet the emotional needs of the owner as well as the needs of the dog. This may explain why pilot dog walking interventions with messages focused on health or social benefits have not been particularly successful.

"Possible key points for future interventions to increase dog walking are to promote how it may increase the dogs, and thus the owner's, happiness."

The research was funded by a Medical Research Council Population Health Scientist Fellowship and conducted as a collaboration between the University of Liverpool's Institute of Infection and Global Health and Institute of Psychology, Health and Society, with support from the University of Roehampton.

The paper 'I Walk My Dog Because It Makes Me Happy: A Qualitative Study to Understand Why Dogs Motivate Walking and Improved Health' is published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Source-Eurekalert