Dog ownership and dogwalking is a catalyst for physical activity and
is associated with increased likelihood of achieving the recommended
level of physical activity in adults .
Only a handful of studies explore dog
ownership in relation to youth physical activity. These studies have
found that dog ownership positively influences children's physical
activity .
For example, a recent study found that children who had a family dog,
walked approximately 30 more minutes per week and were almost
50% more likely to achieve the recommended level of physical activity
compared with non-dog owners . While it
appears that there is potential for dog ownership to significantly impact
children's physical activity levels, it is unknown whether dog-facilitated physical activity (i.e., walking with a dog) rather than dog ownership
per se is important for children's physical activity behaviors. Indeed,
Salmon et al. (2010) found no association between children's
objectively-measured physical activity and frequency of walking the
dog in the last week. Further studies are required
to determine the relationship between dog walking and physical activity
in children.