Two PAHL graduate students, Robert Marcotte and Greg Petrucci, co-authored a paper published on examining dog walking and physical activity by the Journal for the Measurement of Physical Behaviour. The paper describes the relationships that were found between physical activity in dogs and their owners. The study showed how often dog walking could be considered moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity, what percentage of the dog owner’s physical activity was made up of dog walking, and the percentage of the dog’s physical activity that was made up of dog walking. Participants recorded the times they walked their dogs and used a research-grade triaxial accelerometer to assess the dog owner’s steps and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. The dogs wore a Fitbark 2 which also contained a triaxial accelerometer to record their physical activity. The study found that most dog walking can be classified as moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and accounted for half of the owner’s daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (Potter et al., 2021).
Reference:
Potter, K., Marcotte, R., Petrucci, G. J., and Rajala, C. (2021). Examining the contribution of dog walking to daily physical activity among dogs and their owners. Journal for the Measurement of Physical Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1123/jmpb.2020-0059
Follow the link to read the whole paper: