The goal of this review and meta-analysis was to determine whether adults who own and walk a dog are more likely achieving 150 minutes of PA per week than adults who own a dog but do not walk it.

Of the 200 records collected, we retrieved a total of 44 relevant articles on dog ownership and health outcomes. Of these, 9 studies met our inclusion criterion and allowed us to collect the data to calculate the prevalence OR of achieving a total of 150 minutes per week of at least moderate intensity PA. Three studies had been conducted in 5 cities in the United States: Seattle, WA and Baltimore, MD;²⁷ San Diego, CA;¹⁵ and Memphis, TN and Pittsburgh, PA;²⁸ 1 was conducted at the state level in Michigan;²³ and 1 study used a national sample.²⁵ Three studies from Australia included those conducted in New South Wales,¹⁸ Perth,¹⁹ and Queensland.²¹ One study was from a national sample in Japan.²² Of the 9 studies, 8 used a cross-sectional design; 1 used a prospective cohort design and was analyzed both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. For the latter study, we used only the cross-sectional data from the second measurement cycle.²⁸ Altogether these studies provided a total sample of 6980 dog owners (41% male, 59% female) ranging in age from 18 to 81 years. Among these, 4463 (63.9%) reported that they walked their dogs. Eight studies used self-reported questionnaires and 1 study²⁷ used accelerometers to assess dog owners’ PA (Table 2).

The owners’ reported weekly time spent walking the dog varied from 46 minutes¹⁸ to 300 minutes²⁵ (Table 3). The total weekly walking time of owners who walked their dogs, as reported in the studies, varied from 120 minutes¹⁸ to 252 minutes.²² The total weekly PA time varied from 210¹⁸ to 410 minutes.²²

Based on total weekly PA of 6980 dog owners, 2710 (60.7%) who walked their dogs and 950 (37.7%) who did not walk their dogs met levels of PA recommended in the aerobic component of the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (Table 4).

The point estimate for random effects of meta-analysis was an OR (95% CI) of 2.74 (2.09, 3.60). The diamond represents the pooled OR of achieving 150 minutes of PA for dog walkers versus non–dog walkers (Figure 1). Significant heterogeneity between studies was found (Q-value = 47.141, df = 8, P < 0.001)

The goal of this review was to determine the crude prevalence OR of achieving 150 minutes of PA per week when owners walked their dogs. We reported PA indicators, such as time spent walking the dog, total weekly walking time, and total weekly PA. Our data show that dog owners who walk dogs are more physically active than owners who do not walk dogs based on total weekly PA, and they are 2.74 times more likely to achieve 150 minutes of PA than owners who don’t walk their dog (Figure 1).

Our findings are generally consistent with those from studies that have examined and compared PA between people who have and people who don’t have dogs, and findings indicate that an association between dog ownership and increased PA exists in various population subgroups. A 2009 Canadian study of 658 dog owners and non–dog owners found that those dog owners who walked their dogs spent more time walking for leisure than dog owners who walked their dog minimally or not at all, and also walked more than people who did not own a dog.²⁹ Specifically, dog owners who walked their dogs walked for leisure 383 minutes more than dog owners who walked their dog minimally or not at all and 339 minutes more than people who did not own a dog.²⁹ In an observational study in the United Kingdom, among 11 466 pregnant mothers, dog owners were 50% more likely to achieve 3 or more hours of PA per week and were also more likely to participate in brisk walking than those who did not have a dog.³⁰ A UK study of 2065 children aged 9 to 10 years found that those living in a household with a dog spent more time in light, moderate to vigorous, and vigorous PA and also recorded more overall accelerometer-activity counts, counts per minute, and overall steps compared with people who were not dog owners.³¹

The findings from these 3 studies indicate that the association between dog ownership and increased PA exists among various population subgroups. The majority of cross-sectional studies examined in a critical review of the literature found that pet owners (and in particular, dog owners) were more likely to be physically active compared with nonowners.¹⁰ Also, an Australian study has shown that following acquisition of a dog, weekly walking increased by 31 minutes per week,³² while in a British study, the number and duration of recreational walks increased, and was maintained 6 and 10 months later.³³

The amount of time spent walking the dog is an important factor to be considered in determining the contribution that dog walking makes to total weekly PA and to meeting PA guidelines. For example, Bauman et al, reported data from 3 dog-walking categories (“walks dog up to 1 hour/week,” “walks dog 1–2.5 hours/week,” “walks dog > 2.5 hours/week”) to reveal an estimated mean time for walking the dog of 0.95 hours (95% CI, 0.77–1.13 hours) per week and also reported that that dog owners who walked their dog for at least 1 hour a week were more likely (OR, 1.89) than nonowners to achieve the recommended 150 minutes per week of PA for health benefits.¹⁸ In a 1-year prospective weight loss study, Kushner, et al found that, in participants paired with dogs, approximately 66% of all PA performed was dog-related and that average total weekly PA time increased from 2.8 hours from baseline to 3.9 hours posttest.³⁴ These findings support the notion that having a dog and walking a dog can both add time to total weekly PA.

Although most studies to date that have examined the relationship between dog walking and PA have been cross-sectional, a small intervention study (n = 58) found that dog owners who were encouraged to walk dogs increased total weekly walking from 57 to 150 minutes from baseline to 12 weeks, compared with an increase of 83 to 133 minutes in the control group.³⁵ The intervention group also had 1823 more total pedometer step-counts compared with the control group in addition to the significantly higher trajectories in self-reported PA from baseline to 12 weeks (η² = 0.11–0.27).³⁵ The latter finding demonstrated that an increase in time spent walking the dog did not reduce time spent walking without the dog.

The size, age, health status, and breed of the dog may influence the amount of time spent dog walking. Schofield et al found that the households with medium or large dogs had significantly more minutes of recreational walking per week than those with small dogs or no dogs.²¹ Reeves et al found that there was no overall effect of dog size on the prevalence of dog walking among all dog owners or weekly frequency of dog walking; however, walks were longer with larger breeds than with smaller breeds. Dog age was significantly related to prevalence and duration of dog walks (ie, older dogs were walked less frequently and for shorter duration than younger dogs).²³

Dog walking as a strategy to increase PA could reach a large proportion of the US population. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association—US Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook 2012, there are approximately 70 million dogs in US households.⁷ Dogs and other pets are becoming increasingly valued members of households. As an example, pet expenditures in the United States grew from $17 billion in 1994 to approximately $47.7 billion in 2010.³⁶ Despite pets becoming increasingly valued as household and family members, as many as 36% of dog owners don’t walk their dogs. Depending on breed, health status, and age, most healthy dogs are recommended to get 30–60 minutes of exercise daily to remain fit.³⁷ Simply walking a dog at a moderate intensity for the frequency and duration recommended for dogs would result in the dog walkers exceeding current guidelines for adults for moderate intensity aerobic PA. Even if walking the dog is performed at light intensity (less than 3 METS), health benefits are still likely to be gained.^3,25 In a study of diabetes patients, Peel and colleagues noted that dogs helped to maintain a PA regimen,³⁸ suggesting the value of dog walking to patient care, while providing benefit to the dog, as well.

Our systematic review revealed that, across 9 published studies, almost 2 in 3 dog owners report walking their dogs, and these particular walkers are more than 2.5 times more likely to have achieved recommended levels of PA when considering total weekly PA. Future research should examine whether adjustment for covariates affects this association. However, we found sufficient evidence that dog walking may be a viable strategy for dog owners to help reach recommended levels of PA to enhance their health.