Abstract
BackgroundWe examined the relationship between dog walking and physical activity within and between four US cities and Australia and investigated if dog walking is associated with higher perceived safety in US and Australian cities.MethodsDog owners (n = 1113) in the Pet Connections Study completed a cross-sectional survey. Data were collected across four study sites; three in the US (San Diego, Nashville, Portland) and a fourth in Australia (Perth). Physical activity, local walking, dog walking, and individual and community perceptions of safety were analysed for dog walkers and non-dog walkers for each study site. Between-city comparisons were examined for dog walkers.ResultsAcross all study sites, dog walkers walked with their dog 5–6 times/week for a total of 93–109 min/week and achieved ≥30mins of physical activity on more days/week and walked in their neighbourhood more often/week, compared with non-dog walkers (all p ≤ 0.01). Compared with Perth, significantly fewer dog walkers walked in their local park in the three US study sites. San Diego dog walkers walked more often in their neighborhood/week compared with Perth dog walkers (all p ≤ 0.05).In Portland, dog walkers perceived significantly more neighborhood problems and in Nashville dog walkers perceived a significantly higher level of neighborhood natural surveillance (i.e., ‘eyes on the street’), compared with non-dog walkers (both p ≤ 0.05). Among dog walkers, females were more likely than males to feel safer walking with their dog in their neighborhood (OR = 2.49; 95 % CI = 1.76, 3.53). Compared with dog walkers in Perth, dog walkers from each of the US study sites felt safer in their neighborhood and perceived there was more neighborhood surveillance (all p ≤ 0.001).ConclusionThis multi-site international study provides further support for the potential for dog walking to increase levels of daily physical activity. Walking with a dog may be a mechanism for increasing perceptions of neighborhood safety and getting to know the neighborhood, however significant between-country differences exist. Further international research is required to understand the drivers for these between-country differences. Community based programs and policies aimed at improving safety and social connectedness should consider the wider community benefits of dog walking and include strategies for supporting more dog walking.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3659-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
We examined the relationship between dog walking and physical activity within and between four US cities and Australia and investigated if dog walking is associated with higher perceived safety in US and Australian cities
Socio-demographic factors associated with dog walking status in the US and Australia Overall, there were no significant associations between age group, sex, education level, ethnicity, country of birth, number of children living in household, time lived in current neighbourhood or housing type by dog walking status (Table 1)
Physical activity behavior by dog walking status in the US and Australia Across all study sites, on average dog walkers walked with their dog 5–6 times per week for a total of 93–109 min per week (Table 2)
Summary
We examined the relationship between dog walking and physical activity within and between four US cities and Australia and investigated if dog walking is associated with higher perceived safety in US and Australian cities. Physical inactivity is a significant health issue. Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for mortality behind high blood pressure, tobacco use and high blood glucose and a significant factor in rising obesity rates [1]. Cost-effective, sustainable community based strategies for increasing physical activity levels are required. A key determinant and strategy for increasing physical activity is the social support for walking provided by family and friends [2,3,4,5,6]. An often over-looked source of social support for walking is the family dog. Walking with a dog has been shown to be an important source of motivation and social support for dog owners encouraging them to regularly walk [7,8,9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
