Walking A Dog Does Wonders For Your Mental Health
Study reveals human benefit just as much as their pets from their habitual stroll
Walking a dog is as good for the owner as it is for their pet, according to the most in-depth study on the activity to date.
The research published on Thursday revealed dog walking does wonders for human mental health.
In fact, the researchers at the University of Liverpool found owners are more strongly motivated to go dog walking because it makes them feel happy, rather than its other health and social benefits. They carried out interviews with pet owners, then gathered people’s 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 wellbeing is clear.
These feelings of happiness, however, are based 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 leader Dr Carri Westgarth, a research fellow at the University of Liverpool who interviewed 25 dog owners, said: ‘The factors that motivate dog walking are extremely complex, yet we know they can strongly motivate human health behaviour.’
‘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.’