Walk a hound: dog walking and the wellbeing of older adults

ABSTRACT

Physical inactivity in the older adult population contributes to a decreased quality of life and complications from many co-morbidities. Dog walking is an activity that can assist this population in increasing activity. This was a secondary analysis of a 12-week quasi-experimental study of older adults residing in three separate assisted living facilities divided into walking with shelter dogs (DW), walking with human companions (HW), and a control group (C). There was an overall total program greater mean difference in distance (ft) of 61,565.77 (p = .01) and time (minutes) of 737.82 (p = .00) of DW to HW groups. Overall, the participants commented positively about their walking companions and the program. The DW group stated, ‘Walking the dogs helped to get them out of their cages,’ Both groups expressed that the program was a motivator to walk. Additionally, commitment to the dog could potentially motivate older adults to be more active.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2024.2321065

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition.