WE all know owning a dog can make us feel warm and fuzzy. Now a study has found that simply walking a dog can make us feel happy too.
Researchers at the University of Liverpool found people who regularly walk their four-legged friends are motivated by happiness rather than health.
They carried out interviews with pet owners, then gathered people's personal written reflections of dog-walking experiences.
The researchers found that while owners say the reason they go walking is to benefit the dog, the importance of their own improved happiness and wellbeing is clear.
Study lead Carri Westgarth said the factors that motivate dog walking "are extremely complex, yet we know they can strongly motivate human health behaviour".
Dr Westgarth said understanding why owners walk their dogs was key to being able to effectively promote owners to walk their dogs more.
"It's clear from our findings that dog walking is used to meet the emotional needs of the owner as well as the needs of the dog," she said.
However, the researchers found that dog walkers only felt happy on a walk if they believed their dog was enjoying it 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.
- Dogs are the most common pet in Australia, with 39 per cent of households owning at least one.
- There are estimated to be 4.2 million pet dogs in Australia - that's 19 dogs for every 100 people.
- According to the 2016 Pet Ownership in Australia report by Animal Medicines Australia, companionship was cited as the number one reason for owning a pet, with two-thirds of households with dogs seeing their pet as a member of the family.
