We say it a lot, but science continues to back us up! The bond we have with our dogs is important, and goes a long way when it comes to their health and happiness. The truth is, though, it also goes a long way for our health and happiness! A recent study showed that our emotional connection with our dogs plays a role in our physical activity and overall health.

Research has already shown that dog owners who are more attached to and have stronger bonds with their pets tend to be more active, especially in light activities that involve their dogs. The findings from the questionnaires and physical activity trackers corroborated this conclusion. The research team also noted that the group of owners studied also reported better personal health. They found it interesting that those who were employed dog owners showed higher levels of physical activity than those unemployed, which was surprising as ‘time’ was often suggested as an issue when it came to being able to interact and bond with their dogs. 

Education seemed to play a role as well, influencing how much owners cared about their pet’s physical health, with those who had higher educational levels tending to participate in more physical activities with their dogs. This suggests that education may affect the socioeconomic factors that in turn, may influence the extent to which dog parents can engage in health-promoting activities with their pets.

The researchers of course looked at the health and happiness of the dogs too. They noted and analyzed their health and the care they received, like vaccinations and regular check-ups, and found that those things also had a correlation with how often they were walked. Dogs with a higher body mass index were walked more frequently, while more sedentary dogs were walked less. It’s one of those, “Which causes which?” situations, where researchers couldn’t know for sure whether dogs had higher body mass indexes because they had more physical activity (and conversely, those with less were like that because they had more sedentary lives) or the other way around. Either way, they concluded that physical activity and bonding situations promote better health and happiness for both dogs and their humans.