Could a walk with your dog fix... everything?
Walking your dog can dramatically improve health outcomes for your dog and your simultaneously
Could something as simple as taking your dog for a walk improve your physical health, accelerate your cognition, and improve your relationships?
It is undisputed that walking is good for you. Evolution helped shape the human body to stand up and walk, early homo sapien fossils often referred to as homo erectus became the defining quality of the human body which was standing upright. This got early people up and moving and walking became the defining movement of our species.
When you walk you defy the biggest risk to human health, sitting down. On average, people sit for 10-12 hours of the day, that is an estimated average. There are others whose work life, special interests, and social connections involve you guessed it, sitting down. Sitting for this amount of your life can increase mental and physical health risks. Walking on a daily basis, even a short walk can improve circulation which correlates with the risk of heart disease, helps maintain blood pressure, increases blood flow to the brain, improves cognitive abilities and mental well-being, and a whole host of other benefits. The biggest inhibitor to walking isn’t that people disregard the value of exercise or walking in general but there are daily hurdles of time, motivation, and convenience that create habits that prevent this vital movement.
“Not only is it tacitly understood that walking is good for health and well-being but there is also now robust evidence to support this link. There is also growing evidence that regular short walks can be a protective factor for a range of long-term health conditions. Walking in the countryside can bring additional benefits”
Our animals are suffering a parallel fate. As humans become more sedentary their time in the great outdoors has also been limited. It seemed to dogs that many people working from home would result in more quality time spent together but it has led to a lot of short multi-tasking walks with people glued to their phones never fully disconnecting from what they were doing or more time alone in the backyard. Dog daycare numbers surge as people outsource exercise and experiences for their dogs.
There’s a parable I love that goes: “A grandmother is talking to her granddaughter and says, “In life, there are two wolves inside all of us that are always at battle. One is a good wolf who represents qualities like kindness, bravery, and love. The other is a bad wolf who represents greed, hatred, and fear.” The granddaughter contemplates this and looks at her grandmother and says, “Grandmother, which one wins?” and the grandmother says, “The one you feed”.
We all are faced with choices on a daily basis and the duality of the wolves in the parable is a great metaphor for the habits we choose to create by way of feeding the so-called “bad wolf”. The beauty of sharing your life with a dog is you have this furry little guilt trip who is always willing to go for a walk. If the guilt or the promise of significantly improving health for both you and your canine companion is not enough to get you moving, how about the fact that regular exercise can serve as a physical outlet for your dog’s species-specific behaviors? This means if you don’t exercise your dog on a regular basis, you will experience more behavioral problems as they look for other outlets for their behavior like chewing, jumping, barking or running laps around the house.
One of the most common problems in the companion dog and human relationship is our desire to love these animals with food over physical play and exercise. The canine obesity epidemic is alarming due to the fact that dogs are not in control over their resources on a daily basis. People are now pushing their bad habits onto their dogs. Overweight dogs are at risk for more health problems, experience less of the world, and die sooner than dogs in good health. Blame and shame is not the goal here, but rather, motivation to consider your dog’s well-being as a mutualistic benefit for you both to get moving. So if you won’t do it for yourself, do it for your furry canine companion who gives you so much.
If the simple fact that walking your dog is good for you and your dog is not enough to get you going, how about backing it up with science?
As an added benefit recent studies are examining the relationship between dogs and people who synchronize their movements. Scientists have been examining a natural tendency toward synchronizing behaviors in species that share an environment.
“Synchronizing occurs to be a general phenomenon among all social creatures. People tend to walk in step and sway together in separate rocking chairs. Even dolphins have been observed to breathe in synch.” Dogs Synchronize Body Movements With Humans, Alex Berezow.
A recent study examined 48 dogs and their owners and observed when dogs would match human behaviors like walking, standing, and looking at objects (like doors), when the movement was initiated with humans. The results were that 80% of the time the dogs stayed within 3 feet of the people and displayed what they refer to as location, activity, and temporal synchrony with the human guardians. What does this mean for you and your dog?
The simplest way to practice this bonding experience of synchronization is by going for a walk together.
“…pet dogs show a greater affiliation with humans who mimic their walking behavior, although genetic selection modulates this propensity. Behavioral synchronization, therefore, acts as a social glue in dogs too. It is the first time that such a human-like ability has been highlighted in domesticated canids at an interspecific level.” -Pet dogs exhibit social preference for people who synchronize with them: what does it tell us about the evolution of behavioral synchronization?
If you feel like you don’t have time, consider the amount of time you look at your phone (your phone can track it within its systems or external apps), how much time you spend with the television, and what time you wake up and go to bed. Start small, set an alarm or reminder to give yourself the time. Make it a priority. If you begin a regular daily, short, and brisk walk (ideally in a nature setting) you and your dog will have significant long-term health benefits.
You may also start to notice a decrease in unwanted habits in both your dog and your own impulses and deepen your bond through not only synchronizing activities but also by being empathic toward the needs of another living creature. As an added bonus, dogs often have a way of bringing people together. I now know far more people in my community just from walking my dog. I meet other dog walkers, neighbors putting out the trash, people working in their yards, and chat with people at coffee shops all because I am hanging out with a handsome dog who gets a lot of attention. Dogs can be a wonderful social lubricant if we have withdrawn into our own worlds.
So, stop reading, and go for a walk. Seriously, right now. Go!
Citations:
Grant, Gordon et al. “Walking, Sustainability and Health: Findings from a Study of a Walking for Health Group.” Health & social care in the community 25.3 (2017): 1218–1226. Web.
Prato-Previde, Emanuela, Elisa Basso Ricci, and Elisa Silvia Colombo. “The Complexity of the Human–Animal Bond: Empathy, Attachment and Anthropomorphism in Human–Animal Relationships and Animal Hoarding.” Animals (Basel) 12.20 (2022): 2835–. Web.
Prato-Previde, E., Elisa, B. R., & Colombo, E. S. (2022). The complexity of the Human–Animal bond: Empathy, attachment and anthropomorphism in Human–Animal relationships and animal hoarding. Animals, 12(20), 2835. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12202835
Lamontagne A, Legou T, Rauchbauer B, Grosbras MH, Fabre F, Gaunet F. Behavioural synchronization and social referencing of dogs and humans: walking in dyad vs in group. Anim Cogn. 2023 Jun;26(3):1021-1034. doi: 10.1007/s10071-023-01750-9. Epub 2023 Feb 10. PMID: 36759423.
Duranton C, Bedossa T, Gaunet F. Pet dogs exhibit social preference for people who synchronize with them: what does it tell us about the evolution of behavioral synchronization? Anim Cogn. 2019 Mar;22(2):243-250. doi: 10.1007/s10071-019-01241-w. Epub 2019 Jan 25. PMID: 30684061.