Walking Your Dog is Great Exercise for You and Your Best Friend

Are you having trouble sticking to your new year’s resolution of exercising more? Maybe you need a good physical trainer to help you meet your fitness goals: your best friend! Research shows that dogs are actually nature’s perfect personal trainers. Dogs are naturally loyal, hardworking, energetic and enthusiastic…basically the perfect work-out partner. And, unlike your friends, who may skip an exercise session because of appointments, extra chores or bad weather, dogs never give you an excuse to skip exercising.

Many people don’t realize that taking your dog out for a walk at least two times a day can create significant benefits for both themselves and their four-footed friend. According to a number of recent studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control, the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Geriatrics Society and others:

• Walking your dog at least twice a day provides you with an easy way to get the minimum 30 minutes of daily exercise that’s recommended by many health professionals – even if you’re only walking in 10 or 15 minute sessions.

• Because most dogs love to walk, it’s likely that you will walk farther with your pet than you would if you simply went out walking alone.

A dog is a perfect workout partner...they'll never give you an excuse to skip exercising.

The benefits don’t stop there. Research has shown that dog owners who exercise with their dogs walk faster than those who don’t. Walking faster increases both your respiration and heart rate, which can help burn calories faster and allow you to maintain or lose weight. Better yet, if your doctor or your personal trainer has suggested that you try to walk 10,000 steps each day, two 30-minute walks with your pooch around the neighborhood each day can get you well on your way to reaching your goal. In fact, studies have shown that dog walkers typically walk twice as long as non-dog walkers do in an average week. With a little help from your dog, your goals may be easy to attain.

Research has also shown that individuals who walk their dogs on a regular basis tend to have lower blood pressure and lower levels of cholesterol. Both of which can go a long way toward preventing or combating heart disease.

Perhaps best of all, walking with your dog can be an excellent way for both of you to blow off a little steam and temporarily escape all the stresses of the day. It’s also a great way to get to know and talk with other dog walkers, which can help fend off the blues and reduce the likelihood of depression, especially in the winter months.

Walking is clearly good for the health of humans and dogs; it’s one of the best and easiest forms of physical activity. Your daily walk can even help benefit the homeless pets at Yavapai Humane Society (YHS). Join the volunteer Dog Walking team at YHS to take the dogs at the shelter out for a stroll. Or, help the shelter while walking your own dog. Just download the Walk for a Dog app on your phone at www.wooftrax.com and enter Yavapai Humane Society as your shelter of choice. Then each time you take a walk use the app, which will track your miles walked. The more you walk the more Wooftrax donates to YHS pets. This means your walk not only benefits you and your best friend but also the more than 3,500 pets YHS cares for all year long.

So, lace up, grab a leash, and go for a walk today with a four-legged friend!