A Pedometer-Based Physical Activity Program for Dogs and Owners

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the effectiveness of a physical activity (PA) intervention using pedometers for dogs and owners. Volunteer owner-dog pairs enrolled in a pedometer-based PA intervention (K9 First Step Program, K9FSP) for 3 months. Both dogs and owners wore pedometers. In 3 facilitated weekly meetings, owners followed a behaviour modification curriculum and set PA goals for their dogs, based on pedometer-measured steps/day. Owner-dog pairs then continued the program independently for 9 weeks. At baseline, control dogs (n=5) were leaner than K9FSP dogs (n=5) as indicated by body condition score (BCS) (6.2±0.8 vs 7.3±0.4) but steps/day were similar (5012±1545 vs 3820±1946). After 3 months of K9FSP, 3 of 5 control dogs and 4 of 5 K9FSP dogs had reduced BCS (-0.30±0.24 vs 0.70±0.92). Steps/day in the K9FSP dogs increased by 9937±1184 compared with no change in control dogs (-822±1012). At baseline, control (n=5) and K9FSP (n=4) owners BMI (29.3±5.0 vs 28.4±3.0 kg/m2), waist (89.5±10.9 vs 87.6±5.8 cm) and steps/day (9904±3455 vs 7489±2702) were similar. After 3 months, owner BMI and waist were unchanged in both groups but physical activity increased by 4506±3503 steps/day in K9FSP owners compared with no difference in control owners (-3327±3802 steps/day). We conclude that the K9FSP increased PA in both owners and dogs. The pilot study was not sufficiently powered to reliably detect changes in health parameters of owners or dogs.