Thank you to everyone who took the time to answer my three survey questions. The results are in, and… it was fascinating! I wanted to share the results and my interpretations, and – of course – hear how you interpret the data.
First up in our pet health discussion: Exercise!
The question was: How long do you walk your dog(s) each day?
47 people answered this question, and here’s how the results broke down:
- Thirty minutes to an hour usually. (49%, 23 Votes)
- We’re power walkers! Over an hour every day! No matter what! (23%, 11 Votes)
- It totally depends on the weather. (15%, 7 Votes)
- It’s more of a weekly or monthly thing for us. (11%, 5 Votes)
- Less than thirty minutes. (2%, 1 Votes)
I was impressed by these results! It seems like most everyone is getting out there at least a little bit each day. The majority – nearly half – of responders walk for 30 minutes to an hour each day. A couple of the comments called attention to the fact that the amount of exercise time depends on your dog’s age and health.
One thing my question didn’t take into consideration: mental exercise. A couple commentors mentioned additional indoor training and activities like agility. Added on top of regular walks, mental exercise is vitally important, as we all know. And, now that winter is rearing its snowy head, these additional activities become more important as walks become less frequent.
I was amazed that 23% of responders walk for over an hour every day! Very, very impressive! You power walkers who walk over an hour each day: What are some helpful tips and tricks to keep you – and your dogs – motivated? Do you continue this through the winter months, too?
What do you think? Were these the results you would’ve expected? What additional exercise do your dogs get regularly?
Tomorrow: the preventative health and nutrition results!
Image: ktylerconk
The more I exercize my dogs, the less they bug me when I am trying to work 🙂 If I walk then for an hour at lunch they are quiet until we walk them for an hour or so before dinner. If I don’t… 😉
Living in the city, we have no choice but to go on walks. I actually like the routine and I think getting outside with the dogs makes me feel that much more awake. Though in the winter we have much shorter walks; Miss M absolutely hates the cold and it’s hard to even get her around the block in bad weather. We do more mental/training exercises inside as we’re hibernating all winter. Though I think long walks are the secret to longevity. One of our neighbors had his pitbulls live to be 16 and 17 years old, and I think it’s because he was always outside walking them several times a day.
I guess I am not really surprised at the results. People reading these blogs are people who care about their dogs. No shock that they also walk them.
For us walking our dogs is like breathing. We go for a walk no matter what is going on in our lives our with the weather (other than dogs’ health issues that would prevent them from going).
Our dogs don’t need motivation. They live for their walks. And for us, their enthusiasm is all the motivation we need.
We walk minimum an hour daily 367 days a year. Rain, shine, blizzard – that is all no never mind to us. Just once we didn’t go for a walk because of the weather – everything, and I mean everything, including grassy areas, was under a glaze of ice. We got dressed, thinking that sticking to grass would be ok, walked out the door, turned around and went back. Even the dogs seemed to understand.
I won’t lie, one of the reasons I wanted a dog was because I knew having one would force me to start exercising again. We purposely adopted a dog with a lot of energy – though I didn’t expect quite as much as we got! I was hoping to get into dog sports one day as it looked like such a fun way to get out there. From the very beginning, before we even brought Shiva home it was my plan to walk her at least twice a day for an hour each walk. We waited to adopt until the spring because I knew I would be more likely to stick to the plan in warmer weather. I hoped that by the time it got cold again I would already be in the habit so walking in the winter wouldn’t be a huge chore. It turns out, I was right! I’m proud to say I have actually stuck with the plan.
It helps that my dog is insane and without her daily outings I’m pretty sure she would eat our house. That’s some pretty good motivation to get out there. Mental stimulation has also been vital in keeping her at a normal-ish level of sanity. Agility, flyball, trick training, looking her in the linen closet, all these things have been important. Not just for Shiva but for my health as well. Without her to walk, I’d probably be even lazier than I already am.