Introduction
Does walking your dog regularly really help them live longer? As a dog owner, you likely try to do everything you can to keep your furry friend happy and healthy. From providing nutritious food to scheduling regular vet checkups, most pet parents want to maximize their dog’s lifespan.
While factors like breed, genetics, and diet play a role in determining your dog’s expected longevity, regular moderate exercise is one aspect you can control. There’s compelling evidence that walking your dog frequently can lead to measurable health benefits and may even extend their life.
In this article, we’ll explore the ways going on regular walks can improve your dog’s physical health, mental stimulation, and quality of life. We’ll also look at the potential increase in lifespan from exercising dogs daily through leashed walks. Read on to learn how one of the simplest activities – going for a stroll around the block – could help your four-legged friend live longer.
Benefits of Walking for Dogs
Walking provides many important health benefits for dogs. Regular exercise from walking improves cardiovascular function, strengthening the heart and lungs. The physical activity helps increase lung capacity and blood circulation.
Additionally, walking helps maintain a healthy weight in dogs by burning calories and fat. Obesity is a common problem for pets, but staying active encourages weight loss or management. The exercise works various muscles and prevents packing on excess pounds.
Mentally, going on regular walks stimulates dogs and reduces boredom. Walks allow dogs to explore, see new sights and smells, and engage their minds. This provides much needed mental stimulation and enrichment.
Walking Prevents Obesity
Overweight dogs have shorter lifespans. Carrying excess weight puts strain on a dog’s joints and internal organs, increasing the risk of arthritis, heart disease, diabetes and more. Obesity shortens the average lifespan of dogs by up to 2.5 years according to veterinary studies.
Walking helps prevent obesity through calorie burn. Regularly walking your dog, even for just 30 minutes per day, helps burn excess calories and keeps weight gain at bay. The exact calories burned will depend on your dog’s weight and pace of walking, but taking your dog for daily walks is one of the best ways to prevent obesity and help them maintain a healthy weight.
Walking Strengthens Bones and Joints
One of the key benefits of walking dogs is that it provides weight-bearing exercise, which helps improve their bone density. The impact of their paws on the ground during a walk stresses their bones in a positive way, triggering them to become stronger and denser.
Improved bone density is extremely important for dogs, especially senior dogs who are prone to developing osteoarthritis. Stronger bones from walking can help delay the onset of arthritis and slow its progression once it develops.
In addition to strengthening bones, walking maintains joint health and flexibility in dogs. The motion of walking takes their joints through a full range of motion, distributing synovial fluid throughout the joint and nourishing the cartilage. This helps prevent joint stiffness and pain.
The combination of improved bone density and joint health from daily dog walks helps ensure dogs’ musculoskeletal systems stay functioning optimally across all life stages.
Walking Provides Mental Stimulation
Dogs need mental exercise as well as physical. Regular walks provide mental stimulation that keeps dogs engaged and focused. Simply being let out into the backyard does not provide the same mental benefits as going for a walk. Walking exposes dogs to new sights, sounds and smells which provide enriching sensory experience.
Walking prevents boredom and destructive behaviors. Dogs that are left alone all day without stimulation or activity can become bored and destructive. Chewing, barking, digging and other unwanted behaviors are signs of a dog that needs more mental and physical exercise. Taking dogs out for daily walks provides much needed mental stimulation and prevents these negative behaviors.
Moderate Exercise Is Best
While walking provides many health benefits for dogs, overdoing it can actually cause harm. Experts recommend light walking for 30-60 minutes most days as the ideal amount for overall health. This provides enough physical activity to prevent obesity, strengthen the musculoskeletal system, and stimulate the mind without putting too much strain on the body.
Certain breeds are prone to joint issues and can be injured by excessive exercise, especially high-impact activities. For example, Labrador Retrievers are enthusiastic exercisers but can develop hip and elbow dysplasia if overworked at a young age. Breeds like Dachshunds with long backs are also at higher risk for spinal disc disease from too much jumping and running.
Moderation is key – the average healthy adult dog requires only 30-60 minutes of walking per day. Going beyond this, particularly with high-energy activities like playing fetch for hours on end, risks injury. Light daily walks with proper rest provide the safest path to better health and longer life.
Walking Fosters Bonding
Shared walks deepen the owner-dog bond through positive interactions and quality time together. Regular walks provide a daily routine for you and your dog to look forward to. Walking side-by-side fosters trust and companionship. Your dog will be eager to join you and exhibit happy, excited behavior when it’s time for a walk.
This daily dedicated time together strengthens your relationship. Walks allow you to focus completely on your dog without other distractions at home. You can observe your dog closely and better understand their personality. Shared outdoor experiences create positive memories and emotional connections.
The improved bond from daily walks enhances your dog’s wellbeing. Your dog feels mentally and physically enriched from the exercise and affection. A strong owner-pet relationship satisfies a dog’s primal social needs. Your dog will be more relaxed, confident and affectionate after strengthening your friendship through walking.
Additional Health Benefits
In addition to strengthening the heart and lungs, regular walking provides several other health benefits for dogs. Walking helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels by improving circulation and reducing plaque buildup in the arteries. The rhythmic motion of walking releases feel-good hormones called serotonin and endorphins, which can help relieve stress and anxiety.
Regular exercise may also help delay age-related cognitive decline in senior dogs by maintaining neural connections and blood flow to the brain. A study published in The Journals of Gerontology found physically active dogs performed better on cognitive tests and had lower levels of a protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, keeping your dog mentally and physically engaged through daily walks may contribute to their longevity.
Average Lifespan Increase
Numerous scientific studies have shown that regular moderate exercise from an early age can increase a dog’s lifespan by 1-2 years on average. The exact lifespan increase depends on the individual dog and breed, but the benefits of walking are clear.
To maximize the lifespan benefits, dogs need lifelong moderate exercise starting as puppies and continuing into their senior years. Large breed dogs that get regular walks are more likely to avoid joint problems and remain mobile into old age. Small dogs that walk daily maintain a healthy weight and avoid obesity-related conditions.
While the average increase is 1-2 years, some lucky dogs that walk frequently from puppyhood until their senior years live several years longer than sedentary pets. The lifespan extension effects seem to compound over time – the longer dogs walk throughout life, the greater the longevity payoff.
Conclusion
In summary, regular moderate exercise such as walking provides significant health benefits that can extend your dog’s lifespan. Walking helps prevent obesity, strengthens bones and joints, provides mental stimulation, and fosters bonding. Other benefits include improving heart health, muscle tone, digestion, and immunity.
While the exact increase in lifespan is variable based on breed, diet, environment and other factors, studies show dogs who exercise regularly live on average 1-3 years longer. The takeaway is that daily walks and activity are one of the most important things you can do to keep your dog physically and mentally healthy. Aim for at least 30-60 minutes of brisk walking per day to give your loyal companion the best shot at a long and happy life by your side.