title: Dog walking is associated with more outdoor play and independent mobility for children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Dog ownership is positively associated with children's physical activity. It is plausible that dog-facilitated activity rather than dog ownership per se encourages children's physical activity behaviors. We examined relationships between dog walking and children's physical activity, and outdoor play and independent mobility.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional survey data from the 2007 Perth (Western Australia) TRavel, Environment, and Kids (TREK) project were analyzed for 727 10-12 year olds with a family dog. Weekly minutes of overall physical activity and walking, local walking and outdoor play were collected from children and parents. Children's weekly pedometer steps were measured. Independent mobility was determined by active independent travel to 15 local destinations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 55% of children walked their dog. After adjustment, more dog walkers than non-dog walkers walked in the neighborhood (75% vs. 47%), played in the street (60% vs. 45%) and played in the yard (91% vs. 84%) (all p ≤ 0.05). Dog walkers were more independently mobile than non-dog walkers (p ≤ 0.001). Dog walking status was not associated with overall physical activity, walking, or pedometer steps (p>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dog-facilitated play and physical activity can be an effective strategy for increasing children's physical activity. Dog walking may provide a readily accessible and safe option for improving levels of independent mobility.
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Built Environment and Health, School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia; Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia. Electronic address: hayley.christian@uwa.edu.au.
authors.forename: Hayley
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Christian
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Built Environment and Health, School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia; Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia. Electronic address: Gina.Tapp@telethonkids.og.au.
authors.forename: Georgina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trapp
authors.affiliation: McCaughey VicHealth Centre for Community Wellbeing, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: k.villanueva@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Villanueva
authors.affiliation: Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia. Electronic address: Stephen.Zubrick@telethonkids.org.au.
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Zubrick
authors.affiliation: Centre for the Built Environment and Health, School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia. Electronic address: rachelle.koekemoer@uwa.edu.au.
authors.forename: Rachelle
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Koekemoer
authors.affiliation: McCaughey VicHealth Centre for Community Wellbeing, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: b.giles-corti@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Billie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Giles-Corti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004285:Dogs; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D057805:Pets; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*; D014904:Western Australia
keywords: Child; Dog; Independent mobility; Physical activity; Play; Walking