title: Prevalence of dog walking and sociodemographic characteristics of dog walkers in the U. S.: an update from 2001.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe and estimate the prevalence of dog walking using a nationwide sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  2009 National Household Travel Survey data (N = 5100) were analyzed for: duration of dog walks, number of dog walks/day, total dog walking minutes/day.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In a one-day period, 67% of dog walkers took at least one walk ≥ 10 minutes, 20% walked a dog for at least 30 minutes, and 28% took more than one dog walk. Older participants and participants with children were more likely to accumulate ≥ 30 minutes of dog walking in a one-day period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A majority of dog walks occurred in bouts ≥ 10 minutes, suggesting dog walking is a legitimate form of health-enhancing physical activity which contributes to meeting physical activity guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Purdue University School of Nursing, West Lafayette, IN, USA. erichards@purdue.edu.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Richards
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D016138:Walking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult