title: Supportive neighbourhood built characteristics and dog-walking in Canadian adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our study objectives were to: 1) estimate differences in perceptions of the neighbourhood built environment among non-dog-owners, owners who walk their dogs (dog-walkers) and owners who do not walk their dogs (non-dog-walkers), and 2) estimate associations between perceptions of the neighbourhood built environment and dog-walking frequency.
  
  
  METHODS
  A random cross-section of Calgary adults completed telephone interviews during August-October 2007 (n = 2,199, response rate = 33.6%) or January-April 2008 (n = 2,223, response rate = 36.7%). Telephone interviews and a follow-up questionnaire captured physical activity, health and sociodemographic characteristics, dog-ownership, and perceived built environment characteristics. Using ANOVA, we compared the perceived built environment among non-dog-owners, non-dog-walkers and dog-walkers. For dog-owners only, logistic regression estimated associations (odds ratios: OR) between dog-walking participation and perceived built environment. Among dog-walkers, logistic regression estimated associations between dog-walking ≥4 times/week and perceived built environment. Furthermore, among dog-walkers, linear regression estimated associations (unstandardized β) between dog-walking frequency and perceived built environment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with dog-walkers, non-dog-owners reported more positive perceptions of neighbourhood street connectivity, pedestrian infrastructure, and walkability (p &lt; 0.05). Among dog-walkers, aesthetics was positively associated (p &lt; 0.05) with the likelihood of walking the dog ≥4 times in a usual week (covariate-adjusted-OR = 1.67) and dog-walking frequency (covariate-adjusted-β = 0.15). Among dog-walkers, walkability was also positively associated (p &lt; 0.05) with dog-walking ≥4 times in a usual week (covariate-adjusted-OR = 1.03) and dog-walking frequency (covariate-adjusted-β = 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Perceptions of the neighbourhood built environment appear to differ between non-dog-owners and dog-owners. While built environment improvements may not encourage owners to initiate dog-walking, creating attractive and walkable neighbourhoods may support regular dog-walking among owners already walking their dogs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary; O'Brien Institute for Public Health, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. gmccorma@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: Gavin R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: McCormack
authors.forename: Taryn M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.forename: Hayley
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Christian
authors.forename: Ann M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Toohey
authors.forename: Melanie J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Rock
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002170:Canada; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004285:Dogs; D004779:Environment Design / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010067:Ownership / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016138:Walking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*