Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Using pedometers to track physical activity in dogs
By Chan, Catherine B et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2005·Department of Biomedical Sciences, Canada·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Use of pedometers to measure physical activity in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study involving 26 dogs showed that pedometers can be a useful tool for measuring how much exercise dogs get. The dogs wore pedometers for 7 to 14 days, and the results indicated that while pedometers slightly overestimated steps for larger dogs and underestimated for smaller ones during walking, they were accurate when the dogs trotted or ran. Owners reported their dogs were generally active, and the data suggested that dogs who took fewer steps tended to have higher body condition scores, meaning they were less fit. This information can help pet owners understand their dog's activity levels and encourage more exercise if needed.
People also search for: how to measure dog activity · dog exercise tips · why is my dog overweight · pedometer for dogs · active dog breeds
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether pedometers can be used to measure physical activity in dogs. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. ANIMALS: 26 dogs. PROCEDURE: To determine pedometer accuracy, number of steps recorded with the pedometer as dogs walked, trotted, and ran for a distance of approximately 30 m (100 ft) at each gait was compared with actual number of steps. Dogs and owners then wore pedometers for 7 to 14 days, and dog pedometer output was compared with body condition score, owner-reported activity of the dog, and owner pedometer output. RESULTS: Most owners classified their dogs as active or quite active and indicated that their dogs exercised 3 to 7 days/wk. For all dogs, body condition score was 5, 6, or 7 on a scale from 1 to 9. At a walk, pedometers overestimated actual number of steps by approximately 17% in large and medium dogs and underestimated actual number of steps by approximately 7% in small dogs. No significant differences between pedometer-recorded and actual number of steps were detected when dogs trotted or ran. Number of steps per day for the dogs was significantly correlated with owner-reported activity of the dog (r = 0.305) and number of steps per day for the owners (r = 0.469) and was inversely correlated with body condition score (r = -0.554). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results suggest that pedometers can measure physical activity in dogs with reasonable accuracy. A lower number of steps per day was associated with a higher body condition score, and less active owners generally had less active dogs.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15989183/