Walking your dog for weight loss: how to turn dog walks into weight-loss walks for you both

Walking your dog for weight loss: the short answer

Walking your dog can help you lose weight, because people with a dog usually walk more often and for longer. The walk only makes a difference to your weight when it becomes longer or brisker than what you do now, and good food does most of the work on the scale.

A study in West Cheshire, England, compared 191 adults who owned a dog with 455 adults who did not. Dog owners had about four times the odds of meeting the guideline of 150 minutes of activity a week, and they did not drop other activity to make room for the dog walks.

This was a survey at one point in time, so it shows a link, not proof that the dog caused the extra walking. People who like walking may simply be more likely to get a dog.

Before you change your walks, talk to your doctor first, especially if you have heart problems, diabetes, joint pain or trouble with balance. If you are new to regular walking, our guide to walking for weight loss covers the basics; this page is about turning walks with a dog into walks that help you lose weight.

What the research shows about dogs, walking and weight

The research shows that dog owners walk more, but also that a dog alone does not make people lose more weight. Most studies are surveys, and the few trials are small.

Dog owners walk more, on average

A review of 29 studies found that about 60 % of dog owners walk their dog. Those who did walked a median of 160 minutes a week, spread over about four walks. Owners did more walking than people without a dog, but the difference was small to moderate.

In the West Cheshire study, owners walked with their dog a median of seven times a week, for about 220 minutes in total. Yet almost one in ten owners said they never walked their dog at all. Owning a dog makes walking more likely; it does not guarantee it.

The people-and-pets weight trial

The best-known controlled study tested a weight-loss programme for owners and their dogs together. In this American trial, 36 adults with overweight or obesity took part with their own overweight dog, and 56 similar adults joined without a dog. Everyone had a year of advice on food and activity in groups.

After 12 months, people with a dog had lost 4.7 % of their weight on average, and people without a dog 5.2 %. The dogs lost 15 % on a diet prescribed by the vet. Two-thirds of the activity in the dog group was done with the dog.

The honest conclusion: the dog did not add extra weight loss for the owners, but it was a steady exercise partner. About four in ten people left before the end and the groups were not randomised, so it is one piece of the picture.

Walking a dog that is not your own

A small American study gave 26 people living in public housing a walking programme with certified therapy dogs and their handlers. They walked 20 minutes, five days a week.

The group that walked for 50 weeks kept to 72 % of their walks and lost about 6.5 kg (14.4 pounds) on average. The most common reason people gave for keeping going: the dogs “need us to walk them.” There was no comparison group, so the result is encouraging rather than proof.

Trackers and long-term health

Extra technology on the dog did not change much. In a randomised trial in Sydney, a dog activity tracker did not make owners walk more over three months. Both groups already took more than 10,500 steps a day, so there was little room to improve.

A meta-analysis of 10 studies with 3.8 million people linked dog ownership to a 24 % lower risk of death from any cause. These were observational studies, the pooled figures were not adjusted for other factors, and healthier people may be more likely to own a dog.

A dog stroll is not a weight-loss walk: what to change

A typical dog walk is slow and full of stops, so it burns less energy than a steady brisk walk. To help your weight, keep the sniffing time for your dog and add a stretch where you set the pace.

The Compendium of Physical Activities, the reference list researchers use for the energy cost of activities, puts “walking the dog” at 3.0 METs. A brisk walk for exercise on level ground, at about 5.6 to 6.3 km/h, is 4.8 METs. Minute for minute, a brisk walk uses about 60 % more energy than a typical dog walk.

Dog-led first, you-led after

A simple way to split each walk: the first part belongs to the dog. Let it sniff, stop and settle for about 10 minutes, which also warms up your own legs and joints.

Then switch to a part where you lead. Walk at a steady pace where you breathe faster but can still talk in full sentences, with your dog walking beside you. End with a few easy minutes so you both cool down.

Judge your effort by your breathing, not by speed or steps. Our heart rate zones calculator explains the talk test, and the walking guide shows how fast and how hard to walk.

How many calories does a dog walk burn?

The energy you use depends on your weight, your pace and the minutes you walk. As a rough guide from the Compendium values, 30 minutes of an ordinary dog walk uses about 150 kcal at 100 kg, 180 kcal at 120 kg and 210 kcal at 140 kg.

A brisk 30 minutes at the same weights uses roughly 240, 290 and 335 kcal. These are estimates, not measurements. Our calories burned calculator works it out for your own weight and pace.

Over a week, that difference adds up. Yet one 50 g bar of milk chocolate contains about 270 kcal (approximate, USDA data), more than a typical 30-minute dog walk uses at 100 kg. That is why the food you eat stays the main lever for weight loss.

A 12-week dog-walking plan for weight loss

This plan starts from the dog walks you already do and adds minutes and brisk stretches little by little. Talk to your doctor first, and ask your vet before you start if your dog is very young, old, overweight, or has joint or breathing problems.

Write down your usual walks for one week before you begin: how many a day and how many minutes. That is your week 0. If you hardly walk at all yet, follow the beginner 12-week walking plan first and bring your dog along on the easy walks.

Go slower than the table whenever you need to. Repeat a week if it felt hard, and go back a week if your joints or your dog’s legs are sore the next day.

The aim is at least 150 minutes of walking a week, moving towards 200 to 300 minutes over the months after, with good food alongside. A dog that walks twice a day makes those minutes much easier to reach.

When the brisk stretches feel easy and your dog is fit for it, you can add short faster stretches, as in Japanese walking. Keep them short, and only on a calm, loose lead.

When your dog cannot keep up

Some dogs are too old, too small or not fit enough for your weight-loss walks. Then give your dog its own easy walk and do your brisk minutes alone, or split the walk: your dog goes home after the sniffing part.

The opposite happens too: a young, fit dog may need more than you can manage. Short daily bursts of movement at home, such as the ideas in our guide to exercise snacks for weight loss, build your fitness between walks.

If your dog needs to lose weight too

If your dog is heavier than it should be, its weight loss is the vet’s call: the vet decides how much your dog eats and how fast its walks build up. You can work on your own weight at the same time and walk together at a pace that suits you both.

Extra weight in dogs is common. In a recent veterinary review, about one in three dogs in Australia was overweight and almost one in thirteen had obesity; figures in other countries range from under one in ten to over four in ten, depending on how weight was measured.

A heavier dog tires more quickly and gets hot more easily, so the first weeks need short, easy walks. Watch for heavy panting, lagging behind, lying down or limping, and stop for shade and water when you see them.

In the people-and-pets trial, dogs lost 15 % of their weight in a year on a diet set by the vet, alongside more walking. That is the model to follow: the vet sets the food and the target, and the walks are the part you share.

Ask your vet before you change your dog’s food, treats or exercise. This page gives no advice on what or how much to feed a dog.

Safety on the lead: falls, pulling and sore joints

Walking a dog brings a risk that ordinary walking does not: being pulled or tripped by the lead. Simple habits and a calm dog make most of these falls avoidable.

In a US study of emergency department records, injuries linked to dog leads became about four times more common over nearly two decades. Most came from a pull, followed by tripping or getting tangled, and about a quarter were fractures.

A separate US study looked at people aged 65 and over and found that fractures linked to walking a dog on a lead rose sharply over the years studied. In a trauma centre study of falls caused by dogs, two in three patients were 65 or older, and hip and pelvic fractures were the leading injury.

Hand injuries are common too. In a review of 443 people seen by hand surgeons after a lead injury, about three in four had a finger or hand caught in the lead while the dog pulled.

If your balance is not steady, walk your dog with someone else at first, or let them hold the lead while you set the pace.

A weighted vest and a pulling dog do not go together, and neither do poles and a lead in the same hand. Our pages on the weighted vest for weight loss and Nordic walking for weight loss are for walks without the dog.

Sore knees, hips or feet

Sudden pulls put extra strain on painful joints, so a calm dog matters even more when your knees or hips hurt. If walking itself is painful, our guide to exercise with bad knees and our page on foot pain and weight loss help you choose a safe way to keep moving.

Heat and cold, for you and your dog

Dogs overheat faster than many owners expect. In a UK study of veterinary records, most cases of heat-related illness in dogs were triggered by exercise, and the typical temperature on days when dogs fell ill from heat was only about 17 °C.

Older dogs, flat-faced dogs and heavier dogs are more likely to become seriously ill. On warm days, walk early or late, choose shade, take water for both of you, and stop at once if your dog pants heavily, staggers or lies down.

Cold, ice and dark evenings bring their own risks. Ask your vet what your dog can handle in cold weather, and see the weather and safety tips in our walking guide for yourself.

Why a dog keeps you walking: routine, company and meeting people

A dog keeps you walking because the walk is no longer only for you. Owners feel the dog needs it, and that sense of duty carries them out of the door on days when their own motivation is low.

A review of what makes people walk their dog found that the strength of the bond with the dog and a feeling of obligation were most strongly linked to more walking. Owners also felt supported and motivated by their dog.

Think of your dog as a walking buddy who never cancels. For human buddies, groups and shared challenges, see our guide to weight loss support groups.

A walk with a fixed cue

Dogs like routine, and so do habits. A walk at the same moment each day, after breakfast or before dinner, soon happens almost by itself. When work, travel or illness disrupts the day, our page on keeping weight loss habits when your routine breaks shows how to keep a short version going.

Meeting people on the way

The same review found that places with good paths, room for dogs and a chance to chat with other people may make owners walk more. The researchers call for better studies, so treat this as a likely link rather than proof.

A short chat with another dog owner may seem small, but it makes the walk something to look forward to. On days when that is not enough, our guide to weight loss motivation has other ideas to keep going.

No dog? Borrowing, sharing and volunteering

You do not need your own dog to walk with one. Many people cannot have a dog because of their home, health, allergies, money or time, and that is a perfectly good reason.

A dog needs daily care for many years, including vet costs, company and walks in all weather. Getting one only to lose weight is not fair on you or the dog, so think it through carefully first.

Some ideas to walk with a dog without owning one:

• Offer to walk a neighbour’s, friend’s or relative’s dog on fixed days, for example for someone who is older or works long hours.
• Ask a local animal shelter or rescue whether they use volunteer dog walkers, and what training or checks they need.
• Share the walks with a friend who has a dog: you bring the brisk pace, they bring the dog.
• Join a walking group, where the routine and company work in a similar way to a dog.

Before you walk someone else’s dog, meet it first, learn its habits and lead, and ask the owner about its health and how far it can walk.

Food for weight loss around dog walks

Good food does more for your weight than any walk, so plan your meals around your walks instead of rewarding each walk with a snack. A shop-bought blueberry muffin of about 100 g holds roughly 375 kcal (approximate, USDA data), more than an hour of easy dog walking at 100 kg.

• Drink water before and after, and take some for your dog on longer or warm walks.
• Skip the “earned” treat. A biscuit after every walk can quietly cancel the energy you used. If you are hungry, choose from our list of healthy snacks that fill you up with fewer calories.
• Have protein at breakfast before a morning walk, such as yoghurt, eggs or beans on toast. Protein keeps you full for longer, which helps you eat less later. Our high protein meals give simple ideas.
• Your food is not a dog treat. Sharing your snacks adds hidden calories for your dog, so keep its food to what the vet advises.

Free help to lose weight with good food and walking

At Obesity Foundation we help people lose weight and get healthier with good food, suitable exercise and walking. A walk with your dog can be one of the easiest places to start, and all our help is free.

• Your own eating plan, with filling meals that fit your walking days. Ask for your free eating plan.
• Exercise videos at the Start, Build and Strong levels, for stronger legs and better balance on the lead. Get the free workout videos.
• A free video meeting (in English) to plan how dog walks fit your week and your health. Book a free video meeting.
• A Club account to log your walks, minutes and progress at no cost. Join the Obesity Foundation Club.

Tomorrow, give your dog its usual sniffing time, then walk five brisk minutes side by side. That is a good first step for both of you.