Getting a dog for the first time encourages walking and long-distance social bonds

Getting a dog for the first time encourages walking and long-distance social bonds

A nationwide Japanese survey shows that people who get a dog for the first time walk more and communicate more often by phone or online. This provides insight into how owning a dog can influence everyday social and physical behavior.

In a study recently published in the journalScientific reportsResearchers examined whether people who became first-time dog owners experienced changes in social contact and physical activity over the course of a year.

The study found that new dog owners showed a significant increase in non-personal social contact and walking activity. These results suggest that owning a dog for the first time may be associated with changes in social engagement and physical activity.

Health connections between dog ownership and lifestyle

Dog ownership is widely associated with better physical, cognitive and social health outcomes.

Previous research suggests that dog owners tend to be more physically active and socially engaged, with dog walking often identified as a key mechanism. Some studies also suggest that owning a dog can reduce the risk of conditions such as dementia, especially when combined with regular exercise and social interaction. However, these health outcomes were not directly assessed in the present study.

Gaps in evidence about new dog owners

Most existing studies have not made a clear distinction between first-time dog owners and people with experience owning dogs.

This distinction is important because people who have previously owned dogs may already have established walking routines or social habits. Therefore, it remains unclear whether acquiring a dog leads to measurable behavioral changes over time, particularly with regard to social interaction.

Study design and participant groups

To address this gap, researchers focused specifically on first-time dog owners and compared their changes in physical activity and social contact to those observed in non-dog owners.

The study used data from an internet-based survey conducted in Japan in 2024. Participants aged 20 to 79 years were recruited nationwide and provided informed consent online.

The final sample included 1,210 participants. These included 81 first-time dog owners who had acquired a dog within the previous year. The comparison groups included 614 people who did not have a dog at the time of the study but had previous dog ownership experience and 515 people who had never owned a dog.

Measurement of activity and social contact

Physical activity was assessed using the IPAQ short form, which measures vigorous activity, moderate activity, and walking in MET-hours per week.

Social contact was assessed by the frequency of personal and non-personal interactions with neighbors and friends and rated on a scale of 0 to 7. Participants retrospectively reported their activity levels and social contacts one year before the survey and at the time of data collection.

Demographic and psychosocial covariates included age, gender, income, region, living environment, occupation, marital status, depressive symptoms, and psychological well-being. Group differences were examined using analysis of variance and chi-square tests, while changes over time were analyzed using linear mixed models adjusted for relevant confounding factors.

Changes in physical activity and social interaction

The average age of the participants was 50.7 years and just over half were women. Among first-time dog owners, most owned toy-sized or small dogs, while there were relatively few medium or large dogs.

Walking activity increased significantly over the year in new dog owners, while it decreased or remained stable in both groups of non-dog owners. In contrast, moderate and vigorous physical activity showed little or inconsistent change across groups.

Linear mixed model analyzes showed that first-time dog owners experienced significantly greater increases in walking activity compared to people who had never owned a dog.

New dog owners also reported a significant increase in non-personal social contacts, such as: B. Telephone or online communication. Face-to-face social contact showed a slight increase among new dog owners, but these changes were not statistically significant, in part because similar increases were observed among non-dog owners.

Notably, non-dog owners with and without prior dog ownership showed similar patterns of change, suggesting that prior dog ownership alone does not account for differences in activity or social engagement.

Interpretation, strengths and limitations

The results suggest that owning a dog for the first time was associated with increased walking activity and greater social contacts over a year.

These results support the hypothesis that getting a dog can promote regular walks and broader social engagement, even beyond face-to-face interactions. The study extends previous findings by showing these relationships specifically among people who have no previous experience owning dogs.

The main strengths of the study include the focus on first-time dog owners and the simultaneous recording of physical activity and social contacts. Limitations include reliance on retrospective self-reporting, which may introduce recall or expectancy biases; Use of a web-based survey, which may limit generalizability; and the small number of large dog owners, which limited the subgroup analyses.

Overall, the study suggests that first-time dog ownership may be associated with significant behavioral changes in physical activity and social engagement, helping to clarify possible pathways linking dog ownership to health outcomes without establishing a causal relationship or directly measuring health effects.

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