News: Walking with shelter dogs better than friends for seniors (how much, shepherd)

[miu]

Nice!!

Walking with shelter dogs better than friends for seniors - USATODAY.com

In 12 weeks, the dog-walking seniors, ages 74 to 87, showed significant increases in walking speed, balance and confidence, important markers for older adults to avoid the "downward spiral" that occurs when they walk less, lose lower-body strength and isolate themselves socially, says the study's author, University of Missouri professor Rebecca Johnson, director of the Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction.

[Kindofcool]

When I was pre-teen growing up, we had a German Shepherd that use to love to pull me everytime I took the dog for a walk. But, when my grandmother would walk the dog, the dog would show much compassion and would not pull her. It really shows that dogs can be very perceptive. The study is not surprising to me. I think the key to starting exercise programs is that it is good to have a partner. Knowing a dog needs to be walked forces you to exercise on days where you are not quite up to it.