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FOUR LEGS BETTER THAN TWOFOR FIGHTING THE FLAB

2nd November 2009 - When it comes to getting in shape, your four legged friend may hold the answer to improving your fitness. A unique European study into the walking regimes of dogs and their owners by Nintendo DS game Walk with me! Do you know your walking routine? and The Kennel Club has revealed that dog owners walk 9.27km a day – nearly twice as far as non-dog owners.

The study of 100 dogs and their owners was carried out using the Walk with me! Do you know your walking routine? Nintendo DS game; a lifestyle software which helps you and your family get in tune with your personal walking regime by monitoring your steps taken throughout the day. During the study both animals and humans wore specially designed Activity Meters recording their walking regimes, minute by minute, 24 hours a day.

It showed that whilst the average daily distance walked by non-dog owners is 4.7km[1], Europe’s 50 million dog owners walk on average 9.27km[2] a day burning a combined count of 10.65 billion calories[3]. Respected health advice is we should all walk close to 10,000 steps (8km) a day as part of a healthy and balanced lifestyle[4].

Result highlights include:

• Dog owners walk over 1,680km[5] more than non-dog owners in a year (equivalent to walking from Dublin to Vienna)
• The average dog takes over 81,000 steps in a week - around 14,000 more than its owner (or nearly 700,000 steps a year)
• The study showed owners take their furry friends on two walks a day, lasting for around 20 minutes
• The most active dog in the study was the Papillon which took nearly 200,000 steps in a week

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Communications Director, said: “The study has shown that dog owners are generally much fitter than those who don’t own dogs. As the credit crunch bites and more people ditch their expensive gym memberships it can be hard to get the exercise that you need, but it seems that dog owners have a readymade solution – exercising with their dog is fun, affordable and it is easy to get motivated with the eager eyes and wagging tail of your dog egging you on.”

Caroline continues: “This is great news for dogs, who without this kind of regular exercise can suffer from serious health problems, as can the human population. The Kennel Club’s Fight the Flab with Fido campaign aims to get dog and owner fit together and there are lots of different sports that they can enjoy from simple walking to agility.”

Laurent Fischer, Managing Director Marketing & PR Nintendo of Europe said: “Not only is this a great way of keeping fit, it is also a fun way to monitor your dogs’ rhythm and activity levels through the day. When you are out and your dog is at home, you can find out what they get up to in the day from having a sleep to when the postman drops off the letters. Walk with me! Do you know your walking routine? is a unique and convenient tool to measure their activity and bring you closer to your dog when you are away.”

Top 10 most active dogs (by step):
Rank Breed of dog Country Steps per week
1 Papillon Germany 199,393
2 Cocker Spaniel England 173,511
3 Lagotto Romagnolo Belgium 162,678
4 Miniature Pinscher England 160,348
5 Beagle England 155,430
6 Kooikerhondje The Netherlands 148,162
7 Yorkshire Terrier Spain 139,225
8 Golden Retriever France 120,302
9 Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Spain 114,415
10 Alaskan Malamute Wales 109,102

Top 10 most active countries (by step):
Rank Country

1. England
2. Germany
3. The Netherlands
4. France
5. Belgium
6. Spain
7. Scotland
8. Northern Ireland
9. Scotland
10. Wales