A national Japanese survey reveals that people who own a dog for the first time walk more and connect more often by phone or online, shedding light on how dog ownership can shape everyday social and physical behaviors.
Study: Association of new dog ownership with physical activity and social contact: the retrospective study. Image credit: sophiecat / Shutterstock
In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reportsresearchers investigated whether 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 experienced significant increases in non-face-to-face social contact and walking activity. These findings suggest that first-time dog ownership may be associated with changes in social engagement and physical activity.
Health relationships between dog ownership and lifestyle
Dog ownership has been widely linked to better physical, cognitive and social health outcomes.
Previous research shows that dog owners tend to be more physically active and socially engaged, with dog walking often identified as a key mechanism. Some studies have also suggested that dog ownership can reduce the risk of conditions such as dementia, particularly when combined with regular exercise and social interaction. However, these health outcomes were not directly assessed in the present study.
Evidence gaps for new dog owners
Most existing studies have not clearly distinguished between first-time dog owners and people with previous dog ownership experience.
This distinction is important because people who have previously owned dogs may already have established walking routines or social habits. As a result, it remains unclear whether owning a dog leads to measurable changes in behavior over time, particularly in terms of social interaction.
Study Design and Participant Groups
To address this gap, researchers specifically focused on first-time dog owners and compared their changes in physical activity and social contact with those seen among non-dog owners.
The study used data from an Internet-based survey conducted in Japan in 2024. Participants aged 20 to 79 were recruited nationwide and provided informed consent online.
The final sample included 1,210 participants. Among them, 81 were first-time dog owners who had acquired a dog within the previous year. Comparison groups included 614 people without a dog at the time of the study, but with previous dog ownership experience, and 515 people who had never owned a dog.
Activity Measurement and Social Contact
Physical activity was assessed using the IPAQ Short Form, which measures vigorous activity, moderate activity and walking MET hours per week.
Social contact was assessed by the frequency of face-to-face and non-face-to-face interactions with neighbors and friends, scored on a scale of 0 to 7. Participants retrospectively reported their activity levels and social contact one year prior to the survey and at the time of data collection.
Demographic and psychosocial variables included age, sex, income, region, living arrangement, 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 confounders.
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 had toy- or small-sized dogs, with relatively few medium or large dogs.
Walking activity increased significantly among new dog owners over the one-year period, while it decreased or remained stable in both groups of non-dog owners. In contrast, moderate and vigorous physical activity showed only small or inconsistent changes 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 significant increases in non-face-to-face social contact, such as telephone or online communication, compared to both non-dog groups. Face-to-face social contact showed small increases among new dog owners, but these changes were not statistically significant, in part because similar increases were seen among non-dog owners.
Specifically, non-dog owners with and without prior dog ownership showed similar patterns of change, suggesting that prior dog ownership alone did not account for differences in activity or social engagement.
Interpretation, Strengths and Limitations
Findings show that first-time dog ownership was associated with increased walking activity and greater social contact over a one-year period.
These results support the hypothesis that owning a dog can encourage regular walking routines and broader social engagement, even beyond face-to-face interactions. The study extends previous evidence by demonstrating these associations specifically among individuals with no prior dog ownership experience.
Key strengths of the study include its focus on first-time dog owners and the simultaneous assessment of physical activity and social contact. Limitations include reliance on retrospective self-report, which may introduce recall or expectancy bias. use of an Internet-based survey, which may limit generalizability; and the small number of large dog owners, which limited subgroup analyses.
Overall, the study suggests that first-time dog ownership may be associated with distinct behavioral changes in physical activity and social engagement, helping to elucidate potential pathways linking dog ownership to health outcomes without establishing causality or directly measuring health effects.
