They provide unconditional love and help ease loneliness, and now UK and Australian research suggests pooches are basically furry, four-legged fitness trainers. 

Based on self-reports of physical activity in 385 UK households, dog owners are four times more likely to meet the current guideline of 150 minutes of exercise per week than non-dog owners, the researchers write in Scientific Reports. 

And dog owners are 14 times more likely to report walking for recreation and pound the pavement or park for 39% longer than other recreational walkers, they say.

Canine family members also made a difference to children’s activity levels, with kids and their very own Lassie or Fido doing more recreational walking (78 more minutes per week) than those without a dog.