Dogs and Children: Get More Exercise With A Dog!

Did you know that children with dogs get more exercise? A study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that children with dogs spend up to 325 minutes being physically active each day–11 more than those without dogs. The activity includes light, moderate, moderate to vigorous and vigorous activity. Dog owners are also less sedentary.

Yet another benefit of pairing canines with kids! That’s one of the main themes of our book, “Bash and Lucy Fetch Confidence,” in which a dog, Lucy, provides many benefits to the kids on a soccer team. But Bash needs to convince the coach to let mischievous Lucy hang around during practices and games and share her wisdom.

Michael, a young boy who is co-author of “Bash and Lucy Fetch Confidence,” says his new puppy, Hudson, definitely helps him get more exercise. He loves walking with Hudson near downtown Portland, where everyone stops to admire his pup. What’s more, he likes to throw the ball with Hudson on a hill near his house.

“I throw the ball, it rolls, Hudson chases it and I chase him and it’s funny,” says Michael. “Then we do it again. We’re having fun and I love him.”

For more great dog facts and kid book reviews (about the best dog books) from Michael, be sure to follow his blog. You can follow it by email by entering your email address in the little box on the left.

And you might want to check out the video trailer for his book, “Bash And Lucy Fetch Confidence.” It was done by an award-winning teen videographer: