Aims: Dog ownership has been evidenced as a motive for participation in physical activity (PA), with dog owners more likely to achieve the recommended PA levels through involvement in dog walking (DW). The purpose of this study was to apply the tenants of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to assess the influence of cognitions on the intention to be physically active by DW. Additionally, exploring how age, gender, body mass index (BMI) and walking mode affects motives.
Method: A total number of 389 participants, men (n=112) and women (n=277), aged 16-85 years participated. Opportunistic and snowball sampling was used to recruit participants. The questionnaire, designed specifically for this study, was hosted on social media sites to collect information such as demographics, PA levels, DW activity and TPB constructs.
Results: Analysis revealed that age had a significant relationship with METs Total and all TPB constructs (except subjective norm (SN)). Additionally, all components of the TPB has a significant relationship with intention. An ANCOVA analysis revealed the main effects for self-efficacy (SE) were walking mode and gender; furthermore, walking mode and gender formed a significant interaction. For SN, walking mode was established as a main effect. No other main effects or interactions were identified. Age was a significant covariate for all components of TPB, but BMI was not.
Conclusions: As dog owner’s age, they develop stronger, more positive beliefs surrounding DW activity; forming increased intention to participate in DW, and a reduction in leisure time PA. Additionally, males who participate in solo walking behaviour have greater SE beliefs.
Implications: Results suggest further investigation is needed, pertaining the creation of an appropriate questionnaire to analyse DW and the TPB. This would create a valuable tool for exploring key beliefs of dog owners in relation to DW.