Does the Company of a Dog Influence Affective Response to Exercise? Using Ecological Momentary Assessment to Study Dog-Accompanied Physical Activity

Abstract

Purpose:

This study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA), a real-time self-report strategy, to examine (1) whether dog owners were more likely to be physically active when they were with their dogs and (2) whether being with a dog amplifies positive and dampens negative affective response during physical activity.

Design:

Electronic EMA surveys for 12 days.

Setting:

Free-living.

Participants:

Seventy-one adult dog owners.

Measures:

The EMA survey included 1 question about current activity, 3 questions about positive affect (Cronbach α = .837), 4 questions about negative affect (Cronbach α = .865), and 1 question about the presence of dog.

Analysis:

Multilevel modeling.

Results:

The company of a dog did not increase the likelihood of being active versus sedentary at any given EMA prompt. However, greater positive affect during physical activity was reported in the company of a dog. Negative affect did not differ between active and sedentary activity, regardless of being with a dog or not.

Conclusion:

This study demonstrates the utility of electronic EMA as a promising methodology to study dog-accompanied physical activity. Future studies may use EMA to collect further contextual information about dog-accompanied activity to inform the development of innovative physical activity interventions.