Dog walking exercise

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elinsofie
elinsofie Posts: 69 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Dog owners out there, do you track your dog walking as exercise? I walk about 30-60 min twice a day, but I don't log all of it. Part of it is just strolling around in the park, but I try to do at least 10-20 min at a higher pace to get my heart rate up on every walk. How accurate is the calorie burn that MFP has set on walking? Is it a little high? I know it will be different from person to person. Maybe I should just get a HRM.

This winter I got a knee injury and I couldn't walk as much as I used to. I gained a lot of weight (which is why I joined MFP), so the dog walking really makes a difference! The knee is better now, and hopefully those extra kilos will come off.

Dog owners, feel free to add me as a friend :)

Replies

  • misschocolate82
    misschocolate82 Posts: 129
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    I have a dog also.....if I just gentle stroll around the fields whilst he is running around crazily I don't log it....however if I get him on his lead and do a 4 mile trek then i do log it x
  • CarolMorris66
    CarolMorris66 Posts: 59
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    I include it... and have lost 25 pounds doing it. My general life style is sedentary and having two young spaniels, my walks are far from short and uninteresting!!! They get 90 minutes in the morning and at least 2 hours at night, which doesn't give me much time for other exercise. I make sure I walk with a good posture and infact, I don't walk, I march keeping my heartrate up the whole time!
  • ClareB1974
    ClareB1974 Posts: 224 Member
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    I add my dog walking as I don't count it as a usual activity, if you know what I mean. I walk two miles without the dog each weekday morning at a really brisk pace and then I walk the dog for an hour/an hour and a half just after lunch. I log both of these but I don't eat all the calories from the activity, maybe just a third, in case the calories are a bit high.

    Friend request sent :-)
  • iwillsoonbeslim
    iwillsoonbeslim Posts: 283
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    I don't generally add the morning walk, unless I'm really putting my back into it. But I do add my lunchtime ones (That I march through), and any evening hikes we do (usually hill climbs). Seriously thinkning of getting a HRM, but I'm suck a technophobe, I don't know if I'd ever get it set up right lol
  • Tankplanker
    Tankplanker Posts: 365 Member
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    I record mine as a moderate paced walk, but then the dog is off the lead for most of it so I'm not stop starting all the time.
  • mirapaigew
    mirapaigew Posts: 107
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    Actually, my dogs walk ME. haha
  • KanCrav
    KanCrav Posts: 439 Member
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    I log my walks with my dog if they are at least 20 min. When I am not into and dont try hard I dont log. But most of the time I figure that I already have to be out there so why not make the most of it? Add ten min and make it a full half hour, and I really push it at the end so I dont feel like I am cheating the calories.
  • infosynth
    infosynth Posts: 81 Member
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    It seems to that whether you should log "mild" exercise depends upon how you have set up your profile.

    For example, mine is "sedentary." So, I'd log anything I do beyond sitting at my desk (watching TV, etc.), including a 20-minute walk, even if it was just a stroll.

    If your profile is set higher than sedentary, then some of your exercise is already counted so you may not need to log it.

    Just a thought...
  • AlwaysWanderer
    AlwaysWanderer Posts: 641 Member
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    I dont record my dog walking - and I walk an hour twice a day. I dont log exercise unless I get my heart rate up :tongue:
  • mirapaigew
    mirapaigew Posts: 107
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    OH forgot to add that I do log my dog walking, as it is not a part of my regular routine. We have a large fenced in yard, so I don't walk them every day. If it was part of my daily routine, I wouldn't log it.
  • jennmoore3
    jennmoore3 Posts: 1,015 Member
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    My daughters walk the dogs. They train them for the 4-H fair. But I walk with them. We hardly walk them on a regular basis, so heck yeah we log it. There is no such thing as a casual stroll with 2 85 pound labs. We always get the hart rate up!
  • elinsofie
    elinsofie Posts: 69 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the feedback :) My profile is set to sedentary, and I guess I'll just continue to log some but not all of the walking.

    Does anyone have any thoughts on the amount of calories you burn when you walk? This morning I went for a 45 min walk. I logged 15 min slow pace, 15 min moderate pace and ignored the rest. MFP says that I burned 106 calories on those 30 min. If I burn more than 100 calories in 30 min on the Wii Sports Active, then I really need to take a shower afterwards. Of course part of the Sports Active is strength training while walking is all cardio, but considering the effort I still find it hard to believe that the calorie burn is supposed to be the same? I am losing weight according to plan, so it's not really a problem. I'm just curious :)
  • glfprncs2
    glfprncs2 Posts: 625 Member
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    Thanks everyone for the feedback :) My profile is set to sedentary, and I guess I'll just continue to log some but not all of the walking.

    Does anyone have any thoughts on the amount of calories you burn when you walk? This morning I went for a 45 min walk. I logged 15 min slow pace, 15 min moderate pace and ignored the rest. MFP says that I burned 106 calories on those 30 min. If I burn more than 100 calories in 30 min on the Wii Sports Active, then I really need to take a shower afterwards. Of course part of the Sports Active is strength training while walking is all cardio, but considering the effort I still find it hard to believe that the calorie burn is supposed to be the same? I am losing weight according to plan, so it's not really a problem. I'm just curious :)


    I wear a Bodybugg and walk my dogs every afternoon (I have 3 and each gets his own 20-25 minute walk). I walk at about a 3.6-8 mph pace, and on average, burn about 140 calories per dog (in that 20-25 minute time frame).
  • Charlottekd
    Charlottekd Posts: 94
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    I will be logging my dog walking from now on. Im normally sat at a desk all day so its definately extra.
    I mainly walk my dog through fields and woods and it can be quite hilly. I tend to walk quickly anyway so it gets my heart rate up....especially with my springer spaniel / german shepherd cross pup!!!

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