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Do you log walking your dog?

froeschli
froeschli Posts: 1,293 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I don't. IMO it's a part of my lifestyle. my HRM says it's a 300+ calorie part. (2-3 hours most days) that makes me want to add it to my diary - especially because everybody else burns so many calories every day....

but i see no point in changing my activity level, just so i can log those 'extra' calories burned.
ah well, at least i know i am doing something :smile:
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Replies

  • Almiel
    Almiel Posts: 61 Member
    If your lifestyle setting is sedentary, heck yeah! There's even a built in entry "walking 3 mph, walking dog".
  • Kandygirl
    Kandygirl Posts: 249 Member
    i dont log exercises i did before i started this weigh lose. to me, it's my daily grind. i dont log walking my dog but i do log the extra walk i take every night with my husband.
  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,293 Member
    If your lifestyle setting is sedentary, heck yeah! There's even a built in entry "walking 3 mph, walking dog".

    i know, i see people logging 5 minute dog walks, and am wondering wtf, isn't it their dog? doesn't the dog get to go out every day? (they usually only log it twice a week...) and seriously, 5 minutes is barely out the door...

    my lifestyle setting is active, and i figure if the dog walking and grocery store runs give me an extra cushion, that's bonus.
  • kbw414
    kbw414 Posts: 194
    I count it because my lifestyle settings are set at sedentary.
    I have a 9 week old puppy who is not yet acclimated to taking daily walks, so that's the other reason I count it (because it's not a daily activity for me).

    I don't, however, eat back those exercise calories. Since he's a puppy, he can't walk very far anyway and I have to take it slow for him.
  • samf36
    samf36 Posts: 369 Member
    I log the 3 mile walking your dog and my dog doesn't walk lol. I use that speed because I have no idea how fast I am walking and that sounds good. I will get a fitbit one day and know my true speed and maybe I can quit "walking " my dog
  • kbmnurse
    kbmnurse Posts: 2,484 Member
    Yes I do. It allows me to eat more. LOL
  • lk27
    lk27 Posts: 257 Member
    I have in the past. BUT I don't really consider walking exercise. Personally, I should be sweating my *kitten* off and out of breath for an activity to be considered exercise. If I take my dog for a strenuous hike or for a run, I do log it.
  • lmelangley
    lmelangley Posts: 1,039 Member
    I only log exercise that's out of the ordinary. I have to walk my dog, so I don't log it. I have to clean my house, so I don't log it. But, if I did a top to bottom spring cleaning, I'd probably log some of it.
  • badgerbadger1
    badgerbadger1 Posts: 954 Member
    Yes. Reason being during the freezing cold winter (-30c) and with my depression which was in relapse, I wasn't walking the dog or leaving the house at all.

    Now I try to go at least 5km a day at a decent pace and take the kid with me so it's a family active time.
  • inside_lap
    inside_lap Posts: 728 Member
    I'm set on sedentary so yes, I log walking my dog. But I also walk her at least 2 to 3 miles a day...

    I'm very active but my job clearly falls into the sedentary category *shrug*
  • Reckabek
    Reckabek Posts: 487 Member
    I log but have sedetary settings, my dogs dont get walked that often cause i just let them out the back door so they can run around and play! But today i took em and used my hrm and logged that! Plus i like to throw in some jogging intervals!
  • liftingheavy
    liftingheavy Posts: 551 Member
    I have four dogs and when I walk all 4 at once I do not log because I'm stopping as much as I'm walking. When I take them indvidually for one-on-one time I walk briskly and log it.
  • Werglum
    Werglum Posts: 378 Member
    I don't have a dog, but log 'walking the dog' as it is about the speed my 3 year old walks!! There is no other option for that speed :bigsmile:
  • Kristiina67
    Kristiina67 Posts: 142 Member
    That is my exercise! I walk through woods (hills) and fields. She is off leash, and our speed is around 4.2-4.4 MPH. We usually walk for 80 minutes. I am usually soaking wet afterwards. -- I think I am getting a great workout :D
  • HeidiMightyRawr
    HeidiMightyRawr Posts: 3,343 Member
    I have done, if it's a really long walk or if I run with him, but most of the time I don't run so I don't log it.

    One time I burnt about 350 calories for a 30 minute walk/run! Once you get my dog going he won't stop, I was knackered by the end, that was a higher calorie burn per minute than I'd ever had before in the gym or P90x!! The weather didn't help (it was baking hot!)
  • SarahMorganP
    SarahMorganP Posts: 921 Member
    I log my daily walks with the dog because my activity is set to sedentary. Walking is my main form of exercise and has been since I started in June. I have lost 55lbs with almost only walking and watching my calories. So to me it sure is exercise. Why on earth wouldn't I log it? This morning I didn't log it because I was really busy and only had 10min to walk her (so my husband walked her longer in the afternoon) so I didn't log it, didn't even bother putting on my HRM.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    Since most of the time I open the back door and let the pup out that way, when I do take him for a walk, I do log it. It is not a normal, daily, thing for me.

    Some people use it as a "reason" they have to get up and get out of the house. If that helps them, then by all means they should log it. Every little step is a step in the right direction.
  • violetsue
    violetsue Posts: 54 Member
    I absolutely log it in. I walk about 30 minutes at a steady pace and no stopping to sniff. Its good for both of us.
  • hypersensitiveb
    hypersensitiveb Posts: 342 Member
    I only log exercise that's out of the ordinary. I have to walk my dog, so I don't log it. I have to clean my house, so I don't log it. But, if I did a top to bottom spring cleaning, I'd probably log some of it.

    Same here with the cleaning. But as far as walking the dog if its 30 min or more I do. But at the same time I don't usually walk the dog, she goes and plays in our yard most days. But also I have logged that when I walk on the treadmill at the 3.0 speed.
  • echoica
    echoica Posts: 339 Member
    at first i was logging my regular dog walks...but i don't log it now unless it is a special longer walk back a trail or something.
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
    I have in the past. BUT I don't really consider walking exercise. Personally, I should be sweating my *kitten* off and out of breath for an activity to be considered exercise. If I take my dog for a strenuous hike or for a run, I do log it.

    you don't consider "walking"exercise or walking the dog exercise. Cuz walking is definitely exercise for a lot of people. And its a fat burning exercise if you are walking at 60% which for me is 4.0 mph. Even I take a 2 mile stroll after meals-and its definitely counted!
  • sheri02r
    sheri02r Posts: 486 Member
    Yes I do! I walk my dog an hour every morning and we go for a brisk walk. I don't sweat like when I work out later in the day, but my heart rate's up and I'm breathing hard so ya I log it.
    You walk your dogs 3 hrs a day? wow! lucky dogs!
  • jenniferdances1
    jenniferdances1 Posts: 86 Member
    Walking my dog isn't part of my daily routine because we have a big backyard and we play with him/exercise him out there most days so if we do take him on a walk I log it as exercise.
  • moran1917
    moran1917 Posts: 1,133 Member
    I don't walk my dogs every day. i have a dog walker for two days of the week cause my husband and i work long hours those two days. on the weekend my husband will take them on a hike and i am not always there. so i log it, but i am also set to sedentary. also, since i have started to work out i find that i am walking with purpose and sweating like crazy....dogs are panting and loving the new pace!!!
  • heymom93
    heymom93 Posts: 65 Member
    I log it because I plan it as my weekend - no other workout activity. We live out in the country so I don't walk my dog everyday - but on Sundays we take a nice long hike to the lake. I also keep my profile settings intentionally at a low activity level as I never quite trust those generic activity/calorie settings. I would eventually like to get a bit more serious about figuring out my TDEE and play around with those numbers more.
  • fionat29
    fionat29 Posts: 717 Member
    If I had a dog, and if, when I walked it, I was walking really fast, then damn yes!! Walking fast counts as exercise and anyway I'd be wearing a HRM so that would definitely count! If I had a dog, obviously!! LOL!!
  • JoniBologna
    JoniBologna Posts: 653 Member
    If your lifestyle setting is sedentary, heck yeah! There's even a built in entry "walking 3 mph, walking dog".

    i know, i see people logging 5 minute dog walks, and am wondering wtf, isn't it their dog? doesn't the dog get to go out every day? (they usually only log it twice a week...) and seriously, 5 minutes is barely out the door...

    my lifestyle setting is active, and i figure if the dog walking and grocery store runs give me an extra cushion, that's bonus.

    I don't own a dog, but use that entry often because it is the only 3.0 mph one. Maybe that's what their 5 min is, either that or poor doggie.
    If you are sedentary and/or very obese, I think every little bit counts. However, if you are pretty fit already, I think logging tiny walks, grocery store trips, and everyday cleaning is asinine.
  • gastankerdriver
    gastankerdriver Posts: 162
    I am guilty of logging a three minute dog walk--only once, though. The way I figure it, a calorie is a calorie.
  • acrego
    acrego Posts: 84 Member
    The only reason my diary says "walking dog, 3.0 mph" is because there is NO exercise in the MFP database for treadmill, 3.0 or 3.5 mph. Or if there is, I have been unable to find it. I'm actually logging treadmill minutes, and usually 45 minutes at a time, (not 5!). And yes I am huffing and puffing and sweating, so yes it counts! In fact, I can't imagine actually walking a dog at that speed for that much time. Dogs have a mind of their own and might want to stop, or slow down.
  • techigirl78
    techigirl78 Posts: 128 Member
    Since I'm sedentary, if I walked my dog more than 1/2 hour a day, I would probably log it. That is a good amount of activity especially if they are big active dogs. I log my lunch walks too. If I had a different setting beyond sedentary, then I may question adding since I would think those types of calories are built in.
This discussion has been closed.

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