If you already wanted a dog, count the daily walk toward your steps — don’t get a dog just for longevity

Keeping a dog is an ongoing expense: food, vaccines, deworming, vet bills and registration all have to be paid, for as long as the dog lives. You also have to find time to walk it every day and arrange care when you travel. The hard part is doing it every single day; once you have a dog you can’t just stop. China has no official statistic on what a dog costs, so no figure is given here.

Combining 10 longitudinal studies, involving approximately 3.84 million people with an average follow-up of 10.1 years, the risk of death for dog owners is about 24% lower (RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.67–0.86, which is the confidence interval). Cardiovascular death is about 31% lower (RR 0.69, 0.67–0.71). Among those who have had coronary heart disease, those with a dog at home are about 65% lower (RR 0.35, 0.17–0.69). The authors state that this summary does not adjust for other factors. A registry study of approximately 3.43 million people in Sweden adjusted for factors such as income and marital status. When everyone is combined, the risk of death for dog owners is about 20% lower (HR 0.80, 0.79–0.82). For those living alone, the risk of death for dog owners is about 33% lower (HR 0.67, 0.65–0.69). For those living with others, it is about 11% lower (HR 0.89, 0.87–0.91). Among patients in Sweden after myocardial infarction, the risk of death for those living alone with a dog is about 33% lower (HR 0.67, 0.61–0.75), and for those living with a partner or children, it is about 15% lower (HR 0.85, 0.80–0.90). After ischemic stroke, it is lower by about 27% (HR 0.73, 0.66–0.80) and 12% (HR 0.88, 0.83–0.93), respectively. Counterpoint: 6 cohorts of health surveys in the UK involving a total of 59,352 people with an average follow-up of 11.5 years. After full adjustment, there was no association between dog ownership and death (HR 1.03, 0.98–1.09), nor with cardiovascular death (HR 1.07, 0.96–1.18). One study in Norway with a median follow-up of 18.5 years showed that the risk of death for dog owners was almost the same (HR 1.00, 0.91–1.09). Dog owners there did not have higher activity levels than others. In a Swedish twin registry of 34,202 people for whom lifestyle habits could be queried, the relationship between dog ownership and lower cardiovascular disease and death risk could not be replicated. An Australian study of 15,735 people followed for 4 years showed the odds ratio for death in dog owners was 0.77 (OR 0.77, 0.59–0.99). Part of this difference could be explained by higher activity levels. Owning cats, birds, or fish showed no association with death. A 2013 statement from the American Heart Association said that owning pets, especially dogs, to reduce cardiovascular risk 'may be reasonable,' which is the weakest level of recommendation. The same statement explicitly opposes adopting, rescuing, or buying pets primarily to reduce cardiovascular risk.

Kramer CK, Mehmood S, Suen RS (2019). Dog ownership and survival: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 12(10), e005554. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.119.005554；Mubanga M, Byberg L, Nowak C, 等 (2017). Dog ownership and the risk of cardiovascular disease and death – a nationwide cohort study. Scientific Reports, 7, 15821. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-16118-6；Mubanga M, Byberg L, Egenvall A, Ingelsson E, Fall T (2019). Dog ownership and survival after a major cardiovascular event: a register-based prospective study. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 12(10), e005342. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.118.005342；Ding D, Bauman AE, Sherrington C, 等 (2018). Dog ownership and mortality in England: a pooled analysis of six population-based cohorts. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 54(2), 289-293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.09.012；Torske MO, Krokstad S, Stamatakis E, Bauman A (2017). Dog ownership and all-cause mortality in a population cohort in Norway: the HUNT study. PLoS ONE, 12(6), e0179832. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179832；Taniguchi Y, Ikeuchi T, Yong J (2024). Dog, cat, bird, fish, and other pet ownership and mortality: evidence from the HILDA cohort. PLoS ONE, 19(8), e0305546. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0305546；Mubanga M, Byberg L, Egenvall A, 等 (2019). Dog ownership and cardiovascular risk factors: a nationwide prospective register-based cohort study. BMJ Open, 9(3), e023447. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023447；Levine GN, Allen K, Braun LT, 等 (2013). Pet ownership and cardiovascular risk: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 127(23), 2353-2363. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0b013e31829201e1

Controversy. The above are all longitudinal records without group controls, so it cannot be inferred that one should 'get a dog for longevity.' People who can keep dogs may already be healthier and more active; people with illnesses or disabilities may not be able to keep dogs easily, and these differences are not fully adjusted for. The 24% in the summary did not adjust for any factors; in the studies where lifestyle habits could be queried, the differences disappeared. In another Swedish study, dog owners actually started taking more antihypertensive and lipid-lowering medications, so even if the death risk is truly lower, it is not due to lowered blood pressure or lipids. Only one thing is actionable: for those who already have a dog or originally want one, count daily dog walking toward your walking volume; see if this is sufficient in item 11 of this section (walking 7000–8000 steps daily). For matters regarding leashes, vaccinations, and liability for dog bites, see Section 8, article 30 (dogs must be leashed). For how elderly people should hold the leash to prevent falls while walking dogs, see Section 17, item 10 (elderly walking dogs). The magnitude of benefit is mechanically set as 'large' based on the summary's 24%, but this figure does not adjust for other factors. The primary beneficiary of this item is yourself.