Researchers at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine are seeking people in the Delhi area who regularly walk their dogs and wish to be part of a study.
Tracey Farrell, Cornell University study coordinator, said the pilot study is looking for about 40 walkers and their dogs to wear pedometers, which would track their distance.
The study will begin on March 6 and 7, when the dogs and their owners will have intake appointments at the Delhi Fire Department. The owners will take a pre-study survey while the dogs receive a free checkup from Cornell veterinarians.
During the weeks of March 9, April 13 and May 11, study participants will wear pedometers to measure the usual number of steps they take each day. Participants will report steps to researchers by logging on to a project website.
The final meeting will occur on May 29 and 30, when the dogs will be examined a second time.
Mary Maley, Cornell University health educator, said the study is a spinoff of the Small Steps Program, in which 174 walkers in Stamford and Hobart participated in 2006. The goal was for each walker to walk an extra 2,000 steps a day at least three days a week.
"The idea is that walking is good for us and good for dogs, too," Farrell said Monday. "A lot of people have dogs, and we are trying to measure the health benefits using technology with the pedometers."
Bob Peet and his English setter, Bird, are a well-known pair who regularly walk the streets of Delhi.
Peet said he and Bird often walk five miles a day, and he is looking forward to taking part in the study.
Bird, who often walks off his leash, bounding ahead of Peet, was adopted from the Heart of the Catskills Humane Society in 2004.
"It's the nature of a bird dog to run ahead, but she habitually stops and looks back and she waits at every corner for me to signal her when she can cross the street," Peet said.
Peet said his long walks with Bird keep both of them in good physical shape.
Farrell said dogs must be at least 14 inches high at the top of their shoulder blades in order for the pedometers to work. She said she has already registered about 15 dogs, and many are shelter dogs.
"So far, we have a lot of mixes taking part, and a lot of them are Labrador mixes," Farrell said. "We are hoping that we may be able to say at the end of the survey that people who walk their dogs take a lot more steps during the day."
Maley said the study hopes to determine whether dogs can provide a healthful, social, family environment that is more active on a daily basis.
"We want to know if the dogs are a key motivating factor in getting people to walk," Maley said.
"Having a dog seems to make people walk more but we want to measure that so it can be backed up by scientific data," Maley added. "We want to see how dog walkers compare to nonwalkers."
Barbour Warren, a Cornell cancer biologist; Carol Devine, of Cornell nutritional services; veterinarians Joseph Vakshlag and Francis Kallfelz; and Jeanne Darling of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County are among those involved in the program.
People who want more information or to see if they qualify may call Tracy Farrell at (866) 318-0944 or e-mail tjf6@cornell.edu.
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Patricia Breakey can be reached at 746-2894 or at stardelhi@stny.rr.com
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