A study published by Clarise Lim, graduate student in kinesiology working with Ryan Rhodes at the UVic Behavioural Medicine Lab, examines the relationship between dog walking behaviours and dog characteristics, owners’ sense of responsibility and attachment to their dogs, and the quality of their motivations.

New Year's resolutions to exercise more are as predictable as post-holiday leftovers, bloated credit card statements and pine needles embedded in the carpet. But while the joint goal of getting fit and losing weight is generally the most popular of resolutions, it is also the one most commonly broken.