Acute effects of a dog sport on fitness parameters in young adults: a randomised controlled crossover study

Purpose Previous studies have shown that dog walking could be an effective strategy for increasing physical activity (PA). However, no studies have investigated the impact of dog sports on fitness parameters. This pilot study aimed (a) to evaluate the acute effects of a dog agility course on fitness parameters in young adults and (b) to determine any acute differences after the execution of the dog agility course with and without the dog. Methods In this randomised crossover study, ten physically active young women performed a dog agility course in two different conditions (i.e., with and without the dog). Fitness parameters were recorded using a smartwatch before the dog agility course (T<sub>0</sub>), immediately after (T<sub>1</sub>), and 10 minutes after the cool-down phase (T<sub></sub>2). Moreover, the subjective level of perceived exertion during exercise was assessed using the Borg category-ratio scale (Borg CR-10). Results Results showed significant differences in the number of steps (<i>p</i> = 0.011), walking time (<i>p</i> = 0.006), average heart rate (HR) (<i></i>p = 0.004), maximum HR (<i>p</i> = 0.003), and perceived exertion (<i>p</i> = 0.007) between the two conditions at T<sub>1</sub>. Furthermore, significant differences were found for both the average HR and the perceived exertion parameters for both conditions in the three time points (T<sub>0</sub>, T<sub></sub>1, T<sub>2</sub>). Conclusions Our preliminary results suggest that practising a dog sport could be as effective as other sports and induce several health benefits.