Owning a dog and going on regular dog walks both have proven health benefits. But a new study suggests that no matter how many times you hear that pounding the pavement with your pup is good exercise， thats ultimately not what gets you （and your four-legged friend） up and moving.

According to research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health， dog owners are motivated to walk their pets because it makes them happy—not for health or social reasons. Also up there on the list of reasons？ They think it makes their dogs happy， too.

The study analyzed interviews and personal written reflections from 26 people about why， exactly， they walk their dogs. While many owners said they do it to benefit their pooch， the researchers say the importance of the owners happiness and well-being was also clear.

But that happiness depends on the owner believing that the dog is enjoying the walk， the researchers noted in their paper. Motivation to walk was decreased when owners had reason to doubt this notion—like when they felt their dog was “l(fā)azy”， or “too old” to walk regularly.

The study mainly suggests that dog owners keep doing what theyre doing， since they can still rack up the health benefits of dog-walking even if thats not the primary goal.

Lead author Carri Westgarth， PhD， a research fellow at the University of Liverpool， says she hopes these findings resonate with dog owners and animal lovers. “Dog walking can be really important for our mental health， and there is no joy like seeing your dog having a good time，” she says. “In this age of information and work overload， lets thank our dogs for being such a positive influence on our well-being.”

養(yǎng)狗并定期遛狗已被證實對身體健康有益處。但一項新的研究表明：不管你聽過多少次這種說法——和狗一起遛彎是一項很好的鍛煉，但是讓你（和你四條腿的伙伴）站起來走動的真正原因并不在此。

發(fā)表在期刊《國際環(huán)境研究和公共衛(wèi)生》上的研究表明：狗主人遛狗的動機(jī)是因為遛狗能使他們自己快樂，而不是因為遛狗有益人體健康或能讓他們交到新朋友。還有什么其他的原因呢？他們認(rèn)為遛狗的時候狗也會感到快樂。

關(guān)于為什么要遛狗，研究者采訪了26個人，并分析了對這些人的采訪內(nèi)容以及他們的書面反饋意見。雖然很多狗主人說遛狗是為了狗好，但研究人員卻表示狗主人為了他們的幸福和健康著想的意圖也十分明顯。

研究人員在文章中也指出，狗主人的這些快樂感覺基于他們認(rèn)為狗也享受遛彎。當(dāng)狗主人懷疑狗是否享受遛彎時，比如狗“懶惰”或者“年紀(jì)太大”不能定期遛彎，都會減弱他們遛狗的意愿。

研究主要表明：狗主人會繼續(xù)做他們正在做的事情，因為遛狗還能有益人體健康，即使這不是他們遛狗的主要目的。

利物浦大學(xué)的研究員，本研究的主要作者卡里·韋斯特加斯博士說，她希望狗主人和動物愛好者能從這些研究結(jié)果中找到共鳴。“遛狗對我們的精神健康十分重要，沒有什么比看到狗過得快樂更開心的事了。”她說道，“在信息時代，人們超負(fù)荷地工作，我們應(yīng)該感謝狗對我們的健康產(chǎn)生了積極的影響?！?/p>

Word Study

pound /pa?nd/ v. 沿著……行走

The young man pounded the pavement looking for a job.

ultimately /'?lt?m?tli/ adv. 基本地；根本上

resonate /'rez?ne?t/ v. 引起共鳴

These issues resonated with the voters.