Researchers commonly use the term the “Lassie effect” to describe the wide-ranging health benefits of walking a dog. The name refers to the television collie that nobly saved Timmy's and so many other people's lives week after week on her popular show.
But even though walking the dog can have lifesaving health benefits for owners and pets, a surprisingly large number of dog owners rarely, if ever, walk or otherwise exercise their dogs, research shows. Scientists who had studied the Lassie effect remained puzzled about why someone would forgo an activity that is good for them, potentially imperiling the well-being of both owner and pet.
