Most owners have witnessed the joy and excitement their dogs experience when on a walk. The elation at the mere mention of the word "walk," the obsessive sniffing along the trail and paw swipes after every potty break (with that look of satisfaction on their faces) show us that walks are everything to your dog. Walks provide mental stimulation, and physical exercise, allow them to explore the world and communicate through smell, and make their presence known. For dogs, walks break the boredom of being in familiar surroundings, and entertain them with the competition of territory.
For their humans, however, dog walking can become a chore. That feeling of walking your dog being a chore is more common than most owners want to admit. Imagine if you could reinvigorate your walks with meaning and purpose by joining the competition.
Admit it, Walks Get Boring
Each day, life gets busier. As work, chores, and obligations pile up, it's easy to let almost every aspect of our lives slip into routine. In many ways routine provides us with balance and peace. Often, however, routine is just boring, and walking your dog on the same routes at the same time is no exception.
Your dog gets bored of the repetition too. When you and your dog repeat walks, the terrain becomes familiar, the smells become expected, and there is little adventure left. What if you had a reason to break out of the routine?
Walk Your Dog, Up the Stakes
One day, as my wife and I were walking our dog, we watched as he sniffed and marked territory. We joked that it's like dog social media, with every sniff like reading a comment and every marked territory a reply. But it's more than that. It's a competition.
Your dog already competes against other dogs for territory, but this landscape is invisible to us. What if you could join in the fun? If you could see what dogs see (or, more accurately, smell), you could claim territory with your dog, see the territory of your friends and neighbors, and make your mark on the block. You could find walking buddies, form packs and show off your claims.
I decided to test this idea.
Make a Game of It
Growing up, nothing relieved the agony of chores more than making a game of them. Competition and leaderboards motivated me to clean my room and do the dishes. In the same way, friendly competition can bring new enjoyment to your walks. In fact, research shows that gamification of walks increases walking activity and increases motivation.
PokemonGo is a great example of the real-world benefits of walk gamification. The game rewards you for moving. Walk far enough and you'll hatch eggs, visit landmarks to collect supplies, and the more you walk the more Pokemon you'll find. A 2019 study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that "these incentives increased steps in middle-aged and elderly users by nearly 1,500 steps per day when playing" (Hino 2019). A similar study from Harvard showed an increase of nearly 1000 steps in young people (Howe 2016).
When you gamify your dog walks, you:
- Walk in new places and claim new territory
- Walk further to extend your reach
- Walk more consistently to defend your turf
- Engage with your community by competing with (friendly) rivals.
Fun! Not Obligation
When fun is reintroduced into your walks, you'll find yourself saying "I want to walk my dog" instead of "I have to walk my dog." Humans and dogs were meant to play. Play helps us learn, like a baby learning object permanence by playing peek-a-boo, or your dog learning to catch a frisbee by chasing it down over and over. These games are effective because they make the process enjoyable. When something is boring, we lose motivation.
When a task feels like a game, you stop looking for excuses to skip it. A 2014 literary review revealed that "leaderboards and achievement models are particularly motivating" (Hamari 2014). Notably, gamification works best when applied to an activity you already enjoy, like dog walking.
Making a game out of walks increases your motivation by:
- Giving you bragging rights as you claim territory
- Giving you a sense of accomplishment as you achieve your goals
- Keeping you engaged with your local dog walking community
Bring the Competition to Your Neighborhood
The concept of gamifying dog walking, claiming territory, competing with neighbors, forming packs, isn't hypothetical. I built it.
Turf Warz is a free GPS game that turns your dog walks into a real-time territory battle. You walk, you claim territory on a live neighborhood map, and other dog walkers can challenge your claims. It's the game your dog has been playing all along, and now you can see the map.
The game is in early access, so space is currently limited. Grab a spot: turfwarz.com.
Your dog has been claiming territory for years! Now, it's official.
Sources
- Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., & Sarsa, H. (2014). "Does Gamification Work? A Literature Review of Empirical Studies on Gamification." HICSS 2014.
- Hino, K., Asami, Y., & Lee, J.S. (2019). "Step Counts of Middle-Aged and Elderly Before and After Pokémon GO." Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(2).
- Howe, K.B., et al. (2016). "Pokémon GO and Physical Activity Among Young." BMJ, 355.
