Encouraging dog owners to exercise their pets more could be a way to make people healthier as well, a researcher at the Atlantic Veterinary College believes.

In an experiment at the Charlottetown school, Dr. Cathy Chan has been fitting overweight dogs with pedometers. She's trying to find out whether the pedometers will motivate dog owners to provide more exercise for their pudgy pooches, and by extension for themselves.

"It's something that certainly has potential," Chan told CBC News Thursday.

"Because people love their dogs and want their dogs to be happy and healthy, just like they want themselves to be happy and healthy. We hope we can translate that very close bond into something tangible health-wise."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention think there might be something to Chan's theory. Next week, she'll fly to Atlanta to discuss the research with the physical activity and health branch of the CDC.

Chan says her research supports the notion of a link between the health of dogs and their owners. She says increased exercise provides benefits to both man and beast, including a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and an improved sense of well-being.