The UK's canine population is booming. What does that mean for man's best friend?
How many dogs are there in Britain?
No one knows for sure: there's no dog census. But the most rigorous study, in the journal Nature, found that in 2019 there were 12.64 million dogs in the UK. The industry body UK Pet Food estimates that by 2024, there were 13.5 million dogs – with 36% of Britain's 28.7 million households owning at least one. This puts the UK high up the (not strictly scientific) global league of dog ownership per capita, but still some distance below the US and the leader, dog-mad Hungary. Dog ownership levels range from hotspots such as Telford (8.2 dogs per 20 people) to deserts such as central London (about one per 20 people). What's certain, though, is that Britain's dog population has risen sharply: in 2011, it was thought to be a mere 8.3 million. According to The Kennel Club, Britain's most popular breeds in 2024 were labradors, cocker spaniels, French bulldogs, springer spaniels, miniature dachshunds, golden retrievers, bull terriers and German shepherds. Of course, that doesn't account for the many mixed breeds, such as the now-ubiquitous poodle crosses.
Why do we have so many?
It's in our cultural DNA: dog remains found at Grime's Graves in Norfolk suggest they were kept as pets in Britain as early as 4,600BC. The reasons for having them are well known: they provide companionship; children like them; they encourage exercise and social lubrication in a culture that values polite, low-pressure interactions. Britain also has plentiful parks and open spaces where they can be walked. But the Covid pandemic – and the move towards hybrid or home-working – has driven massive recent increases in ownership. According to Petlog/The Kennel Club, there were 351,000 registrations in 2021, up nearly 40% from 252,000 the year before. During the pandemic, the average price of a puppy more than doubled, to £1,900.
What effect is the increase having?
The surge in dog ownership during the lockdowns led to the phenomenon of "pandemic puppies" – dogs bought by inexperienced first-time owners, which are widely thought to be poorly trained and unsocialised. This, in turn, has been blamed in part for a rise in the number of dog attacks: in the past 12 years, the number of dog bites requiring medical attention has almost doubled in England and Wales, from 6,647 in 2011-12 to 10,776 in 2023-24. In 2022, 10 people died from dog bite injuries. And there are other problems, too, such as a surge in the "worrying" and killing of livestock in rural areas.
Do dogs affect the environment?
Considerably. A medium-sized dog gets through about 80kg of food per year. Britons buy over a billion kilos annually, at a cost of some £2 billion. If dogs eat meat, as most do, their carbon and wider environmental footprint is heavy. Globally, pets are thought to eat around 20% of the world's meat and fish. And all this has to go somewhere: the average pooch produces a tonne of faeces (and 2,000 litres of urine) over a 13-year lifespan. This mountain of dog poo mostly goes to landfill in Britain, though some is burnt for energy – if it is disposed of properly. The leaving of dog mess in public places – outlawed by the Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 – has become more of a problem in the past few years, according to a range of sources and surveys. Then there's the direct impact dogs have on nature: dogs can disturb wildlife by chasing or scaring ground-nesting birds and small mammals. They also shed toxic flea treatments into waterways.
How much do we spend on them?
More and more. Battersea Dogs & Cats Home estimates that a dog costs about £2,000 per year, but the sky's the limit. Food alone is about £360 per year, per dog. Then there are vet's fees, which have risen by some 50% since 2015, not least because private equity firms have "rolled up" smaller clinics and demanded big profits. If your dog eats something harmful, it can easily cost £4,000 to treat, according to Insurance Business magazine. Treatments for elbow dysplasia, a common cause of lameness in large breeds, can pass £50,000. Closely correlated with these big bills is the growth of insurance: around 4.4 million Britons have pet insurance; in 2023, the market was worth £1.75 billion. The average policy costs £206 a year, according to MoneySuperMarket (though excesses are often large and payout limits relatively low). Then there's dog walking (about £15 per hour in London) and kennels, if you want an overseas holiday (£30-£40 per night, according to Rover.com).
Is it worth it?
Who's to say? But what is clear is that the UK has embraced a global trend for the "humanisation of dogs": treating them like family members, and attributing human emotions and behaviours to them. A poll of 2,000 UK cat and dog owners by MyPet.com discovered that 81% think of their pet as one of the loves of their lives, while 41% see them as their child. This has driven new fads. The grooming industry is booming. At £25 to £100 per visit, it is now worth some £420 million a year, and is growing at 6% per year. There are pet spas, and even pet clubs: WagWorks in Fulham offers "daycare, healthcare, training and grooming". Dogs are given human-like treats, such as dog ice cream, dog cookies and dog crisps, and human-like health treatments: nearly one in 500 dogs, according to the Royal Veterinary College, is now on fluoxetine, or "doggy Prozac".
How does this affect the dogs?
It has made them live longer: a 2024 Liverpool John Moores study found the median life expectancy of UK dogs is 12.5 years, double what it was 40 years ago. It has also, however, made them fatter: about half of British dogs are estimated to be obese or overweight. For their owners, though, the relationship seems very satisfactory: in a survey by the Dogs Trust last year, 98% of dog owners said their pets make them happy.
A brief history of dogs
The dog, Canis familiaris – a selectively bred descendant of the grey wolf – is believed to have been first domesticated some 23,000 years ago, in Siberia. From there, dogs accompanied humans in dispersing east to the Americas and west across Eurasia, reaching England by about 7,500BC. Most were used as watchdogs or for hunting; some were trained to fight alongside soldiers; others were later used for herding and rat-catching. In time, smaller dogs were adopted as pets: excavations at the Silchester Roman archaeological site in Hampshire have unearthed poodle-sized skeletons of dogs that were probably imported from abroad – some of the earliest "toy" breeds in England. From the 17th century, dogs became potent symbols of social status, as seen in Charles II's spaniels, or the dogs in Gainsborough’s portraits. Most of today's breeds emerged thanks to Victorian dog fanciers, who bred dogs to conform to "breed standards". Such standards give a clear idea of a dog's likely size, looks and perhaps temperament, but have also led to much inbreeding, and the development of exaggerated and unhealthy characteristics in many popular breeds, from dachshunds to pugs to labradors.
