The UK has always been keen to think of itself as a nation of animal lovers.
Figures released by pet health charity the PDSA, in their recent Paw Report agree and show that we love our pooches so much that 24 per cent of the UK’s population now own a dog.
So as a nation of dog owners we now have 10.1 million dogs keeping us company with 94 per cent of pet owners surveyed saying that owning a pet makes them happy.
Unsurprisingly, the number of dogs owned in the UK by people who have owned their pet for less than a year has risen to 12 per cent during 2020 with people in the age bracket 35-44 years old showing the greatest increase of new pet ownership.
Deciding to buy a dog is a big decision and means big changes for the household. But even though bringing a new dog into your house is exciting, 25 per cent of owners said that they did no research before buying a pet.
Now there are calls for owners to be trained as well as their dogs.
