Landlords face a changing landscape with rising dog ownership

With landlords in England facing the prospect of not ‘unreasonably’ refusing a tenant the right to keep a pet under the Renters’ Rights Bill, research reveals that the UK’s dog population may have been underestimated by up to four million.

A study by Dogs Trust, the University of Exeter and the University of Leeds found there are approximately 13 million dogs living in the country.

That’s a big increase from previous estimates of between 9 million and 11.5 million.

Nation of dog lovers

The deputy head of research at Dogs Trust, Dr Kirsten McMillan, said: “The UK is well known for being a nation of dog lovers, but it turns out we may have significantly underestimated how many dogs are out there by over four million!

“This inaccuracy can have serious implications as it affects important statistics like how many dogs of different breeds or sizes live in certain regions, how the dog population grows each year, and the overall trends in dog ownership regions.”

She added: “These and future statistics provide valuable insights into regional trends and the dynamics of pet ownership across the country.”

UK dog hotspots

The study used data from 18 sources to create a more precise representation of dog ownership with Telford and Darlington emerging as the UK’s dog hotspots.

London boroughs exhibited the lowest dog-to-human ratios.

The research also revealed regional variations in dog age demographics.

The study found 83% of dogs live in England, 9.1% in Scotland, 5.8% in Wales and 2.1% in Northern Ireland.