Dog Walking Index

We recently polled 2,000 Brits as part of our Dog Walking Index to find out about the habits of UK dog owners and the research that came back was pretty interesting!

Here’s what we found out about the Britain’s dog lovers:

• The average British dog owner takes their dog on 433 walks a year, covering a distance of 548 miles, the equivalent of walking from Land’s End to John O’ Groats!

• Dog owners spend 3.7 hours a week talking about their hounds, equating to eight days a year – longer than spent watching TV online

• British dog owners expect to spend over £400 a year on dog accessories, food, treats, grooming, holidays, insurance, vets bills and kennels – equating to a total of £3.5 billion pounds a year

• Nearly one in five female dog owners would stop dating someone if they didn’t like their dog

• Fancy a chin wag? more than half of British dog owners confess to telling ‘tails’ to their canine companion when alone

• 2.4 children replaced by 3.4 dogs: Brits expect to have more dogs than children in their lifetime

• Over half of dog owners take their pooches on holiday

• One in five British dog owners celebrate their dog’s birthday

25% of UK households look after the 8.5 million domestic dogs here in the UK, with 85% believing their dog has increased their fitness levels and helped them to appreciate the great outdoors. Fantastic news!

Mountain Warehouse’s Founder, Mark Neale said, “As the proud owner of a Shar Pei named Ray whom I walk every morning, I can relate to some of these findings first hand. Many of our customers are dog walkers who have been caught short in the unpredictable British weather, who come to us looking for anything that will keep them warm and dry. Understanding their needs is really important to us so we can help them (and their dogs) to get outdoors whatever the weather.”

So reach for the lead and get outside to help improve your fitness as well as your four-legged friend’s!