What % of households have a dog as a pet ?

117%

Got a springer, keep her in the house, wouldnt be without her!!

but a rottweiler/ alsatian - - smelly bstd that'd be

ive got a springer myself , dont know what we would do without her

yellow labrador me

I've got Freddie the sausage dog.

Keeps us smiling and active.

Ive got a poodle.Complete with hair ribbons.

lhasa apso. look similiar to a sh1tsu,gorgeous,lovely pet

I've got a Springer, he's just getting over a knee op.
Love him to bits.

fkin barking knuts

I've got a Bordernese, rescue centre job, wouldn't know what to do without him. Hope this helps Brian.

2 boxers, but they've never replaced me old english sheep dog. LEGEND. He's dead

im stickin to me guns - i hate dogs esp in the house they fkucin stink

Na...ye get used to it. i got me dead dog stuffed like rowdy from scrubs b4 d show was on! Just couldn't let him go. ANIMAL PET!! Get a dog ye'll be d same.

What do all dogs do but mine doesn`t?

.... answers on a postard please.

Lick his own b@lls,presuming he's a boy?

lol Reg

Clue is in my betfair photo.

Cairo Dangleflaps

.... mind you I don`t have a dog anymore. Always had dogs but won`t be getting any more. I`ll rephrase the question. What do all dogs normally do apart from the dog in my photo?

Is that an Akita rico?

shiba inu.

I nearly got it right. There are only six native breed of dogs in Japan. Shiba inu being one. Nice looking dog.

ty

Dog s may be extinct or banned in the Uk in a few generationsif therere is  a vote.

Have had between 3 and 5 collies for last 20 odd years , one male .

I'd have one but there no way I'd pick up sh1t off the pavement like a dog butler.

Dogs are a darn nuisance in public and many people suffer attacks from them. The Victorians had the

right idea. All dogs in public had to be muzzled and on a leash.

Dogs are a darn nuisance in public and many people suffer attacks from them.

With respect, roggrain, that simply isn't true.

While there have been well publiciszed fatal incidents, some of those happened within the homes where the dogs were kept, and I think it was somewhere in the north east where a dog was set upon a man and killed him.

But in % terms, they are very rare. What % of the population die from a dog attack? 0.000000... whatever it is.

Generally, people keep their dogs under control and if dog fouling is an issue, then that's down to the owners for failing to pick it up, but it's hard to police.

Official stats for dog attacks for 2022 / 23, obtained from Freedom of Information requests.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-68503779

Now you may argue that 25,000 - 30,000 attacks a year is "many".

But to put this into context...

The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that 2.1 million people aged 16 years and over (1.4 million women and 751,000 men) experienced domestic abuse in the year ending March 2023.

There ya go, far more likely to be attacked by your partner!

I was a postie for 36 years. I have the scars to prove it. A rottwieler off its lead, hanging off my arm was the scariest.

yes George, a couple of slaps across the face by a couple of scorned ex girlfriends even more scary than the rottweiler

Was attacked by rottweiller too, big gash on leg, head back for second go and owner came round corner and called it off, stopped immediately, thank god it had good recall. Also bit by alsation when had been shifting stuff on premises with owner right beside me so hate dogs too, stink and could never pick up their crap.

Dogs are safer than human species in this current cesspit……

All down to the pet owner….

Just like the breeder who’s offspring commits the heinous crimes we witnessed daily…..

Dog before human…..imv.

Mind you I would love to see a pack of wild ferocious being allowed into the dock at Liverpool court as we speak….

when you look at the picture of him how was he ever allowed to be walking the streets?

death penalty totally justified imo

exactly, yet the debate will now be after how many years should he be considered for parole. What a joke of a justice system.

they just let a bloke out after 26 years (iirc). he stabbed a woman 60 times. 60 times ! would u want him living next door to you or your family ?

I agree dogs can be smelly and a bit dirty but the way they greet you when you walk through the door would brighten anyone up who has had a **** day. Simply keep an area / room in your house for the doggie and it will keep the rest of the house clean.

TTT , but after spending millions on him, he'll now be a 'reformed' character. Makes you sick.

TameTheTiger 23 Jan 25 11:57 
I was a postie for 36 years.

the women sed ewe alwaze delivered.

How many cat owners are here?

Shih Tzu and a cat here.

Had cats and dogs throughout my life.....cats are more independent....as long as you got a cat flap you can leave them food and go away for a few days but dogs are more needy. Had a funny cat many years ago....beautiful long hair and her name was Magic. She used to play a game where she would meeow at the back door to go out and literally 20 seconds later she would be meeowing at the front door to come in....then she would race to the back door and the game would start again......used to drive me crazy at the time

my old man used to go to the dog pound and ask for the next one to be shot and as a result we got some right basket cases

nobody but a farmer should have a cat. they are a menace to our native fauna and kill stupendous numbers of birds. not the cats fault

i used to endure one and whenever it brought a present in id stick a cow bell on it, rather strangle the thing. didnt work

I have not had any pets since I was a child growing up on a farm so 65 years ago. Like mitolo, I am a wildlife enthusiast and hate the sight of cats and dogs anywhere near wildlife. I know cats kill more but dogs are much more disruptive. I walk along Berrow beach on winter mornings and 90% of the other people there are dog walkers who encourage dogs to chase birds along the tide line. Cheddar Reservoir is another place where dogs are encouraged to enter the water and chase birds. Nothing is ever done about it. My pets are the wildlife in my garden. Any dog or cat that I see on my property gets a stone thrown at it.

Had a couple of old greyhounds in the house, asleep most of the time.

owners fault sage

dogs are unlikely to catch a bird but harrassing cows sheep deer etc is a problem

but they have incredible utility. guide dogs(even though i disapprove of them) sniffer dogs, guard dogs, hearing dogs, bomb disposal dogs. dogs mankinds best friend easy, followed by horses(including donkeys)

A dog is like an ante-post voucher. Everyone should have one or the other in their life as an insurance policy, just to make sure you're not tempted to do something stupid at times of despair.

i can think of better reasons to have one

So can I. But it's still something that applies when life casts you adrift. Hence all the films and literature centred around one person alone with their dog.

Why do you disapprove of guide dogs Mitolo?

I couldn’t imagine my house without a dog in it.

because cob im a bit of an evangelist for animal welfare and think the life is sucked out of them by becoming over-trained and dominated. it just seems unnatural and un dog-like to me, although, as ever, i stand to be corrected

i wouldnt think this way if there were not so many million potential carers and helpers for blind and deaf people in the general population who are economically inactive. about 9 million of em. they could better look afteer a blind person. the blind person can relate to them as people. you dont need too many of them (so you could be careful who gets the job by vetting them) and it would be better all-round as some of those economically inactive just aint cut out for certain jobs but might be handy for this one

all fanciful of course and will never happen unless im made president-for-life, which is a shade of odds-against but in an ideal world would be no offers

Interesting point, just wondered, cheers.

Mark Twain:
"the more I know people, the more I love my dog" very true Mr Twain

its mostly bad owners as opposed to bad dogs, ours is a rescue from Cyprus
hard to get a more loving dog tbh

Lovely pic NeC. I've got a Springer. A funnier or more loving and characterful companion I couldn't imagine

I do think that some breeds of dog really do want to be given commands to obey, to the extent that they'll even invent them for themselves. My last dog was a mix of various breeds of sheepdog whom I got as a 4yo, and the first few times when she came in after being let out into the garden, she simply walked straight into the living room. That was no problem problem to me, the house is a tip anyway. But then one day she decided to stand in the doorway until she'd caught my eye and I'd pointed to her bed. And that's what she did for the rest of her life. She was just happier obeying a command.

You or I wouldn't be, but we're humans and they're dogs.

Setter-cross, N-e Correspondent? Looks potentially loopy enough.

Agree, my dog loves being given a job, particularly anything that involves a tennis ball!

Dont ever have a Labrador. Amazing the number of owners that are blind.

cant have that screaming. first, there really shouldnt be so many 'breeds' of dog. theres no way they would have evolved via darwinian natural selection. they are human-engineered mutations and often seriously unpleasant for the dog to live with. we all know about pugs, bulldogs, etc

consistently breeding in 'cuteness' ie defects is horrible cruel and reduces a dogs life expectancy by a chunk

its a bit like you seeking out a deaf partner, so you could pass it on. ok a bit extreme but you wouldnt do it

breeds were bred for obvious reasons but very few are working dogs any longer so just let them go and abolish the kennel club and all that sh1te. a dog lover would do this as its proven mongrels are healthier and live longer

cob. the dog chases the tennis ball becaues its playing with you, its bestie

its better off snuffling around in the undergrowth and chasing rats

yeh I know but he does plenty of rat and squirrel chasing too, trust me!

not sure breed screaming, we think some form of retreiver/collie with other bits and pieces in there
she does have her loopy moments right enough

When a dog sees you coming home and are so pleased to see you that they go ballistic with joy, they really mean it.

..... Dogs don`t do insincerity, like humans who are expert at it.

NEC your dog looks more like a Labrador/Collie cross.

.... or whatever they call them nowadays ...... Labracollie or ColliLab ... and charge buyers a couple of grand.

I've always had dogs, the last one died unexpectedly a year ago and it was a truly painful experience as I loved him dearly. I'm struggling now about getting another one as nothing could ever possibly come close to how important he was to the family. In time I'm fairly certain I will but I'm not thinking that far ahead just now.

we got her after both our elderly dogs passed away in late 2020,
the house was so empty and yes we did feel guilty getting another dog after only a couple of months
but after reading stories on their facebook page we had to give her a better life

couldnt get a rescue here due to covid restrictions, got one from Cyprus no problem
go figure...

Well done NEC. So many poor dogs are horribly treated in easten Europe. You done a good thing. Must have been costly getting it back to UK. We always got our dogs from RSPCA or Dog Trust and usually took the ones that had been mistreated the worst.

correct mac

its the absence of malice that makes hounds so agreeable. they arent agressive unless made that way, even big dogs. they cant lie as the tail gives the game away. i asked a woman recently why her dog didnt have one. it had been docked. she looked at me, spluttering, even more than women do in general

because she was a bit of a sweetie i gently explained that dogs use tails for balance when running around. as we do with our arms and also its used as a signal of intent toward other dogs. ie. submission, friendly, agression. if the dog doesnt have a tail it cant give the tell-tail sign to a big narsty dog that its submissive and not a threat so the confused big dim dog is more likely to savage her little cutie puggie dog. she was quite impressed and we had a chat over coffee and special brew

i then asked for her number and she told me to f off and die

Think in total it cost us £575 to get her here whicn included a donation to shelter, she flew from Nicossia to France, Eurostar then couriered her and quite a few others throughout the UK, Aberdeen unsurprisingly the last stop might have had to pay courier a few quid more and had to meet in an open car park to collect her due to restrictions - worth.every.penny!

I thought she might be a setter cross because she resembles one I had thirty years ago:

It`s a canny likeness for sure Screaming.

it is indeed Screaming, we got told she might be a duck tolling retriever by somebody
never heard of that breed but it originates in Nova Scotia apparently
did a search for black duck tolling retriever and it does look like Ginny and
erm she is obsessed by ducks got to keep her on a tight leash when they are around

To be honest, Gent was a bit of a hooligan. He was seven when I got him from Heaven's Gate Animal Sanctuary in the Mendips, and he'd only just been neutered. He and the other one, Lady, who was nine, had been together in a cage there for six months when I found them. I remember talking about them one afternoon at Worcester with Paul Holder, back when the latter was working with Stephen Little, and as soon as I mentioned that Gent was a setter cross, Paul said, "Loopy! He's a setter, what did you expect?!"

Lady was a delight though. As friendly as could be, except for one occasion when Dave Nevison called in to give me a lift to Newton Abbot. She simply would not let him through the garden gate, just stood there barking furiously.

"Can't you do something about this dog?"

"Just come in, she won't bite."

So Nevison put his hand on the latch, whereupon Lady jumped up to try and take a chunk out of it.

Perhaps she'd read about the dangers of tipsters in the Post.