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While we may consider the mass ownership of dogs for non-work specific reasons as a relatively modern phenomenon this is not actually the case. Indeed, it has been estimated that by the late 1700s in England approximately 1 million dogs were being kept for reasons other than work (Kalof, 2007). More recent figures regarding dog ownership in the UK are noted in Fig. 1.1, which demonstrates a significant rise in the dog population over the last 50 years to 8.5 million in 2013. The figures for the UK indicate that in 2009 the dog population was spread across 23% of the nation’s households (Australian Companion Animal Council, 2010). There is difficulty in attempting to closely analyse trends in the number of dogs in the UK and elsewhere over time, as the methods employed to estimate the population size have altered. However, it is fair to say that we have witnessed a large increase in the dog population throughout the second half of the 20th century and into the 21st century.

Fig. 1.1. Number of dogs in the UK. (From: Godwin, 1975 (for 1963); Carding, 1975 (for 1966–1973); Pet Food Manufacturers Association, 2010a (for 1965 and 1975–2004); Pet Food Manufacturers Association, 2010b (for 2009–2012) and Pet Food Manufacturers Association, 2010c (for 2013).)

In 2009, 36% of Australian households were estimated to own at least one dog, with 3.41 million dogs living in the country. It is worth noting, however, that this number has been declining in recent years from a peak of 4 million in 1998. In comparison, in the USA an estimated 40% of households owned one or more dogs in 2009 and there were 77.5 million dogs in the country. These figures were reported to have declined slightly by 2011 when it was estimated that 36.5% of American households owned at least one dog and the total population in the country was approximately 70 million (American Veterinary Medical Association, 2012). Whether these differences represent a decline in dog ownership or are due to differences in the methods used to estimate them is, unfortunately, impossible to say. North of the border in Canada, there are an estimated 84 million dogs; they are now more common than children in Canadian households (Anonymous, 2013b). The number of dogs living in New Zealand is also significant, standing at 700,000 in 2011 and spread across 29% of the nation’s households (New Zealand Companion Animal Council, 2011).