National Dog Survey
Our National Dog Survey is the largest ever study of dogs and their owners. Discover the results.
Our 2023 National Dog Survey is now closed. We're busy analysing the results so we can understand the issues facing dog-owners today. Read on to find out more about previous survey results.
Our 2021 National Dog Survey was the largest ever study of dogs and their owners. It got tongues and tails wagging across the UK, giving us an incredible insight into the UK’s dog population.
The response
We had a huge response from the dog-loving public with 345,703 people completing the survey in 2022, telling us about 439,846 dogs.
We found out all about the nation’s dogs, including the most popular breeds and names, and gained incredible insight into the issues that matter most to their humans.
Our findings paint a picture of a nation who treasure their dogs. Respondents across the UK described their dogs as their confidants, best friends, and personal trainers, as well as members of the family who helped them get through the challenges of the pandemic.
The nation’s favourites
The National Dog Survey showed a fantastic variety of different breeds around the UK, and proves we truly are a nation of dog lovers — of all shapes and sizes!
Overall, we found that the UK’s most popular dog breed is the Labrador, but different age groups disagreed on the runner-up. For those aged 75 and over, the Jack Russell was their runner-up, but for Gen Z (and everyone in between), it was the Cocker Spaniel. Check out our chart to see which breeds were most popular for your age group.
Dogs are members of the family, which is reflected in the names we choose for them. Our survey showed that Poppy, Bella and Alfie are particularly popular, especially among owners aged over 45, while Milo and Luna were the favourites for owners aged between 18 and 34.
Why we did the National Dog Survey
As the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, we wanted to understand the changing dog owner landscape, to learn more about dog owners’ current and future concerns.
Our findings paint a fascinating picture of the changing face of dog ownership in the UK.
These learnings will equip us to do even more, for more dogs, so that tomorrow’s dog doesn’t have to suffer or be separated from their loving owners unnecessarily.
