Dog ownership has jumped up – but do our pets need shrinks and ice-cream? Martha Gill

Most Britons consider their furry friends the 'love of their life', and are spending more on them. Yet, it may be unhealthy for their pups

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In which country would you rather be a dog, Britain or India? The answer may seem obvious. The UK is a world leader in animal welfare; India's stray dog problem has attracted the attention of animal activists all over the world. But perhaps this is a failure of the imagination. After all, might life not be more fun as a stray than as a pet?

Britain, famously, is a nation of dog lovers. But the welfare of dogs is not entirely contingent on human love - a fact that we in this country seem to find it particularly hard to believe. While in India "street dogs" are allowed to scavenge, explore, form gangs, have puppies (and occasionally come to a sticky end under the wheels of a car), British "strays" that do not have an owner are often humanely euthanised, on the grounds that they cannot live fulfilling lives without one.

This captures something about our attitude to dogs, embedded deeply in our laws, and making up an increasing large part of our economy. We celebrate their birthdays, buy them sessions with therapists, treat them to day spas and give them social media accounts. You might call this "the evolution of the human-animal bond". You might also call it the "humanisation of dogs".

Having a dog as a pet is on the rise in the UK. Between 2011 and 2025, their population rose from 8.3 million to 13.5 million. Now about 29% of the adult population owns one. And these owners are crazy about their animals. Around 80% think of their pet as the "love of their life"; 45% think of them as their child. Legal services report that one in every eight people who inquire about will writing services want to leave something to their pets: when Paul O'Grady died two years ago, he left £125,000 to his dogs. The