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UK votes dogs no 1 in fight against crime

A new report released today shows that a staggering 86% of the UK population feels safer with a dog to ward off burglars and attackers than any other criminal deterrent.

Leading specialist dog food Purina Pro Plan polled the nation to find out how effectively our canine companions protect their owners from intruders and attackers, and found that dogs were the UK’s preferred method of crime prevention, ahead of burglar alarms, security devices and security firms.

The Welsh were the strongest advocates of dogs as protectors, with a massive 92% feeling safer with a dog to protect them, while Scotland was the most skeptical about dogs’ ability to deter crime, with a more modest 78% believing dogs protect their owners.

% of people who voted dogs as effective crime deterrents...

Wales 92%
South East/East Anglia 87%
North West 88%
Greater London 86%
North East/Yorks/Humber 87%
East & West Midlands 84%
Scotland 78%

The report supports the launch of Purina Pro Plan’s ‘Protecting the Protectors’ initiative which is dedicated to highlighting the role of dogs in the fight against UK crime. The nationwide scheme brings together some of the UK’s most prolific protection dogs, and kicks off at Crufts on the 6-9th March with the first ever combined display of professional protection dogs recruited from around the country.*

Commenting on the Protecting the Protectors project, Claire Parry-Baggott from Purina Pro Plan says:

"With the total number of recorded criminal offences in the UK currently standing at 5.5 million, and up by 7% over the last year**, protection and crime prevention has never been a more pertinent issue for the UK public. We have launched this initiative to highlight the increasingly key role dogs are playing in protecting the UK population. In fact each year £65m*** of banned substances such as drugs are recovered by HM Customs & Excise dogs alone.

There are currently 2,000 protection dogs working across the UK today equating to 1 dog protecting every 30,000 people. Commenting on their role, leading Companion Animal Behaviorist, Dr Peter Neville, comments:

"It takes a very special dog to make it into a protection team. Not only do these dogs have to show overwhelming bravery but they must be 100% predictable and reliable. Training and handling is extremely important but the crucial element of all in keeping these dogs in peak condition is diet. Correct nourishment is absolutely vital - if these dogs are not fed a high quality diet based on their specific needs their performance will be affected immediately."