Businesses have won a Kennel Club award after providing innovative ways to beat the credit crunch and broaden their client base, by offering specialist services that cater for our four legged friends.

Dog lovers up and down the country have been voting for the most dog-friendly businesses – from hotels and pubs to visitor attractions and restaurants – that have been pulling out the stops to accommodate our four-legged friends.

Amongst the winners of the Open for Dogs competition are a pet shop that offers customised collar fittings; a caravan park that offers ‘dog-sitting’ services and a café that provides their canine customers with their own food and drink, while their owners tuck in.

Caroline Kisko, spokesperson for the Kennel Club, said: “We are very pleased to announce the winners of our Open for Dogs competition and have been really impressed by the wide range of specialist and innovative services and facilities that places are now providing to make all dogs feel welcome.

“As everybody struggles to come to terms with the credit crunch, businesses are really coming to see the benefit of welcoming dog owners into their premises. A survey recently run by the Kennel Club shows that 96 percent of people find the atmosphere more welcoming when dogs are present so this really is a win-win situation.”

The news comes after a Kennel Club Open for Dogs survey showed that the pub industry - the archetypal symbol of Britain - was voted as the industry that is the most successful at flying the flag for dogs and dog owners, with 60 percent of people rating pubs as being amongst the most welcoming public place to take a dog. This was followed by caravan parks, which 49 percent of people thought was one of the most dog friendly services in Britain.

By contrast, shops and restaurants and cafes, arguably the most affected by the credit crunch, were ranked bottom of the pile when it comes to their dog-friendly credentials, with 88 percent and 86 percent of people claiming that these were some of the least dog-friendly places in the UK, respectively. Public services such as post offices and the workplace followed close on their tail with 69 percent and 59 percent of people believing that these were not sufficiently welcoming to our canine companions. This comes as 96 percent of people said that they would prefer more places to be Open for Dogs.

Jan Cole, co-owner of Café Cree, in Dumfries and Galloway, which won the ‘Somewhere to Eat’ category in the Open for Dogs competition said: “We are flabbergasted that more cafes are not Open for Dogs and continue to think that it is against the law, when in fact the only places that dogs aren’t allowed are the kitchens. 

“As dog owners ourselves we know how awful it is when you have to eat outside in the rain because your dog is not allowed in with you, and as a business owner we are always packed to capacity because people simply love having the dogs around. In today’s difficult climate businesses should be doing all they can to appeal to the widest possible client base.”

The survey also showed that British service industries have come second to the French for their dog-friendly credentials.

Countries aboard were voted as more dog-friendly than Britain by 71 percent of people, with 40 percent rating France as the most dog-friendly nation, putting Britain in second place with 15 percent of the vote*. The USA, Spain and Italy scored third, fourth and fifth places respectively.

The winners will be presented with their awards at 11.30 am on Sunday 9^th November at Discover Dogs - the Kennel Club’s annual dog extravaganza at Earls Court where dog-lovers can see and discover more about over 200 different breeds. They will be joined by celebrity dogs including Sir Lancelot, who played Irish Wolfhound Genghis and Kyte, who played Wellard, in a popular TV soap.

The winners of the competition, voted as most dog-friendly in seven different categories - Somewhere to Eat, Somewhere to Sleep, Somewhere to Drink, Somewhere to Visit, Self-catering holidays, offices and ‘other’ – are:

Somewhere to Sleep: The Old Cider House, Somerset - Services on offer: A welcome pack with details of local walks and dog friendly activities, home-made dog biscuits, a collar tag.

Somewhere to Eat: Café Cree, Dumfries and Galloway - Dog biscuits, water bowls and the promise of a friendly smile for all canine customers.

Somewhere to drink: Talaton Inn, Devon – biscuits, water, chews and a friendly smile.

Self-catering accommodation: Hedley Wood, Devon – ‘dog-sitting service’ for owners in local area and a dog-friendly nature trail.

Somewhere to visit: Remus Memorial Horse Sanctuary, Essex. Water bowls, open door policy for all dogs across the whole site. Also runs competitions for dog-owners including a Companion Dog show in September and Scruffts in July.

Other: Haslemere Pet Company, Surrey - Customised collar fittings by trained staff and an ethical policy to ensure that no products are ever sold that will cause dogs distress, such as electric shock collars or check chains.

Office: The Kennel Club’s Aylesbury Office - has been nominated in the most dog-friendly office category and is setting an example for other offices to follow by welcoming the staff’s dogs to come to work with their owners.

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