Single dog owners looking for love have the perfect matchmaking sidekick in their four-legged friend, a new poll reveals.

A UK-wide survey of 1,051 dog owners by Burgess Pet Care* – makers of the supatasty Supadog Beef Casserole – found that 81% of respondents find their pooch the ideal ice breaker when meeting new people.

61% of those surveyed stated that they feel more confident when approaching a tasty guy or girl who they’ve had their eye on when they’re out walking their canine companion.

Most respondents felt their dog gave them more confidence with potential partners because it made them seem more sociable (32%) and caring (30%).

And despite what some people say, dogs are very well-behaved on dates with only 14% of those questioned confessing to embarrassing incidents caused by their hound which ended up with them in the dog house.  And of these, the majority found inappropriate sniffing to be the number one situation which caused red faces all round.

TV vet Matt Brash said: “Dogs, like humans, are very sociable animals whose natural instinct is to hunt in packs, so dogs are always going to be interested in other dogs when out walking and this will naturally prompt conversations and bonding between their owners. Research has shown that owners can actually look like their dogs, and this could be a further reason for owners who already have a common interest to be attracted to each other.

“According to Nottingham Trent University, there are currently more than 12 million single people in the UK – a figure set to reach 16 million by next year. The Pet Food Manufacturing Association (PFMA) says there are approximately 8 million dogs in the UK, equating to around 13% of the population owning a dog.

“Coupled with our survey results, this could well mean that cupid’s arrow will strike for around 208,000 singletons who own a dog. It’s heartening to think that romances could blossom across the country thanks to the confidence boost owners get from man’s (& woman’s!) best friend,” concludes Matt.