Posted on 28 October 2022

Since the pandemic, the UK’s dog population has boomed to more than 12 million, with a third of households owning one. But while once we might have been content to kit them out with their own kennel, now it seems they’re dictating what sort of home we want for ourselves. 

Buyers are increasingly seeking out properties with high-end creature comforts such as built-in dog showers or dog beds integrated into kitchen units. Clare Coode of Stacks Property Search says: ‘Thirty per cent of my clients mention their dogs in our first conversation. Their priorities are dog walks from the door, a dedicated dog room with external access or having a section of the utility room for a sleeping area, low wash basin and underfloor heating. Walk-in dog showers are the new must-have for house-proud dog owners.’

Jennie Hancock, of Property Acquisitions in West Sussex, agrees: ‘We have seen more dog showers in people’s homes over the past couple of years, and they are getting more luxurious. I have just shown a buyer round a house in Midhurst where the owner is building one.’

A smart tiled dog shower can be found in the utility room of a four-bedroom Grade II-listed Georgian home in Fleet, Lincolnshire, on sale for £950,000 through Fine & Country. A four-bedroom detached house in County Durham on the market for £1.85 million with Finest Properties also has one – ideal for rinsing off the mud after your dog has explored the property’s 11-acre plot. 

For pure luxury (and saving you from backache), though, this elevated dog shower in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, takes some beating, in a house on sale for £2.5 million with Strutt & Parker.

Large kitchens with enough space for dog beds are becoming increasingly important to pet-focused house-hunters too, and growing numbers of kitchen companies are offering integrated versions where dogs have space to snooze under the countertops or within an island.

Furniture designers have also been getting in on the act, with dog beds featuring as part of stylish sideboards. Suffolk-based Andy Denny started making dog wardrobes after acquiring Dan the sausage dog during lockdown and deciding that his pet’s clothes and accessories needed some specialised storage. His design – painted in Farrow & Ball and complete with hanging rail – is on sale for £365 through Etsy. ‘I’ve had great feedback and am looking to expand into doggy larders, utility cupboards and cabinets for working dogs too,’ says Andy.

When it comes to a good old-fashioned kennel, it’s hard to beat a period property in Cheshire’s Alderley Edge that comes with a listed 1867 kennel house – complete with tile roof, brick chimney and weathervane in the ‘austere Tudor Gothic style of sporting dog kennels’. Yours (or rather your pet’s) for £1.695 million through Jackson-Stops.

Of course, not every dog-lover has the luxury of so much space. Living in a flat with a pet can be problematic. ‘The residents of a mansion block in Sloane Square have complained about the labrador belonging to one of my clients – and so I am having to find them a new house,’ says Alex Woodleigh-Smith of buying agency AWS Prime Property. ‘When you are looking to rent a dog-friendly flat you need to look at the leases and management rules. Meanwhile, some communal garden squares allow dogs; others don’t.’

He says many London owners now stipulate they want to live near a park – but there’s a premium attached. In prime central London, houses within 50m of a park or common cost 27 per cent extra than those elsewhere in the area. Another 50m out and the mark-up drops to 8.5 per cent, according to Savills Research. In leafier prime southwest London these figures are 19 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively.

The demand for dog-friendly properties is so great that an increasing number of new-build schemes are catering for dog owners. At the top end of the scale, west London’s 80 Holland Park development offers owners a ‘mud room’ with a dedicated washing area for their dogs (and mucky prams) – although with properties there starting from £7.25 million you might expect someone to be doing the dog-washing for you.

In two of Manchester’s city centre developments by Capital&Centric, flat owners are encouraged to own pets and have puppy parties. New residents with pets get welcome packs of doggy treats and vouchers for the local doggy daycare and grooming shop, Barkside. Prices start from £285,000 for a two-bedroom apartment.

It’s getting easier for renters to find dog-friendly homes, too, as build-to-rent developers are cottoning on to the demand for pet-centric properties. At Greystar’s Ten Degrees in Croydon, after a tough day in the building’s flexible workspace your dog might relax in the pet spa. Prices for apartments start from £1,450 a month.

In west London’s new 85-acre neighbourhood of Wembley Park, rental management company Quintain Living reports that there are 200 dogs resident in its 3,250 properties – where prices start from £1,965 per month for a one-bedroom apartment. Facilities include a wonderfully named Laundro-Mutt for washing and drying pet clothing and a dog bath and dog dryer. Have we reached peak dog?

Source: The Spectator