THIRTY years ago the National Canine Defence League was desperate to do something to stem the heartbreaking tide of unwanted puppies ending up on its hands after Christmas.

Then chief executive officer Clarissa Baldwin had a lightbulb moment. “A dog is for life, not just for Christmas,” she declared – and one of the best-known and most parodied slogans of modern times was born.

And it appears to have worked. In 1978, 20 per cent of dogs were given as gifts whereas now, only 1.8 per cent are acquired this way.

According to the Dogs Trust, the new name for the Canine Defence League, our relationship with our pet pooches has changed, too. In fact, it believes that in many respects our dogs have never had it so good.

A survey conducted for the trust reveals that 53 per cent of dog owners felt that their dog understood them better than their partner, with 23 per cent allowed to sleep on their owner’s bed at night.

Over a third of dog owners spend up to £500 a year on treats, presents and “designer” clothes for their pet but this may be what has lead to an estimated 481,800 dogs in the UK being overweight. Eighteen per cent of hounds have their own passport – unthinkable 30 years ago when strict quarantine rules were in place – and 50 per cent of dog-owners have met a partner or initiated a friendship through dog walking or a dog-related activity.

But according to Shelagh Meredith, chairman of West Moors dog rescue charity Waggy Tails, there is still a long way to go in educating the public about owning puppies.

“Sadly puppies DO get given as Christmas presents,” she says. “After Christmas Day we start getting a few calls and by the middle of April, when the dog is around six months old and not really a puppy any more, we get many more.”

While the economic downturn has resulted in larger numbers of dogs being dumped or relinquished by their owners, Shelagh believes it may also help curtail puppy giving this Christmas.

“Puppies can be enormously expensive and that will hopefully put some people off,” she says. “I think the trouble is that people think they can have what they want and if they don’t like it, or find out it’s going to be very expensive to keep, they just discard it.”

In recent days Waggy Tails has been handed a Rhodesian Ridgeback and a Chihuahua puppy. “They can cost £600 but people are just giving them up,” says Shelagh.

“Puppies are lovely but they demand a tremendous amount of attention, care and commitment. They can cause quite a lot of damage and a lot of potential owners just don’t realise this.”

To help them, Waggy Tails holds a talk on the first Saturday of every month at West Parley Memorial Hall, to help potential owners decided whether dog-ownership is for them. “We give an honest run-down of what it takes to care for a puppy and what they might expect,” says Shelagh.

She praised the approach of Barack Obama’s family, who are about to become some of the best-known dog owners in the world.

“They are waiting until they are settled into their new home and I believe the President has said their new dog will be from a shelter, what we’d call a rescue dog, which is very good news,” she says.