Insurer Aviva revealed almost 4,000 dog-related claims have been received over the past five years, with the average value standing at £1,200.

Common claims include playful pups knocking over items or tripping up owners, while gadgets such as TVs, phones and tablets also end up as casualties.

In other cases, jewellery, hearing aids and dentures have also been ‘lost’ following doggy play.

Aviva revealed that over the last five years, more than 100 claims were made for hearing aids eaten by dogs.

Kelly Whittington, Property Claims Director, Aviva UK, said: “Around a third of UK households are home to a canine ‘best friend’, so it’s perhaps not surprising that their antics sometimes lead to claims.

“Many home insurance policies include an exclusion for damage caused by chewing, scratching, tearing or fouling by domestic animals. Cover may be provided under the optional personal belongings section, but it is important that customers check their policy wording and cover. That said, dog-related incidents – such as knocking things over or tripping up their owner – can occur in homes with even the most well-behaved pets, so accidental damage cover can be a useful addition to home insurance policies.”

Whittington added that personal belongings insurance can also be a valuable add on, covering items on dog walks – or indeed, outside the home, anywhere in the world.

10 dog-related claims over the last five years

These claims all occurred since 2017:

1) A customer’s grandson was doing his homework on the family laptop when their dog knocked it off the coffee table, causing the screen to break.

2) The family dog burst the hot tub by jumping up at it.

3) A DIYer knocked over a pot of paint on their staircase, followed quickly by their dog that walked through the paint and left paw prints on the carpet into the living room.

4) A snoozer who had removed their dentures and placed them on the arm of their chair, woke up to find their dog had them.

5) A great Dane got so excited when it saw a horse on the TV that it jumped up and crash into the screen, knocking it over.

6) A nine-stone Rottweiler stood on the owner’s smartphone causing untold damage.

7) A sporty customer was cleaning her bike when her dog tore past her, chasing a cat. The dog knocked over the bike and bent the frame, irreparably.

8) In a game of catch, one owner who had recently shed some weight, also managed to lose her wedding ring while throwing a ball to her dog in the park.

9) A dog knocked a hot iron off the ironing board onto wooden flooring. Initially distracted, the owner then found a perfect iron-shaped mark singed into the floor.

10) One dog decided to chew on a pen, transferring ink onto a sofa and a carpet in the process.