Looking for your dream partner? Well buying a pet may be the ideal way to attract someone new.

It seems a very simple but life-changing accessory is just waiting at your local pet shop to be given a good home - a dog.

Men with dogs are seen as more attractive. They reveal the nurturing side of their nature Beverley Cuddy, Dogs Today

Researchers from Warwick University have proved what dog-lovers have apparently known for years. Having and walking a dog acts as a "social catalyst", opening conversations, forming an instant bond, and even improving your health as your sense of social companionship increases.

It's much easier than hanging out in the ready-meals section of the supermarket, or hoping someone in your gym thinks you look a treat in Lycra. And it's much less hi-tech than wearing a device which bleeps when you pass another single person wearing one.

Julian Clary: spotted in Regents Park

TV star Davina McCall is among those who've proved the theory that a lead is the best way to collar your partner. She has just become engaged to Matthew Robertson, whom she met as they walked their dogs in a West London park.

McCall insists it was the dog she spotted first, saying: "I thought, 'What a nice-looking dog', and then Matthew appeared. I thought he was rather gorgeous too, so I said hello and he said hello back."

Surrey couple Gillian Wood and Graham Earley are getting married in May after meeting in the same way 18 months ago.

"We both walked our dogs every morning on Horsell Common near Woking," Gillian told BBC News Online, "until one morning my Doberman knocked his dog over and I apologised."

We used to walk our dog on the same common. We're getting married in May Gillian Wood

From then on "good mornings" progressed to invitations for tea, dates and finally engagement.

"It was the last thing on my mind at the time," says Gillian, "but it just shows what can happen".

It was a similar story for Pat Perkins, now president of the London Bulldog Society, who was drawn to her partner over his love of canines.

A friend explained: "She developed a markedly increased interest in the tall chap at the party when he took the photo of his dog out of his wallet.

"They've been married now for more than 35 years."

The pattern is a classic one, according to Beverly Cuddy, editor of the magazine Dogs Today.

"We've done our own study with a psychologist, where we got people to rate the attractiveness of men with and without dogs.

"The men with dogs got much higher scores.

"The psychologist thought it was because men with dogs were revealing the nurturing side of their nature, which women see as a good sign."

Roy Hattersley is among political dog-lovers

But it's not just love that can blossom over the leash. The researchers found that a whole social network opens up to people who might otherwise remain quite isolated.

"Dogs are a social lubricant," says Beverly Cuddy. "There's a camaraderie between owners.

"Dog owners still say hello to each other in the way people used to 20 years ago. You can have a conversation with complete strangers."

Sometimes those complete strangers turn out to be household names. One celebrity spotter told BBC News Online she'd seen all sorts of people in London parks. "Katie Boyle wears her sunglasses even early in the morning, Julian Clary takes his mongrel out, and of course there are the politicians like Roy Hattersley."

Of course the person with the lead may be not famous, nor the partner of your dreams - but the message from the experts is that a dog owner, and not just a dog, can be man's best friend.