Even pets are experiencing the far-reaching effects of The Great British Bake Off as a growing number of people are taking to baking for their dogs.

Home-made dog treats being produced by pet owners range from snacks such as biscuits and buns, to fishcakes and even polenta bakes.

In particular an increasing number of owners are baking birthday cakes for their dogs containing the ingredients favoured by their pets.

Among the converts to baking for their pets is Brendan Lynch, a finalist in the BBC’s Great British Bake Off series in 2012.

He said he starting cooking for his dog Monty, a labradoodle, after researching shop-bought pet food online and finding the ingredients in such products “quite shocking”.

“Monty is our first dog and before we got him we did a lot of research into dog food and treats. We found that there are a great deal of additives in off-the-shelf supermarket products.

“Dogs and cats, just like us, develop allergies and reactions to additives over time, and there is definitely much less scrutiny on what goes into treats and animal foods generally.

“I decided that I was better off making my own. I am in control of what is going in and Monty likes it. In any case I enjoy baking for him as well.”

Recipes posted by Mr Lynch, 65, on his website include one for chicken liver and bacon dog snacks, which he says are intended, “as with chocolate cake for humans”, as an occasional treat.

His contribution adds to a growing catalogue of recipe books for dogs, including the Healthy Hound Cookbook, a collection of 125 dog food recipes published in May, and In the Dog Kitchen, due to be published in October.

Dogs Trust, the welfare charity, even included a recipe for lamb cupcakes in a recent edition of its magazine Wag, under the title The Great British Bark Off.