An Amazon-commissioned ‘Shop the Future’ report claims the technology could hit the shops within 10 years and experts in the US are beginning to work on the machine to allow pooches to finally be able to answer the question ‘who’s a good boy?’.

The study, co-authored by futurologist William Higham of Next Big Thing, states the technology is a realistic prospect as the demand for pet-friendly products continues to grow.

Mr Higham said: “Innovative products that succeed are based around a genuine and major consumer needs.

“The amount of money now spent on pets – they are becoming fur babies to so many people – means there is huge consumer demand for this. Somebody is going to put this together.”