Whether it be a chihuahua or a German shepherd, dogs in all shapes and sizes have been man’s best friend for centuries

Whether it be a chihuahua or a German shepherd, dogs in all shapes and sizes have been man’s best friend for centuries.

But experts from the Royal Veterinary College in  warn that one particular breed is not so friendly after all, with aggression almost twice as prevalent across these dogs as any others in the UK.

Surprisingly, this turned out to be the English cocker spaniel – a beloved pet of numerous famous owners including the Prince and .

While 2.2 per cent of other dogs in the UK were rated as aggressive, this figure rose to 4 per cent for cocker spaniels.

Those with a golden coat were found to be even more boisterous, with aggression prevalent across 12 per cent of those studied. 

‘The English cocker spaniel is a popular family dog in the UK, but there is limited information regarding common disorders affecting the breed,’ the study read. 

‘The goal of this study was to describe demography (age, greekporntube.com sex, neuter, and bodyweight), disease occurrence, lifespan, and reasons for death.’

Scientists looked at a pool of 2,318 English cocker spaniels for this study, drawing from veterinary records from all over the country.

Aggression ranked sixth in a list of disorders most commonly experienced by the breed, coming after others such as anal sac impaction and diarrhoea.

Almost 230 dogs experienced obesity which ranked third on the list, while the top disorder was periodontal disease, with a prevalence of 20 per cent. 

This condition – commonly known as gum disease – usually comes about when bacteria and leftover food particles build up in a dog’s mouth. 

Yet the pups were most likely to die from neoplasia – a condition that causes the uncontrolled, abnormal growth of cells, which often come in the form of a tumour.

Experts also looked at the coat colour of more than 64 per cent of studied dogs to understand potential links between appearances and disorders.

While golden dogs were the most aggressive, brown ones were the least, with scientists finding that just 4.3 per cent were on the feisty side.

Meanwhile 6.5 per cent of red pups and 6.3 per cent of black dogs were seen to be aggressive. 

Scientists claim these figures back previous research highlighting that solid-coloured dogs are far more likely to show signs of anger than bi-coloured and tri-coloured pooches.

Despite this, any cause for this association remains unclear, with some believing there is no true link at all.

Pet expert, Zita Wells, of pet care service Pet Patrol 365 said: ‘From my understanding coat colour is primarily determined by genetics and has no direct correlation with a dog’s temperament or behaviour.

‘Temperament in dogs is influenced by a combination of genetic factors, early socialisation experiences, training, and individual personality traits. 

‘While certain breeds may exhibit certain general temperaments or tendencies, such as being more energetic, calm, or sociable, these traits are not solely determined by coat colour.’

The Prince and Princess of Wales have owned two cocker spaniels: Lupo, who died in 2020, and their current pup Orla.

Other celebrities with cocker spaniels include George and Amal Clooney, David and Brooklyn Beckham and Elizabeth Hurley.

Oprah Winfrey also owns a cocker spaniel called Sadie while Elton John’s dog Arthur was the best man at his civil union.

<div class="art-ins mol-factbox sciencetech" data-version="2" id="mol-fc763160-f570-11ed-a3c4-dbcae8ed0cec" website warn that aggression is almost TWICE as prevalent in dog breed