DOG-LOVERS in Spain are more likely to have Yorkshire Terriers, German Shepherds or Labradors, followed by French Bulldogs, Cocker Spaniels and Chihuahuas, according to a survey on pet-owners in the country.
Research conducted by Veterinary Management Studies for QVET says the majority of dogs kept as pets in Spain are pure-breeds, although if 'mongrel' was a breed it would be the most common at 52.1% of the total.
Dogs in Spanish homes are getting smaller, with the number of littler breeds going up from 47% to 49% in the last three years.
Maltese and Chihuahuas have grown in popularity since the end of 2011, followed by Golden Retrievers.
And the mean average age of a pet dog is five years and three months, even though the majority are puppies.
The most popular mongrels are crosses with Yorkshire Terriers, German Shepherds or Labradors, with Yorkshire Terriers most likely to be crossed with Chihuahuas, mongrels or Staffordshire Bull Terriers.
A total of 1.5% are aged over 16 years.
As for pet cats, the majority are short-haired (85.7%), and this figure is going up, with 12.1% long-haired breeds such as Persians and 2.1% somewhere in the middle.
The mean average age for pet cats in Spain is just over five years, although again, the majority are only just a year old - but cats live longer than dogs, meaning the number of felines in Spanish homes aged over 16 sits at 4.1%.
Cats most commonly kept as pets are the European variety, at 32%, followed by moggies (26.8%), Common European (22.7%), Persian (8.8%), and Siamese (5.8%).
Smaller numbers of British Shorthair, Maine Coon, Norwegian Forest, Exotic, and Russian Blue are found, with the first two having risen in popularity in the last three years.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com