The dog breeds that really ARE man's best friend - so is YOURS on the list?  trends now

They're often described as man's best friend, having been loyal pets for up to 40,000 years.

But a new study suggests that when it comes to getting on with humans, not all dog breeds are equal.

Researchers from the University of Helsinki have revealed the dog breeds with the highest and lowest levels of human sociability.

Their findings suggest that bull type terriers, teacup dogs and golden retrievers are officially 'man's best friends'.

In contrast, livestock guardian dogs, Asian primitive breeds and primitive sighthounds are least enamoured in our company.

In the study, the team set out to investigate the personality differences between dog breeds.

'The breed of the dog is the most important determinant underlying personality differences,' said Dr Milla Salonen, lead author of the study.

'All dogs are individuals, and all breeds have different traits, but the breeds differ in what kind of personality most dogs within each breed have.'

The team collected an enormous behavioural survey dataset containing information on 11,000 dogs across 300 different breeds. 

These were were then categorised into 52 groups.