A property developer in China has apparently paid 12million yuan ($1.9m, £1.2m) for a Tibetan mastiff.

"They have lion's blood and are top-of-the-range mastiff studs," the dog's breeder Zhang Gengyun is quoted as telling the paper.

Tibetan mastiffs have become a prized status symbol among China’s wealthy.

A red mastiff named “Big Splash” (not pictured) was previously thought to be the most expensive dog after it was sold for a reported 10million yuan ($1.5m, £900,000) in 2011.
