Is this the world's most dangerous dog?

Forget rottweilers and pit bull terriers - the floppy eared, doe-eyed cocker spaniel is being singled out as one of the world's most aggressive dogs.

Kiwi owners and breeders have leapt to the defence of the "devoted and lovable" breed after a Spanish study looked at 1000 cases of dog aggression between 1998 and 2006.

Most were attributed to cocker spaniels, rottweilers, boxers, yorkshire terriers and german shepherds. But the study found english cocker spaniels were more likely than other dogs to act aggressively toward their owners and strangers.

However, Gloria Odiam, a New Zealand cocker spaniel breeder for 30 years, found the study hard to fathom.

"I don't know what they're breeding over there, but [there's] nothing like that here." MORE>>

You'll always get a mix reaction to the breed specific 'aggressive' temperature gage.