Dogs are loveable companions that bring joy to many people’s lives. They can also be little rapscallions, with many a shoe or piece of furniture falling victim to their mischief.

And while you may think that being naughty comes down to individual temperament and behaviour, the breed of the dog does have some part to play - at least according to a recent overseas survey.

Using Instagram posts and a series of hashtags they analysed nearly 88,000 posts to determine which dogs were naughty and which dogs were nice.

NZ dogs generally well behaved

The Japanese Spitz had the highest naughty rating. In fact, over 87% of the posts related to this breed of dog were associated with ‘negative’ behaviour. This was followed by the Shichon, Mudi, Cockapoo, Wire-haired Vizla, Chug, Poochon, Welsh Terrier, Keeshond and the English Springer Spaniel.

The study also looked at naughtiness per region. Interestingly, only 35% of New Zealand dog owners posted pics of their pooches doing naughty things, compared with over 80% in Australia. Maybe because we’ve all got such good dogs?

While this may seem unlikely, there is a good reason why this may be the case, as the most popular dog breeds in New Zealand – the Labrador retriever, Huntaway and Border Collie – didn’t rank very high on the naughty list. According to the survey, the highest on the list of these dogs was the Labrador retriever, at number 56, while the Border Collie came in at 111 and the Huntaway at 140.

Breeds most likely to cause havoc at home

But don’t rest easy quite yet if you are the proud owner of one of these breeds. It appears these types of dogs can still be pretty naughty – at least according to another survey conducted in the UK.

This research found that Labradors were the most likely to be chasing butterflies than paying attention during potty training and therefore most likely to pee in unwanted places. They’re also well known for eating pretty much anything, which can lead them down the path to trouble.

Meanwhile, Collies featured on the list for three separate ‘naughty behaviours’: for chewing anything it can get its teeth into, being generally ‘destructive’, and for being reasonably vocal.

What do you think? Would your dog feature on the naughty list, or are they one of the nice ones?