They say a dog is man's best friend but it's a friendship that comes at a price. About £5500 to be precise.

New research from the Dogs Trust has revealed the average Scottish dog owner is forking out the cash to pay for damage caused by unruly pooches.

The figures released on Friday showed dog owners pay around £461.16 a year replacing items that have been ruined by their pets. This works out at £5533.92 throughout the average canine's lifetime

It comes as the charity launches a dog school with the findings also revealing 83% of Scots dog owners have never sought professional help for training their dog.

Common behavioural problems revealed in the survey include 53% of owners saying their dog barks at people coming to the door, while 33% say their pooches are left begging for food.

Dogs Trust director Dr Rachel Casey hopes that offering help with such problems will eventually bring the costs down for owner.

She added: "Behaviour problems are a massive welfare issue for dogs: they are the most common reason for dogs to be relinquished to Dogs Trust rehoming centres.

"In Scotland alone we had 795 calls in 2016 from dog owners looking to hand their dogs to Dogs Trust Glasgow and Dogs Trust West Calder combined.

"Dogs Trust dog school was set up to deal with this problem at the source. We want to give owners the right information and skills to be able to live happy and fulfilling lives with their dogs."

Dog owners were also asked about the damage caused by dogs, with the £5500 spent during a dog's lifetime including replacing clothing and household appliances.

Almost half of those who took part in the survey (48%) revealed they have to replace a pair of shoes every month while owning a dog.

Other items include:

For more information on the Dogs Trust, visit the link below.