The Yorkshire terrier is named Britain’s dirtiest dog in a bizarre test to find our dirtiest fidos

You might assume your own dog has a strong claim to being among the squirgiest in the UK, especially after a winter walk.

But scientists say that when it comes to the gooey stuff, one breed stands head and paws above the rest – the Yorkshire Terrier.

A sample of 30 dogs – including a Great Dane, Labrador, Cockapoo, Chihuahua, Lhasa Apso and “wildcard” mixed breeds – were tested to see which collected the most mud.

Each went on three long walks with their owners in similarly difficult conditions, with the collected mud being cleaned and weighed by scientists.

A sample of 30 dogs – including a Great Dane, Labrador, Cockapoo, Chihuahua, Lhasa Apso and “wildcard” mixed breeds – were tested to see which collected the most mud. Pictured: a Bearded Collie

Each took three long walks with their owners under similar testing conditions, with the mud they collected then being cleaned and weighed by scientists (file image).

Each went on three long walks with their owners in similarly difficult conditions, with the collected mud being cleaned and weighed by scientists

The muddiest dog was Ollie Mo, a Yorkshire terrier, who amassed the most soil compared to his own body weight – 14g, which is 0.29 percent.

Evie, a bearded collie, finished second at 0.15 percent of her weight.

Houndslow, a St. Bernard, picked up most of the soil, but the 42g was only 0.05 percent of its weight.

The challenge was run by automaker Jeep and soil experts from the James Hutton Institute.

Lorna Dawson of the Institute said: “Dog breed and size, environment and weather conditions all affect the amount of tracks found.”

A Jeep survey of 2,000 dog owners found that owners spend about an hour and 20 minutes each week cleaning their muddy dogs.

Houndslow, a St. Bernard, picked up most of the soil, but the 42g was just 0.05 percent of its weight (file image)

A Jeep survey of 2,000 dog owners found owners spend about an hour and 20 minutes each week cleaning their muddy dogs (file image).

Over the course of a year, they spend 23 hours washing their dogs, 24 hours cleaning up their house and about 22 hours cleaning their cars.

Each week, 61% of dog owners deep clean their dog at least once, while 35% clean their car one or more times after a muddy dog ​​walk.

The James Hutton Institute is a world-leading recognized research organization specializing in terrestrial, plant, aquatic, environmental and socio-economic sciences.

Miss Dawson added: “We are delighted to be working on this interesting experiment with a range of dogs and their owners.

“Using similar approaches to our forensic casework, we were able to carve out the many factors and provide some insight into these interactions in both primary and secondary transmission.”