This breed of dogs have now become status symbols for China's nouveau rich as they are thought to be a pure "Chinese" breed and are rarely found outside Tibet.  Priced at around 5,000 yuan barely five years back, the cost of a Tibetan Mastiff has risen astronomically and is sold for hundreds of thousands and even millions of yuan.

The world's most expensive dog - Big Splash, or "Hong Dong" in Chinese - is 11-months-old and stands nearly three-feet-high at the shoulder and weighs more than 180lbs (about 81 kg), said the dog's breeder, Lu Liang.

"He is a perfect specimen.

"He has excellent genes and will be a good breeding dog. When I started in this business, ten years ago, I never thought we would see such a price," Lu was quoted as saying.

He said the buyer was a coal magnate from north China who paid 10 million yuan (945,000 pounds).  "I could see he loved the puppy, or I would not have sold him.

"The buyer told me he thought he was a good investment. As a male dog, he can be hired out to other breeders for as much as 100,000 yuan a shot. He could recoup his money in just a couple of years."

Before Big Splash, the world's most expensive dog was a Tibetan Mastiff called Yangtze River Number Two. It was sold in 2009. Yangtze River Number Two was chauffeured to its new home in Xi'an city in a motorcade of 30 black limousines.