Is your dog left or right-pawed?

Have you ever wondered if your dog has a favourite paw?

Just like people can be left or right-handed, so can our canine friends.

Scientists have created a new test to help work out whether dogs prefer using their left paw, right paw - or both equally.

The assessment is made up of several simple challenges, including reaching for treats, holding toys and stepping down from stairs.

Do you know if your dog is right or left pawed - let us know in the comments.

Experts already knew that dogs can show "paw preference", similar to how humans can be left or right-handed.

However, different canine tests often gave different results, making it tricky to measure accurately.

A team of researchers from the University of Bari in Italy decided to take a closer look at the issue, to see if they could come up with a more reliable test to work out if dogs have a preferred paw.

They tested 43 pet pooches from a range of breeds and age groups.

In the end, they came up with a test that looked at four different activities.

Two of the tests involved food, while the other two looked at movement.

The first test involved a toy filled with food.

In order to get the food, the dogs needed to use one of their paws to balance the toy - and experts noted down which paw the canines used to do this.

For the second test, the dog's favourite food was placed under a piece of furniture, and scientists then looked at which paw dogs reached for it with.

The two movement-based tests involved walking down steps.

Each dog started by sitting at the top of a staircase with five steps, and researchers recorded which paw the dog chose to start their descent with.

For the final test, the dogs were already walking with their owners when they walked down a step.

By combining those results, they were able to get a better profile for each dog.

Researchers say that in the future they want to add more tasks - as well as involving more dogs from a wider range of backgrounds and breeds.