AKIPRESS.COM - A Chinese dog breeder, Zhang Gengyun, said today that a property developer paid him 18 million yuan ($3 million) for Tibetan mastiff twins, highlighting how the breed has become a status symbol for China's rich, ABC News reported.

The large, slobbery dog with massive amounts of hair used to be best known for herding sheep in Tibet, but has now become a luxury for the rich who want to spread their wealth beyond stocks and real estate.

One of the twins – a golden-haired Tibetan mastiff – was sold for 12 million yuan, and his red-haired brother went for 6 million yuan.

The more expensive golden-haired dog was 80 centimeters tall and weighed 90 kilograms.

Zhang said the unnamed buyer might start breeding Tibetan mastiffs himself.

“The Tibetan mastiff is as treasured in China as the giant panda, so people consider it a symbol of higher social status,” he noticed.

Average price for one of the dogs is several hundreds of thousands of dollars. The price tag usually depends on the breeder's expectations, the buyer's appreciation of the dog and the bargaining between the two.