Pusuke, the world's oldest living dog recognized by the Guinness Book of Records has died at its home at Sakura in Tochigi prefecture, Japan

The male cross breed died at the age of 26 years and nine months - equivalent to more than 125 in human years.

The Guinness Book of World Records in December last year confirmed Pusuke, a mixed-breed dog in Japan, as the world's verified oldest living dog at 26.

Pusuke was born on April 1, 1985, and he lived in Sakura-shi, Japan, with owner Shigeo Nagai.

The Life With Dogs website also revealed that Pusuke nearly didn't live to claim his record after he was seriously injured in 2008 when he was hit by a car.

Owner Yumiko Shinohara says Pusuke had been showing a good appetite and kept up with his daily morning and evening strolls until Monday morning when he suddenly refused to eat and appeared to have difficulty breathing.

He died peacefully in the afternoon, about five minutes after Ms Shinohara returned home from running errands.