A Scots dog owner has been left stunned after realising her two-year-old pooch could give Wimbledon stars a run for their money in an incredible video which shows the cocker spaniel playing tennis.
Emily Anderson, of Aberdeen, shared the footage which shows her adorable pet, Leo, gripping the racket handle between his teeth before leaping to hit the ball in her garden and around the house.
Emily says she bought the racket after Leo showed an aptitude for ping pong, gearing up to eventually have him hit the ball over a tennis net.
The 31-year-old dog trainer admitted she was stunned when the energetic pet showed his hidden talent - and sat for five minutes in awe at the clever canine.
Emily, from Aberdeen, said: "He's a natural. This [inside the house] was his first ever try.
"I ordered the tennis racket with a short handle. It arrived, I unpacked it and gave the racket to him.
"I was round at a friend's house and we were speaking about what else we can do with Leo.
"She said 'tennis', I didn't think he'd manage as the ball is so heavy.
"As with ping pong I asked him to back away, showed him the ball, threw it at him and he hit it for the first time.
"He just knew what he was doing, it really surprised me. I sat there for five minutes like 'what the hell just happened?'"
The adorable duo regularly train up to three times a day, with Emily having successfully taught Leo how to paint and even perform CPR.
Emily said: "I'm not sure if it'll work but we're going to try and get him to hit it over [a tennis] net. He learnt to play ping pong last May.
"It's very similar to ping pong but a totally different shaped racket to fit in his mouth."
She added: "He's got a hidden talent I didn't know about. From the early days of teaching him tricks, he just picks up stuff really quickly.
"He might not quite give Andy Murray or Rafael Nadal a run for his money but it's fun. It makes people smile."
Emily claims she is now receiving messages from other dog owners asking her for her training secrets after being inspired by Leo's incredible skills.
Their tennis video on Instagram has now been viewed more than 19,800 times and received more than 1,300 likes.
Emily said: "I've had quite a few messages asking how I trained it but I didn't really, I just handed him the racket.
"We normally train three times a day for roughly 10 minutes.
"If he's had a big walk, we do skip it, but normally it's three times a day."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
