Share your pet's special skill by Tuesday 5 July to win one of FIVE signed copies of Julia Donaldson's new book The Detective Dog!

[SorchaMumsnet]

Join Nell the Detective and help her solve the mystery of the missing books!

There once was a dog with a keen sense of smell. She was known far and wide as Detective Dog Nell. Peter's dog Nell has an amazing sense of smell. But Nell has other talents too. Every Monday she goes to school with Peter and listens to children read. So who better to have on hand when they arrive one morning to discover that the school's books have all disappeared! Who could have taken them? And why? There's only one dog for the job ... and Detective Dog Nell is ready to sniff out the culprit!

The Detective Dog is written by the brilliant Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo and stunningly illustrated by the multi-talented illustrator Sara Ogilvie of Dogs Don’t do Ballet fame.

Does your pet have an unusual talent like Nell? Share your pet's special skill for chance to win one of FIVE copies of The Detective Dog, signed by much-loved children's author Julia Donaldson!

Find out more and buy the book

This competition ends and we will announce the lucky five winners on 5 July

This discussion is sponsored by Macmillan Children's Books

Our cat Polo, is a top yoga master, the fastest cat in the neighbourhood and as a black cat wears a cloak of invisibility at night. 🐈

Our tortoise is fantastic at hiding. Several times we have thought he has gone for good and then he turns up after hiding half buried in a bush or under a stone - great fun sending everyone off looking for him

A hamster biting every household item that she can. Settees, curtains, clothes to name a few. Who said dogs were bad? Hamsters can be bad too! Cute though!

My sister in laws black lab has many talents, from waking the kids up and being extra gentle with my 3 year old son to taking people's socks off. She's also pretty good at disappearing when the hoovers on 😄

My cat plays fetch with hairbands. That's special, isn't it?
Well, we think he's special, anyway.

Ria's special skill is the ability to count - if I pick up four biscuits and only give her three, she knows!

Eric's primary special skill is making us laugh every day but he's also good at football and so we dress him up in a football shirt when England play and let him have a go.

My cat is a great hunting/guard dog:

A few years ago my ducks were being taken by the local American Mink, one per night. The first loss I put down to bad luck, but when the second went I realised something was amiss so I'd go down to the shed everynight with the air rifle and wait for the ducks to go in (often one or two in the morning!). My cat would, without fail, come and sit in the shed with me. Whenever the ducks made a noise we'd both go rushing out to see what was up. The first time I saw the beast (and scared it off with a rifle-shot - I wasn't going to aim for it, I just wanted it to stay away) I stayed at the edge of the enclosure for an hour, until the ducks calmed down and went into their house. My cat stayed by my side the entire time.

The second time the creature visited it took a duck right in front of me, and carried the poor thing off, out of the pen. My cat went chasing after it, despite being smaller than it. Of course, I then worried like anything until she eventually reappeared, an hour later!

My labrador can climb trees.

Well he can empty the washing machine and I can show him something, hide it in a different room and he'll go sniff it out...but I'm not sure they're skills as I taught him to do those?

His natural skill is probably destruction, he can destroy pretty much anything either on purpose or just by being huge and clumsy...

Does squirrel murder count?

Our old dog could knit and type - well, not really, but he would sit there happily as DH moved his legs

Ddog1 would love to listen to children read. He can be a bit barmy, but with children and anyone frail he is the calmest, kindest dog you could ever meet. My mum has severe dementia, doesn't really talk, and shows no pleasure in anything - except him. He will quietly stand by her wheelchair while she strokes him and shows huge amounts of affection (no one else gets any). Recently we went to an event and there was a group of elderly ladies in wheelchairs and he laid his head in their laps in turn to their very obvious delight.

Ddog2 is very talented at finding chicken poo to eat

My dog poos whilst doing a handstand (paw stand?). If there is a low wall, tree etc. he backs his legs up until he's vertical and then poos, he has ended up with a poo rolling down his back and onto his head more than once!

Our cats have a range of special skills. One likes "destruction" and one can manage her own transport.

I had a cat that taught itself to use the toilet. Much easier to flush (she never learned that bit) then empty a litter tray.

My friend is epileptic, her old dog learned when she was going to have a fit and went to get her husband.

our dog shadow can jump really high. he jumps up against the back door and nearly reaches the top of the door. he is a big dog vizla x lab but still is a very high jumper! much to the amusement of the kids

IMG_0316.JPG Our Guinea pigs Mario and Luigi adore dance music and cherp along. There favourite tune in Red Alert by Basment Jaxx

Our pup uses the catflap as her ninja postbox. Anything forbidden in the house (sticks, bones etc) are posted through the catfalp intomthe kitchen, then she nonchalantly wanders into the lounge through the patio doors before retrieving her bounty frommthe kitchen.

She also posts things in the opposite direction. Socks, trainers and anything else she thinks she might fancy a nibble on in the morning.

Everyone, from postman to grand daughter is presented with a gift at the front door. Tea towels, cushions, whatever comes to mouth first is proudly presented as a welcoke gift.

My rats clean your teeth if given opportunity they will open your mouth their paws and shove their head in to check you've done your brushing well enough!

Our cat is invisible in real life and yet every time my son draws a family picture, hammerhead the cat appears!!!

Our dog has shamed teenage dd2 into tidying her bedroom floor. He had to tip-toe across the floor as though in a minefield because there was so much rubbish on the floor.

A cat that acts like she's a dog (always coming everywhere with me). I am very tempted to take her for a walk on a lead one day or is that terribly wrong?

The competition is now closed - congratulations to Mindfulofmuddle, pennwood, silversand12, KenDoddsDadsDog and Wolfiefan who have won those signed copies! Thanks for all your pets' unusual talents- and I thought my cat was special...