The old adage that a mother knows best appears to also apply to the animal kingdom with a canine mum in Chile saving her nine puppies from certain death by digging a hole for them to take shelter in during a raging forest fire.

The family were rescued over the weekend after a series of forest fires raged around Valparaiso destroying everything in their path, Telemundo reports.

As firefighters battled the flames residents told them they had seen a dog leading her week-old puppies away and burying them under a metal container to protect them from the flames.

The rescuers went in search of the animals and soon found all nine puppies alive and well.

Their mother, who has since been named Negrita (Blacky), was found in a burned down home a short distance from her puppies.