Hiding isn't usually the forte of dogs, who seem to leave slinking around to their feline counterparts.

However, the owner of one Yorkshire poodle found himself completely flummoxed as to his pet's whereabouts after she seemed to disappear from the bathroom they were both in.

When he couldn't locate her, he returned to the bathroom to find the dog had been there all along...just completely camouflaged by a black rug that matched her fur almost identically.

A rug on the floor of a black-and-white tiled bathroom appears to be just that, until you look a little closer and the image of a Yorkshire Poodle, owned by Reddit user damien_shallwenot can be just made out

Couldn't spot it? The dog is snoozing right in the centre of the rug, as shown above

The ensuing image, posted by Reddit user damien_shallwenot, shows what looks initially to just be a black rug on a black-and-white tiled bathroom floor.

Look a little closer though and you can just make out a canine form snoozing peacefully in the centre of the image.

The photograph, posted on the social media site yesterday, in entitled 'Thought my dog was with me in the bathroom, then walked out to look for her.'

The comical image has already been seen by more than a million users with hundreds of people commenting on the eye-tricking image.

The poster describes his beloved pet as 'a yorkiepoo, five months old and the light of my life.'

The image has had more than one million views and has prompted lots of comments, including the one above from a Reddit user, JHoNNy10o0, who reports a similar problem with his cat

One user, catsandblankets, said: 'Does it have a face somewhere?' while another said they had to adjust the screen brightness on their phone in order to get the dog to become visible.

superchik1 couldn't spot the dog at all: 'I see nothing. I mean besides a really cool looking bathroom that is...'

Social media's new hobby? Many owners have been sharing photos on social media of their pets blending in to their furniture - and even pets blending into pets

Did this owner get a cat to match the chair, or a chair to match the cat?

Others reported similar issues with their own animals. JHoNNy1OoO, said: 'This happens with my new black kitty and my black chair. After about the third time I finally started checking for his presence.'

Many of those who could see the snoozing pet dog were also captivated by her cuteness: 'Did you know you have a pet EWOK' exclaims one.

Most of those commenting were less surprised by the disappearing act than they were by the strange optical illusion that happens when you look at the image on your phone and shake the screen.

Sleeping dogs hide: This dog just loves its bed, but without the distinctive collar the owners would struggle to know when it's sleeping there

Those who tried it said the rug appeared to wobble from side to side, almost like a 3D image...which prompted everyone else to also have a go at distorting the image.

Find the hidden pet is fast becoming a favourite game for pet owners on social media with plenty of animal lovers sharing the comical antics of their dogs and cats online.