An Irish American family dog has become a Guinness World Record holder for a bizarre trick. 

Finley, who lives in Canandaigua, New York with his owners Cheri and Rob Molloy, is capable of holding a whopping six tennis balls in his mouth in one go - a feat unmatched by dogs the world over. 

The six-year-old golden retriever has been working on his impressive trick for over four years and, amazingly, he is almost entirely self-taught. 

Finley has been with the Molloys since he was just ten weeks old and always loved playing fetch. It wasn't long before the family noticed that he was hoarding tennis balls in his mouth so he didn't have to share with the neighborhood dogs. 

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Cheri and Rob Molloy's daughter Erin picked up on Finley's remarkable talent and decided to document his progress on Instagram. His account has more than 34,000 followers and will surely continue to grow in the wake of his record-shattering news. 

Surprisingly, a previous record did officially exist in the Guinness Book of Records for Finley's achievement. That record was held by a dog called Augie from Austin, Texas since 2003. 

However, Augie only ever managed to fit five tennis balls in his mouth in one go. 

To break Augie's long-standing record, Finley had to follow a very particular set of rules. 

Firstly, he had to keep the six balls in his mouth for at least three seconds. 

His achievement also couldn't be verified by friends or family, meaning that he had to get a witness statement from an independent observer. 

Due to paperwork, Finley's record has to be made official, but it's only a matter of time before the good boy's hard work all pays off. 

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