Q: Do dogs eventually recognise themselves in the mirror?
A: Once the initial novelty has worn off, puppies and dogs tend to lose interest in their reflection. A human recognising themselves in a mirror requires self-awareness. This is a learnt behaviour. Babies between 18 and 24 months begin to understand they are looking at themselves.
Jeane Brook-Gunn and Michael Lewis conducted an experiment by placing rouge spots on a baby’s face. When seeing the spots in the mirror, a baby will touch the spots and examine the area, demonstrating a consciousness of ‘self’, instead of the reflection being a social encounter.
Gordon Gallup, a psychologist from the State University of New York at Albany, did a similar experiment on chimpanzees. The chimpanzees displayed ‘self-awareness’ by touching and examining their faces whilst watching their reflection. The same response was seen in orangutans, gorillas and dolphins.
Canines, on the other hand, did not show this element of conscious self-awareness and eventually ignored the image completely.
The conclusion, based on the experiment, is that dogs either lack self-awareness, and thus consciousness, or perhaps do recognise themselves but are not as concerned about their appearance as primates.
After all, smell is the most important sense a dog uses to see the world, not sight.
Samantha Walpole, behaviourist
