dogs and mirrors

I was wondering - is my dog able to see his reflection in a mirror? I've read somewhere that this is not possible, but when he was little he played in front of a mirror once or twice and it looked like he was seeing there something he wanted to play with. It was adorable! Now, he is an adult and he ignores all the mirrors.

 

Do you mean is he able to recognize that it is his reflection in the mirror? If that's the case then what you read is true, dogs do not recognize that they are looking at themselves when the look in a mirror. That is why they will romp and play with the mirror image, they think it's another dog. The mirror test has been performed on many animals to see if they will recognize their own reflection.

Animals that have passed the mirror test(recognized themselves):
-Gorrilas
-Orangutans
-Chimpanzees
-Bonobos (species of great ape)
-Bottlenose Dolphins
-Orcas
-Elephants
-European Magpies

 

I've seen my Gix catch a reflection in the mirror. I don't think he knew who he was looking at. He barked and stared waiting for a response, not realizing the reflection in the mirror looking back only reacted when he did. Eventually I just moved the mirror. I think in a way he was looking for a new friend.

 

S120450, How do they know that those animals recognize their reflection? In what way are they able to convey that? I find that fascinating!

We have a long mirror in our spare room at Misha's height. She isn't interested in it at all. However, every day she will walk right up to the glass on the TV stand's door and stare at the other dog who keeps looking back at her. Sometimes she will growl at her nemesis.

Her bed is in front of the TV stand. She uses that reflection to spy on us as well.

 

Im pretty sure if they spend enough time they realize it is themself. My Gigi LOVES mirrors! She will spend hours admiring herself and making faces.

 

MELODY, here is an older article about Gordon Gallup Jr.'s Mirror Tests. http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/m/mirror_test.htm
The above article is kind of older, and there have been more developments in the mirror test and which animals respond, but I couldn't find the articles that say so.

...here is an excerpt from the article basically explaining how and why we know the animal recognize themselves...

"This is accomplished by surreptitiously marking the animal with an odourless dye, and observing whether the animal reacts in a manner consistent with it being aware that the dye is located on its own body.
Such behaviour might include turning and adjusting of the body in order to better view the marking in the mirror, or poking at the marking on its own body with a finger while viewing the mirror..."