Dogs Also Have Self-Consciousness!

12 December 2015

That man’s best friend has self-consciousness is what every owner is willing to bet on. I have always thought my dogs know exactly who they are. Dogs are self-conscious. But the problem in science is that ideas and assumptions must be demonstrated.

When I became interested in this aspect of ethology I went through the scientific literature and I discovered that, however, the ability to recognize their own image in the mirror is a skill extremely rare in the animal kingdom. Until now, only humans and great apes (gorillas excluded), a single Asian elephant, some dolphins, Eurasian magpies, and some ants have passed the test of mirror self-recognition (MSR). A wide range of species has been observed to fail the test, including several species of monkeys, giant pandas, sea lions, birds, and dogs.