The mirror test is one that has been used in psychology for over 100 years. It is a way of determining when a human infant gains self-awareness and can recognize itself from its own reflection in a mirror. A more advanced test in psychology involves placing a mark on a child whilst the child is sleeping and then, when the child wakes, has the child find the mark on their face by looking at their reflection in a mirror. By the age of three, almost all children possess self-awareness.
With dogs, however, no experiment has successfully proven that a dog can recognize itself in a mirror. Dolphins and chimpanzees can. This does not mean dogs are not self-aware, according to Roberto Cazzolla Gatti of Tomsk State University in Russia. He argues the mirror test is simply the wrong tool. This is because dogs rely more heavily on their nose than upon their eyes to perceive the external environment.
Building on this principle, Gatti developed a “sniff test” for self-awareness. Summarized by Student Science, Gatti took four dogs (different genders and ages.) Each of the dogs had lived together, outdoors, for several years. For the experiment, Gatti soaked up urine from each animal with pieces of cotton. Following this he placed each piece of cotton into a separate container; the containers were kept them sealed so the scent remained fresh.
Gatti next left five containers on the ground. Four containers contained the urine drenched cotton; and the fifth contained clean cotton, as a control. Once the containers were opened, one dog was released. The length of time the dog spent sniffing each container was recorded. The study was run for each dog; and again with all four dogs present at the same time.
After opening the containers, Gatti released one dog into the area by itself. He timed how long it spent sniffing each container. He repeated this with each of the other three dogs alone — and then again when all four dogs were out roaming at the same time. For each new test, he replaced the used containers with fresh ones. It was found that each dog spent minimal time sniffing its own urine. Gatti interprets this as the dogs knowing the smell is their own and thus they exhibit a behavioral trait of self-awareness.
The research is published in the journal Ethology Ecology & Evolution. The paper is titled “Self-consciousness: beyond the looking-glass and what dogs found there.”
