Mirror reflection or real image: Does past mirror experience influence a dog ’s use of a mirror?

Dogs can use a mirror appropriately to solve a task, but their response seems to depend on their habituation to the mirror beforehand. It seems that there is a relationship between behavior in looking at a mirror and the ability to use the mirror, but that the interaction between the presence of a person and the time dogs spend looking in the mirror when confronted with a task has not been reported. Our aim was to investigate two factors: the dog ’s response to a person’s reflection in a mirror or to the real person positioned in the same apparent position as the reflection, and the time spent by the dog looking in the mirror before and after the person’s was present.
Source: Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research - Category: Veterinary Research Authors: Source Type: research