When you look at your dog, you might see a cuddly companion. But when your dog looks at itself in the mirror, it probably doesn’t recognize its reflection as its own.
That’s because dogs primarily use scent to identify other dogs, not sight. So when they catch a whiff of their own reflection, they may just think there’s another dog in the room—and feel the need to bark or even attack!
Of course, some dogs do seem to recognize themselves in mirrors. This may be due to individual differences in canine cognition or simply because they’ve been trained to respond to their reflection (e.g., through clicker training). But for most dogs, mirrors are just another fun thing to sniff and explore.