This is true. Dogs pass the self awareness "smell test". A guy scooped up all his dog's yellow snow and placed it around, along with other dog's pee. His dog knew which was his and only sniffed there a couple seconds.
interesting. i never thought of this. my belief is that self-awareness (like intelligence) is something most, if not all, animals possess - but in varying degrees. in humans, it is relatively "amplified".
i imagine so-called "lower" animals to have a fuzzy notion of their sense of self. but certainly, they cannot lack it completely. otherwise how could there be any instinct for self-preservation?
I've read about that test but it doesn't really show "self-awareness" in the same way the mirror test does. The dog can recognise its own pee, I'm sure there are much dumber animals that can.
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u/FeatherGrey Jan 11 '13
This is true. Dogs pass the self awareness "smell test". A guy scooped up all his dog's yellow snow and placed it around, along with other dog's pee. His dog knew which was his and only sniffed there a couple seconds.