With so much to see and smell, dogs are often distracted when on a walk, as demonstrated by Walter, a golden retriever, who has taken an interest in a dry cleaner’s window.
In a viral video shared to a TikTok account dedicated to the dog (@walter_goldenboy), he can be seen staring into the store window. But it isn’t the shirts that have grabbed his attention; instead, it’s a mirror mounted on the wall.
The clip, captioned “How’d that guy get up there?” has gathered over 930,000 views since it was posted on October 22. It shows Walter, who appears to be frozen in a state of shock and disbelief as he looks up at his reflection.
The footage, perfectly paired with “Man in the Mirror” by Michael Jackson, has racked up 223,800 likes and over 630 comments.
“He is confused and concerned,” said one comment, and the owner confirmed he was indeed “very confused.”
“Give him a hug for me!!! He’s so concerned for the ceiling dog,” said a second commenter and a third joked: “He thought about that the entire walk home.”
Another comment written from Walter’s point of view has over 17,000 likes, it said: “WHO is that handsome fellow??”
Are Dogs Self-Aware?
A stock image of a Golden Retriever smiling at its mirror reflection. Unlike Walter, who seems to be alarmed and worried about the “ceiling dog.”
Aleksandr Potashev/iStock/Getty Images Plus
According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), self-awareness, or the ability to recognize oneself as distinct from others, is crucial for understanding that others may have different thoughts and feelings.
The AKC cites two studies suggesting that while dogs cannot recognize themselves visually in a mirror, they are aware of their own scent. In 1970, American psychologist Gordon Gallup, Jr. developed the mirror test for animals, where an odorless dye is applied to the animal, and it is placed in front of a mirror. If the animal recognizes the mark on its own body, it indicates self-recognition and suggests self-awareness. While humans typically pass this test by 18 to 24 months of age, few animal species have succeeded, and dogs are not among them.
Dogs’ failure to recognize themselves in mirrors may be due to their reliance on smell rather than sight. Researcher Roberto Cazzolla Gatti proposed the sniff test of self-recognition, showing that dogs could recognize their own scent. In a follow-up study by Alexandra Horowitz, dogs were presented with canisters containing their own urine, unfamiliar dogs’ urine, or altered scents. The dogs’ sniffing behavior indicated they could identify their own scent, suggesting that smell, rather than sight, may be the key to understanding self-awareness in dogs.
Newsweek reached out to @walter_goldenboy for comment via TikTok. We could not verify the details of the case.
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