XPost: alt.animals.ethics.vegetarian, rec.aquaria.freshwater.goldfish,   
   rec.pets.dogs.behavior   
      
   On Mon, 05 Sep 2005 19:15:17 GMT, "Spot"  wrote:   
      
   >Barneys first experience with his reflection came when I went to an ATM   
   >machine.  He saw his reflection and totally flipped out at the other dog.   
      
       So we know he has the ability to recognise reflected images.   
      
   >Over time he came to understand that this other dog in the glass wasn't mean   
   >and he didn't have to go into attack mode........LOL  Brandy never paid much   
   >attention to mirrors or reflections.   
   >   
   >Celeste   
      
       I remember fooling with my dog and mirrors as a kid. From what I remember   
   the dog showed interest at first, and then my impression was that he figured   
   it out and didn't care about it any more. To him it just didn't mean anything   
   after he figured out that it wasn't real animals. I saw a cat I had do that   
   with   
   the TV. When it first saw birds on the screen it was very interested, but after   
   it learned they weren't real it didn't care any more. Birds outside, that it   
   could   
   see through the window, were a different matter...and it knew about the pet   
   door too. Not understanding or caring about a mirror certainly doesn't mean   
   animals have no awareness of themselves imo. The very idea seems absurd.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)