Dogs may not recognize themselves in the mirror, but that doesn't mean they don't have a certain level of self-awareness.
Self-consciousness is, in general, the consciousness of the subjectoneself, different from the other, other subjects and the world in general. In the case of dogs, it is more about the fact that the animal can understand that its body is something separate.
The presence of self-awareness was revealed in children as follows:the little ones were asked to pass the blanket on which they are now sitting. If a child can figure out that he needs to get up and remove his body as an obstacle, then we can talk about self-consciousness. It usually takes about 18 months or a year for babies to gain this understanding.
In a recent study, the authors collected 32 dogsdifferent breeds and sizes. They had to take the toy and bring it to their owner. The catch was that the toy was connected to a rug on which the dogs were sitting. In other words, in order to bring the toy to the owner, the dog first had to get up from the mat. These results were compared to what happens when the toy is not attached to anything at all or when it is connected to the ground.
The study showed that petsare able to distinguish between the events "My body is an obstacle" and "There is an obstacle". They also understand how to move their body to overcome this obstacle.
Source: Science Alert