Dog’s Adorable Reaction To Mirror Encounter

Quick Smiles:

• Bear the dog discovers himself in the mirror
• Adorable reaction delights viewers
• Reddit users debate Bear’s thought process

A dog named Bear recently had the most delightful reaction to seeing himself in the mirror, and it’s filled with confidence! Bear’s owner, Mariah Krause, often takes her furry friend to work with her. Like any proud pet parent, she enjoys taking selfies with Bear in the mirror while they’re at work together.

Usually, when Mariah takes a mirror selfie, Bear will stand there and look at her. But this time, things were different. “We’ve probably done that about a dozen times but this was the first occasion where he only saw himself,” Krause said. “It was cute!”

The video captures Bear’s first reaction to seeing only himself in the mirror, and it’s simply adorable. Bear, a 7-month-old mutt, was nose-to-nose with the “other” dog, pawing at the mirror to figure out who was looking back at him. After a few sniff tests, he still couldn’t determine who was in the mirror.

He discovered himself in the mirror. Too cute
byu/mjk25741 inaww

But that didn’t bother Bear! His ears remained perked up the entire time, and he stared in amazement, loving the dog that was gazing back at him. The February 6 post on the subreddit channel r/aww has users debating what Bear thought he was looking at. Some believe he realized it was his reflection and was checking himself out. One Reddit user wrote, “Hello handsome!” while another commented, “Omg those ears are too cute!”

Others thought Bear was investigating another dog in the room, with one user saying, “I’m convinced most dogs, no matter their size, think they’re giant killer wolves. OP’s dog was like, ‘Who’s this punk!?’”

Although it appears Bear might recognize himself, it’s widely believed that dogs don’t have the self-awareness to do so. The American Kennel Club (AKC) cites the famous 1970s mirror test, in which animals were tested for self-recognition. Only a few animals have passed, and dogs aren’t among them.

The AKC suggests that dogs explore the world differently than humans. While humans rely on sight, dogs use their incredible sense of smell. This could explain why Bear kept sniffing the mirror – he was trying to solve the mystery with his snoot!

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