by birchbarkcanoe

Dogs evolved to communicate through scent, and smell is "more important for dogs than a visual recognition of 'self,'"

I never really thought about this before, but now that it's mentioned I can think of examples of this in my own dog's behavior...kind of interesting.

Some zoos have used mirrors to trigger mating and nest building among flamingos, which breed only when they perceive their colonies are of a certain size, she said

I find this somewhat troubling...I feel as though we shouldn't manipulate an animal's comfort in an environment...any thoughts?

Also, my dog used to freak out every single time he saw his own reflection. I think he's used to mirrors now but we have to pull the shades on our glass doors at night so that he doesn't panic. Kind of interesting how the doors/windows and mirrors have a different effect on him.