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By Lucy Notarantonio
Senior Reporter
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Teddy the Labrador may always feel like somebody's watching him, but actually, it is just himself.
In a viral TikTok video shared by owner Jennifer Hart, 27, (@jen.and.teddy), the dog can be seen lying on the end of a bed with a blanket over him. His eyes are wide open and he is growling at his reflection.
Hart, a police officer from Hertfordshire, U.K, told Newsweek: "He has seen his reflection before and does usually growl at himself, I think to be protective of me more than anything."
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During the clip, Hart attempts to reassure him by saying, "Ted, it's you." At this point, he is already leaning closer to the mirror. She says again: "Teddy, it's just you."
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But his growls get louder and he even jumps off the bed to investigate further, at this point, Jen can't help but laugh. So far, the clip shared on February, 24, has racked up 133,000 views.
The 27-year-old owner told Newsweek: "Teddy has a very friendly and affectionate personality, he just wants to be everybody's friend and is always looking for attention and cuddles. He's just happy as long as he's around people."
The clip captioned "I never claimed he was clever," has 19,800 likes, at the time of writing. Along with plenty of comments—many from owners saying their dog does the same thing.
One user said: "My dog has had an ongoing beef with the plant pot in the corner the last 3 years."
Jen responded: "We can't move anything in the garden without him having an issue with it. Postman left a parcel in the garden and the way Ted reacted I thought someone was breaking in!"
Another user wrote what they believe Ted is thinking: "what'chu doing in MY blanket, on MY bed, with MY hooman!?"
A fourth commenter pointed out: "He's waiting for the other dog to give up."
Do Dogs Have Self-Awareness?
While dogs are incredibly intelligent animals, they are yet to master how a mirror works.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) notes that only a select few animal species have successfully passed the mirror test, with dogs notably absent from this list. Animals that have passed it include great apes, dolphins, elephants and magpies.
The AKC suggests that dogs' lack of understanding upon encountering a mirror could stem from initial fear or curiosity rather than self-recognition, despite their demonstrated proficiency in other cognitive and social abilities.
Additionally, the AKC references a study by Alexandra Horowitz, a researcher at Barnard College, which was published in the journal Behavioural Sciences. Utilizing a sniff test developed by Roberto Cazzolla Gatti from Tomsk State University, Russia, Horowitz found that dogs exhibit less interest in their own scent compared to unfamiliar smells. This suggests a potential element of self-awareness through smell rather than through sight.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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