accents
03-05-2008, 07:19 AM
My dog is sitting in the family room. I am in the kitchen. A large mirror on the wall allows us to see each other. I wave my arms frantically, but I can not catch my dog's attention.
My cat is similar. I barely catch its attention, but it just briefly glances in the direction of my reflection, seemingly unable to zero-in on where the motion is coming from, then loses attention.
If I stood where either animal could directly see me, they'd both come running to me when I waved my arms like that.
But my friend's dog barks at itself in the mirror.
I can't rapidly distinguish between a modern mirrors reflection and reality. I've been in restaurants before, where there was a full wall mirror, thinking that the restaurant was twice as large until I paid a little more attention. The reflection of someone waving their arms would certainly catch my attention.
Are my pets just smarter than me, or do mirrors just work differently for animals?
My cat is similar. I barely catch its attention, but it just briefly glances in the direction of my reflection, seemingly unable to zero-in on where the motion is coming from, then loses attention.
If I stood where either animal could directly see me, they'd both come running to me when I waved my arms like that.
But my friend's dog barks at itself in the mirror.
I can't rapidly distinguish between a modern mirrors reflection and reality. I've been in restaurants before, where there was a full wall mirror, thinking that the restaurant was twice as large until I paid a little more attention. The reflection of someone waving their arms would certainly catch my attention.
Are my pets just smarter than me, or do mirrors just work differently for animals?