What cognitive ability allows some dogs to recognize themselves in limited reflection experiments?

Self-recognition awareness (partial mirror recognition) is correct because some dogs show a limited understanding that the movements in a mirror match their own body. They may test the contingency between their actions and the reflection and quickly lose social interest in the “other dog,” a sign of basic self-referential processing rather than mistaking the image for a rival. Unlike great apes, dolphins, elephants, and magpies, which often pass the classic mirror mark test, most dogs rely less on vision and more on smell for self-knowledge. In odor-based studies, dogs spend more time investigating their own scent when it has been subtly altered, indicating they recognize “themselves” by nose. Memory tip: dogs meet themselves by nose more than by mirror—so their self-awareness shows up best in smell tests, with only partial recognition in mirrors.