The editor would like to answer this question from two aspects.

The first one, serious body

It is believed that dogs do not know that they are dogs

In 1970, Gordon Gallup developed the mirror test based on some of Darwin's observational data. The mirror test is a test of self-awareness to see if an animal can recognize its own image in a mirror. The specific test method is that the experimenter marks two odorless paint dots on the experimental animals. The test paint dots can be observed in the mirror, and the control paint dots can be touched but cannot be observed in the mirror. If the animal has self-awareness of itself, then it will find the test paint spots on itself through the mirror. If there is no self-awareness, it will only think that the person in the mirror is another of its kind.

Today, animals that have passed the mirror test include great ape species, such as chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, etc. Macaques, bottlenose dolphins, orcas, elephants, etc. have also passed the test. Dogs, cats and human babies all failed the test, and humans often don't develop this cognitive function until they are 18 months old.

Think that dogs know they are dogs

There is some debate about the correctness of the mirror experiment, and scientists have invented a method of using dog urine to test dogs' self-awareness. The experimenter found 4 dogs that grew up in a semi-free environment, collected their urine, put it in a container and marked it, and set up a blank sample with odorless absorbent cotton. The dogs were then asked to smell the urine samples, and it was recorded that all the dogs smelled the urine of other dogs longer than their own urine. This performance confirmed the hypothesis that dogs seem to know their own smell, and they have a better understanding of their own urine. They are not interested in themselves, so they are self-aware.

Second, improper body

Dogs are thoughtful dogs

The editor once had a dog when I was in the countryside. This dog would always look at the editor with a very understanding look when he was playing pranks. The editor heard it sigh more than once when the editor played pranks on it, as if it were a big brother doting on his younger sister. Once I had a cold and needed to go to the clinic to fetch water. Before I left, I asked the dog if he could walk away. The dog lay lazily and ignored me. When I was bored and fetching water alone, I actually saw the dog slowly walking. Came over! (I have never taken a dog to the clinic, so he doesn’t know the way.) It circled around me and lay down. When I almost finished lifting the water, it wandered back on its own without waiting for me at all...

There are many other things like this. Raising a dog in the countryside will not teach you any skills. However, in a natural state, this dog seems to know some rules. It never enters the room and stays in the hall for a while at most. I had a lot of fun with the little girl at the clinic after the water was lifted, and I took the dog to play later. We two girls were happily playing on our phones in the room, and the dog was lying outside. After a while, he probably got bored, so he would circle around the door and look at it from time to time.I glanced at it, and after I found it and said hello, it went home on its own...

Many dog ​​owners feel that their dogs may think they are humans

You can see many examples of this on Zhihu. Many dogs have done things beyond human expectations.