Rescue Puppy Has 'Extremely Rare' Reaction to Seeing Reflection in Mirror

A dog by the name of Harley has shown herself to be one smart puppy after seemingly deducing that she is looking at her own reflection in the mirror.

In a video posted to TikTok under the handle @harleyandherhyenas, the 4-and-a-half month-old rescue puppy can be seen appearing to work out that the dog sat down before her eyes is, in fact, her.

"I had noticed her staring herself down the night before," Harley's owner told Newsweek. "She would sit on my bed and stare at herself for five to 10 minutes at a time, as if trying to figure it out."

Eventually, Harley's owner was able to capture her doing it on camera. "I wanted to film it as I've only had one other dog in my entire life who knew the animal in the mirror was her."

The pet owner said that, while most animals tend to eventually work out that the mirror isn't holding other animals, Harley's recognizing the dog being reflected as herself is special.

"It's really extremely rare to have a dog who realizes that the dog in the mirror is themself," the owner said. They added that, before filming started, Harley was "leaning to the left before sitting up, or laying down fast to see if her reflection did the same."

Though most dogs struggle to fully understand the concept of mirrors, there are recorded instances of canines comprehending how reflections work.

In 2011, a study published in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior saw researchers conduct an experiment involving 40 dogs to test whether canines were able to understand the concept of reflection.

Each dog entered a room containing a large mirror that was covered over. They then had one minute to explore the room, at which point the reflective surface was uncovered. After another minute of being allowed to explore, the dogs were motivated to attend to the mirror.

At this point, a second owner would appear in an adjoining room holding the dog's favorite toy. This owner stood behind the animal and was visible only in the reflective surface of the mirror.

The vast majority of the dogs that took part in the experiment approached the mirror when their owner appeared. However, seven turned away to look back towards the actual location of the owner; two of these approached them rather than the mirror.

Researchers concluded that these dogs, much like Harley, appeared to grasp the concept of what a reflection is.

Harley overcame the most difficult of starts to get to where she is today.

She was rescued from a home in Mississippi. "Harley was born in a hoarder's home, and the rescue found her when she was just days old," her owner said. "They took her and her three littermates as they were extremely sick, and the owner had already lost both parents to hit-and-runs as she let her dogs run the entire town."

Sadly, two of Harley's siblings passed away but, thankfully, she found her way to her current owner earlier this summer. They were desperately searching for a new dog, having lost two beloved papillons, Maddie and London, in quick succession, at the start of the year.

That left their Maltese/small poodle mix Sophie in desperate need of company. "Sophie had never been alone before, so no matter how often I walked her or how much attention I paid to her, she still would lay in London's spot and just stare out the window without interacting with us," her owner said.

Everything changed for Harley, Sophie and their owner, however, when she was adopted. Harley's owner recalls how she was "just a 3-pound little peanut" puppy aged 8 weeks when she first came home. "Now she's 18 weeks old, and huge," they said. "She's going to be the largest dog I've ever had."

When she's not staring at her own reflection, Harley enjoys an active life that includes keeping Sophie on her toes at all times. "She's extremely playful, friendly and outgoing," her owner said. "Her favorite things are playing with Sophie, and also watching Bluey. Oh, and chewing up anything when we aren't in the room."

It is a remarkable recovery after coming so close to death, and one which, when coupled with her mirror-based antics, suggests Harley is one very special dog indeed.

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