Scientists in Hungary conducted a study to find out if dogs have self-awareness and a sense of body awareness. A researcher explained: "Self-awareness is a rather poorly investigated area of dog cognition." He added: "Body awareness is a mental capacity to organize someone's action by taking in consideration their own body exists." He put dogs in situations that would make them aware of their body position.
The scientists conducted tests on 54 dogs. A toy was attached to a mat and each dog had to give the toy to its owner. The dog would not be able to take the toy to its owner unless it got off the mat. Many of the dogs worked this out. The researchers said this showed a sense of body awareness. They wrote that body awareness is, "the ability to hold information about one's own body in mind, as an explicit object, in relation to other objects in the world".