created a distraction in its novelty. The dogs were not previously exposed to the mirror covered by the blanket, and the sudden appearance of this new itemover the mirror may have been sufficient to make the dogs in the control group forget about the treat. We think that this is improbable because although the blanket was not covering the mirror during the exposure phase for either group, it was present in the room during this time, lying on a counter along the edge of the room (in area 4). That 9 control dogs found the treat regardless of the blanket also suggests this is unlikely.