My neighbour has a dog that attacks my rake while I am using it. When I present the rake to her(the dog) for inspection, she runs away frightened. Does the creature have any idea that I am the one controlling the object?
My guess is that while you are using the rake, the dog is thinking something like “fun game! fun game!” and when you pick it up, the dog is thinking, “I might get hit on the nose with that thing.” I don’t think “who is controlling it” enters into the picture, beyond a loose association between you and the rake.
The dog wouldn’t think attacking the rake was fun if it was very afraid of the rake. Picking up the rake just means the end of the game, because the rake suddenly looks more dangerous, and stops doing the fun scratching thing.
It’s nothing personal.
If you actually hit the dog on the nose with the rake (not suggesting you would), then the dog would become much more afraid of that situation. It would be afraid of everything associated with that situation, including, the rake, you, people holding rakes, the front lawn and the rake, the leaves and the rake on the front lawn, etc. I doubt it would play with the rake anymore, because it would be too much like getting hit on the nose with the rake.
So, in short, the dog doesn’t think about who is controlling the rake, it just makes associations. Sometimes dogs make strange associations, or instictual associations, which is why it is mildly afraid of the rake when you lift it up.
Maybe the rake makes sounds which are distressing to the dog, but beyond the range of human hearing. Sort of like chalk on a blackboard.