I can tell my dog to get your “new toy” and she’ll come back with the new toy. She’s a terrier and chihuahua mix. Before her, I hadn’t ever really considered that dogs are so capable. She’s learned words and phrases that are relevant to her consistently. If I’m on a walk with her and want to bribe her to go home I’ll say “Turkey?” and she’ll start pulling on her leash. The funny part is she normally gets a treat after taking a dump, but if I say “turkey” she will drop her treat and wait for me to give her Turkey. If I say “chicken” she will wait, with an unholy focus, until I give her chicken. She makes me keep my promise and knows what it is.
Her being small has sort of caused me to be more nurturing and closer than I had been with dogs growing up. As a result, I think it’s enabled her to express herself because I’m able to perceive it. It's a positive feedback loop. It’s also led me to believe there’s a lot of division between “us” (humans) and other animals is only because we can’t directly talk to them or lack the patience. We’ve tried to make our existence special, and we just aren’t (even if the amalgamation of our traits makes us unique).
That’s not to say she’s gonna be doing calculus (1) or philosophizing with me, but she’s much more capable than I had ever assumed the other “animals” are. And it’s made me acutely aware that we get what we give when it comes to our understanding of other species (or our lack thereof).
1) she’s able to “count” to three (or understand quantities at some level), and while, it is unlikely to impress a mathematician unless they have a love of dogs dogs. It certainly impresses me.