Dog “intelligence” is easily confused with such qualities as persistence through frustration, desire to please/work with their handler, energy level. High-energy confident dogs with a lot of willingness to please and greediness are easy to train no matter how poor they may be at problem-solving. An aloof, timid, low-energy dog might be highly intelligent but is unlikely to prove it to a human being.
It is easy to attribute both human intelligence or human stupidity to animals, and both are often wrong. Dogs think and feel, just as much as humans do, but differently. Correctly understanding and interpreting the differences can only be a product of unbiased and minute observation. Which tends to be in short supply among pet owners, frankly.
Dogs do know their names and the names for other things too, but they don’t think of words the way we do. To my dog, “Bonnie” is simply the sound a person makes that means “Hey, I’m talking to you or about you”. Doesn’t mean what names mean to us.
I don’t consider my dogs especially smart but they do know their names. I call one and that one comes. If I say Puppy Treat, Car or Outside they all come a runnin’. Sometimes I address one by the wrong name and I am sure I get a WTF look until I correct myself.
My German Shephard, Kali, has a stuffed toy she carries around. We began calling it “baby”. My gf taught her to shake it. By repeatedly rewarding the behavior, if we say, “shake the baby” she will run, grab it, bring it to you, and shake it vigorously.
