We make them smarter because we talk to them all the time. It is amazing how much language they understand.
My dog knows two words: gobyebye and canofdogfood.
You are absolutely right about how much language they understand. They are even able to initiate conversations.
My dog will tell me:
Get up! Get up, dammit, I gotta go outside.
The guy with the Chinese food delivery is here. I want my fortune cookie.
And many more commands which I have been trained to obey. She has learned that I am sometimes slow to understand, so the commands are repeated clearly and often until a lightbulb goes off in my head.
I am rewarded whenever I obey with her unrestrained joy at my intelligence.
It’s a dog’s life to care and train their human.
A dog can learn hundreds of human words but none of us truly knows what their barks are saying.
Kinda humbling.