Your story reminds me a bit of two of my dogs. I have a yellow lab and an 11 lb terrier mix.
When I give them treats the lab gulps hers' down while the terrier will run under our square shaped coffee table. The terrier will try his best to horde his treat and continually growl when either the lab or the cat walk by.
The lab finally figured out how to distract the terrier as she goes and gets one of the squeaky toys. She'll start playing with it, making it squeak and shaking it around. Needless to say this gets the terrier interested in playing so he runs out from under the table, the lab drops the toy as soon as he gets close and she takes off for the table. She then proceeds to contort herself enough to where she can reach the treat.
Some years ago my wife and I shared our lives with a GS/Norwegian Elkhound mix named "Phoenix". If we took a long trip, the dog went to stay with my wife's parents 10 miles away.
Most often we would return from our vacations very late at night, and go home to bed without checking in with her parents. Feeling refreshed in the morning we'd go there to share the news and bring our pup home.
Each time my father-in-law gave the same report: "We knew you got home last night, because Phoenix knew. She kept us awake all night, and it was the only night she didn't sleep well."