I have always known that dogs are smarter and some dogs are a lot smarter than others.
Collies and Shepherds are really smart. Bulldogs not so much.
My border collies were very clever, as were my shelties. Most of the rest not so much. But my Havanese has incredible pattern recognition. Daffynition posts tiny gifs and my dog always spots them and goes bonkers. He lies on the end of the hassock with his nose near the TV waiting for a horse or dog to appear. Even a modernistic cartoon animal is recognizable to him. Husband has had to cover up the monitor background of pictures of our old pets as it drives Rory batty.
Bingo.
Dogs vary SOOOO greatly, including intelligence. Some are very smart (and they often share cat-like traits, LOL), others are a box of rocks.
Some canines can learn over 400 commands. Cats don’t even come close. Both learn commands reinforced by treats. Dumb Border Collies are way beyond the smartest cat.