My dog as a youth loved to go to the local park with my sister and me because she could put her paws up on the always-on drinking fountain to get a drink. Adults in the park would comment on how she knew to do that and I certainly hadn’t taught her. She was a herding dog mix with such a natural intelligence that we never really “taught” her anything, she just knew. She was the primary reason our parents let us “free-range” the way we did in the 60s because the dog was always there to protect us. Plus it was a medium-sized town in KS of about 12,000.
Back on topic - they recently replaced one of the hallway drinking fountains at work. The new one has a normal drinking outlet with a push valve plus a proximity sensor that allows you to place a mug or bottle under the spigot for a refill. It’s easier than trying to fill it from the normal-style fountain.
Our male Dobie talks and sometimes you can even understand him. “Momma, i want my ball.” Honest to God. His sister just looks at him like “Give it up.”