Sounds like a beautiful dog, too.
My lab is a genius. Ornery, but very very smart. He knows an amazing number of words. He also likes to guess what is going to happen next. He is very routine oriented.
Most dogs are. I had an uncle who raised bird dogs for sale. His observation was, "A happy dog gets the same meal at the same time every day."
I currently have have a half pitty, half German shep mix that is way too smart!
Dang dog tries to talk by whining, constantly! I do love him though.
OK Red, go get your dang ball.