OK - yes I am biased towards the working/herding breeds because they're so darn smart...... but I have always taught my dogs to "show me" what they want. Each has had their own way of getting my attention - but they dutifully take me to the "problem", whether it's an empty food dish, a ball out of reach, a boat floating away, etc.
We were at our condo in Florida, and since I had just put new tile/grout down in the sunroom, the dogs hadn't been able to use their "normal" door to ask to go outside to potty. Ben was clearly conflicted when he meowed at me (yeah - my dog says "meow").... I looked at him and said "What do you want? Show me"
You could see his little brain-gears grinding, then he ran over to Jimmy and stuck his nose right up under Jimmy's tail! Yep - message received; we went out the other door, and Ben went poo.... ROFL!!
Ed, Deb, and 2 dogs
Looking for a small Class C!