Our 14 year old Schnoodle we understand very well and him us.
To this day, he knows our routine depending on what room we are in.
Somehow, some way, which we completely do not understand, he knows when we are going to leave the house like 5 minutes before we do. He lays down flat on his belly, paws infant of him. Its almost sad *LOL*
When we come home he grunts and snuggles up to us, we make a big deal of it.
If he gets himself "lost" in the house, it will be one bark spaced about 1 or 2 minutes apart until we find him.
He will find his morning meal after a walk, and stand by his bowl for like ever until I put some milk in it, which he gets after breakfast. (lactose free)
After dinner like clock work, he lays on the floor next to my wife as she does dinner.
We also can understand somehow if he has to go outside to the bathroom other than normal times we take him out. More or less, like for example one night, only happens 2 or 3 times a year? Middle of the night, heard him panting and walking around our bedroom, we know at that point he isnt feeling well and needs to go outside. Bingo we correctly understood him. It's not like when he was younger that he could just head to the door and let out a bark or two. In all the years he never went to the bathroom in our home. (maybe puppy training but that would be it)
Playtime is easy, he *LOL* BANGS HIS TOY BASKET AROUND AND BARKS AT IT hoping we will come over and take a toy out and have tug of war with him. Loves the crunch of empty water bottles and tug of war with a rope? He is so strong he can hurt your arm, my wife has twisted her arm this way many times. He already knows that is only in the evenings when we sit down in the family room to bang the basket.
Talking about toy basket, we moved into our new home 4 months ago, one of his toys were missing out of his basket that we were not aware of, I noticed he wasnt in the room and house, almsot panicked I noticed we left the inside garage door open. He was in the garage with all the stuff still to be unpacked and sniffing the boxes, he found his missing toy (that we didnt know was missing) and then insisted and barked at where it was.
I posted this stuff before some might know by now.
This stuff might seem like elementary stuff to any dog owner. BUT OUR DOG HAS NO EYES, they were surgically removed 2 years ago at twelve years old do to an uncontrollable glaucoma and his eyes rupturing.
Second photo, when I found him in the garage sniffing out his lost toy from the basket above.
I mean, sometimes this stuff is almost creepy. *LOL* He is blind.