....Arf?

The Hidden Life of Dogs is only hidden to those who think that animals are things and not living breathing creatures of God's creation.
Basically the whole introduction is examples of dogs having feelings, a structured social hierarchy and the ability to imitate humans. Dogs develop habits or schedules (Kosmo comes to wake me up every morning) and make games for themselves (Kosmo chases his tail or rolls around on his back when he's bored).

They can also sense a mood with humans, and generally take on that mood themselves. When I'm in my room on the floor, Kosmo will come in and lie down next to me, looking at me like "Right, what are we pouting about?" And when we won game six in double overtime, Kosmo was jumping up and down with the rest of us. He had no idea what the Stanley Cup was, all he knew was that if we were happy, he got to be happy too.

The Intro also answered some things about my puppy I didn't quite understand. Like why he always has to be standing next to a dry person when he shakes the water off of himself after a swim. Apparently the need to be with the group after doing something different than the rest of them is more pressing than the need to shake off.
But I still think trying to ruin your shoes is a part of their plan too.