"I have two dogs, Sasha and Nina. They are very lazy indoor dogs," he said.

"They can be sound asleep but I only have to say 'toilet' and they leap up, run outside onto the grass - and do just that."

John reckons they could probably use the indoor toilet, except for the problem of pressing the flush button.

When it's time for some tucker, John says to them: "Dinner?".

"They immediately take post beside the food bowls," he said.

Sasha likes to lie on John's lounge chair when he's not using it.

"I can walk up to her and she doesn't bat an eyelid. But if I walk towards her in the morning holding the newspaper, she immediately vacates the chair because she knows I want to sit down and read the paper," he said.

In the evening, he simply says "bedtime". Both dogs get up, go outside for a leak then "toddle off to our bedroom to sleep on their beds (yes, they're spoilt)".

John tells us that his faithful old dog Maddi, who went to doggy heaven at this time last year at the ripe old age of 16 (100 in human years), was so clever that he would show her talents to visitors.

"I would sit down at the kitchen table with a small piece of food in my hand and she'd sit next to me, looking straight up at me.

"I'd then say several rhyming words in exactly the same tone and with no emphasis: feet, seat, meat, teat ... she would not flinch. Then eventually I would say 'eat' and she would gently take the food from my fingers."

John says all his dogs have been "talking to us in some way for years, with yaps, barks and growls".

"I have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. So, who are the smart ones, dogs or humans? Need any further proof?"

He added that his dogs were "all rescue bitzers, which proves that you don't have to go to a private school to be smart".

We wrote in Odd Spot recently about a street dog that stood at the door of an Istanbul pharmacy and showed its injured paw.

The pharmacist noticed the paw was bleeding and the dog put its paw in the pharmacist's hand. She cleaned the wound, applied ointment and fed the dog.

"When I was done, she laid down as if to thank me," the pharmacist said.

John Ure, who has been to Istanbul, said it was "quite feasible that a little dog would go up and show its paw".

"There are stray dogs everywhere in Istanbul. They're part of the fabric," he said.

Even walking in busy areas, with people everywhere, dogs will be stretched out in the middle of the footpath.

"Everyone just calmly walks around them. They are virtually given free rein."

The street looks after the dogs.

"Everybody makes sure they've always got food. If any of them have a problem, someone will take them to the vet. That's just the way it is in Istanbul. People take responsibility for the stray dogs."

Locals told him the dogs aren't aggressive.

"I've never seen the dogs inside the grand bazaar, the spice bazaar, a mosque or restaurant - they're happy to live on the streets," he said.

Back on smart dogs, we came across biologist Rupert Sheldrake when Russell Brand interviewed him on his podcast.

He wrote a book titled, Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home.

The author examined more than 1000 case histories of dogs and cats that seemed to anticipate their owners' return by waiting at a door or window.

This led Sheldrake to surmise that telepathy was normal "rather than paranormal".

"I see psychic phenomena as an extension of biology," he said.

"The same principles apply to human telepathy. I have investigated little explored aspects of human telepathy, such as telepathy between mothers and babies, telephone telepathy (thinking of someone who soon afterwards calls) and email telepathy."

He also wrote a book called The Sense of Being Stared At, which explores telepathy, precognition and the "psychic staring effect", which is when a person can sense that someone is staring at them from behind.

Had a telepathic experience? Let us know at topics@theherald.com.au.

While you're with us, did you know The Herald is now offering breaking news alerts, daily email newsletters and more? Keep up-to-date with all the local news - sign up here.

IN NEWS: