We have no doubt your heart is full of love for the furry creature curled up beside you on the couch.

But have you ever wondered what your dog really makes of you? Or thought about how he manages to get (at least some) water from his bowl into his mouth? (And why, exactly, does so much of it ends up everywhere but in his mouth?)

National Geographic’s special, The Secret Life of Dogs, which airs on Sunday, seeks to answer some of those questions — along with some others you might not have thought about.

“They’re so familiar to us that we often forget how extraordinary they are,” says the narrator in the show’s trailer.

The documentary follows one Labrador Retriever from puppyhood to adulthood, and highlights some amazing stories of dogs’ loyalty, intuition and amazing senses, including a rescue dog named Max who found a 79-year-old woman who was lost in dense woods in England for three days and two cold nights. 

When humans and technology failed, Max’s nose tracked Margaret Haverson down in October 2008. “I was frozen … I kept dozing off and on until … you came and found me,” Haverson told Max during an interview. “You were a good boy, you were.”

The film also documents the story of Endal, an assistance dog who changed the life of a Gulf War veteran.

The Secret Life of Dogs airs Sunday, Aug. 25, at 9 p.m. ET on Nat Geo Wild.