Jase is an obedience school graduate, but I needed some additional training, and Jase benefited from a tune-up he got this week. First, the things Jase does well. He crates great! He usually sits well. He needs practice with extended stays, but he sits well. He wouldn’t lay down for me, and he was always trying to lead with the heel command.

Della and Johnny stopped by Wednesday afternoon and did about half an hour of refresher training with Jase. I watched Della and Johnny work, and I learned a few techniques. Those things coupled together have made for a much more pleasant walking experience with Jase. We had better success with the Down command since watching Johnny put Jase in Down-Stay.

They are coming back Monday afternoon for another session, and I’m going to ask about how to deal with him going absolutely bonkers in two situations — first when I press the unlock button for the truck (he goes nuts thinking he’s going for a ride) and second when someone pulls into the driveway or approaches him — he goes wild with anticipatory excitement and is nearly impossible to control in both situations.

But what become very obvious when they were working with him is Jase is very smart, and he’s been playing me. I have to learn to stop that, and watching Johnny and Della work with him gave me some tools to help with that.