Max Board and Train day 10

Today was Max's last full day with us. He has extremely satisfying to work with over the past 2 weeks. He is an enterprising and stubborn little dude who will definitely put up an argument but he also is a very good worker if you're willing to lead him. His owners have a big job ahead of them to maintain a leadership role for him. This means that if he is asked to do something he must do it. If you tell him to sit (this is just an example) you must stay on him until he sits down. If he does not have his collar on and he blows you off you must go get his collar, put it on, and see that he does what you asked. If he gets it in his head that he can blow you off he will try it again and again. But once he understands that you are more stubborn than he is he settles in to be a fantastic little team mate. He does like getting the answer right and he LOVES praise but you can see those smart little wheels turning in his head when he would rather do something else. It's our job, as his leaders, to help him understand that even if he would rather do his own thing that there is a benefit to listening to what we say.
Max is probably one of the more intelligent dogs I've had the pleasure of working with this year and I hope to keep in touch with his people as we work through Max's go-home lessons. I am happy with all of his commands at this point though he still is not 100% on his Implied Stay. Being a herding dog he really wants to be where his "sheep" are and so he toils with the idea of staying put while you walk away. But again, if you stick to your guns he can absolutely do it. I'm gonna miss this plucky little guy, and so will Ace. Max and Ace developed quite the fast friendship (literally, they're fast) while Max was here. But Max will be glad to be back with his people where he is the center of attention once again. Good job, Max!