[flipper35]

Jim, what brand/model is your dog again?

Our first lab was smart and intuitively knew most of what you were trying to tell her but I was never able to teach her to speak. When we first got her she already knew how to walk by my side and when we gave her a paper plate with table scraps we could tell her to pick up her trash when she was done and she would bring the plate over.

Our beagle is smart but is also a stubborn, bullheaded moron. He is also pretty gentle. He has a bark collar but it only slows him down a little when he decided to bark at the ground. He can learn a trick if it suits him or gets him a worthwhile treat. He eats to savor his food.

Our current yellow lab is instinctually smart but otherwise is the "blonde" people make jokes about. She is the only dog I have seen that can fall over when she is already laying down and has so little grace it is funny to watch her. She can learn but it takes a while and she is heavily motivated by play. She only eats so the beagle cant have it.