I’ve come to expect that Asa will put his own spin on Mom and Dad’s obedience lessons. However, never did I imagine that he’d be caught Golden pawed cheating on their training! Mom and Dad’s trainer and I have been working very hard these past few weeks teaching them how to do a proper heel off-leash. We’ve been working on it in a low distraction area, because let’s face it, Mom and Dad can easily wander off if we’re not watching them. This is why through their training, I’ve realized it is important to keep a constant eye on my humans. They are after all my responsibility whether they are tethered to me or not. Asa, on the other paw, is taking a much more lazier approach.

Rather than keep a close watch on Mom when walking her at a heel, Asa has developed a couple of tricks to sidestep his responsibilities. The first is while walking he leans into her if he sees something that catches his attention. This way he can follow her movements, but not have to keep an eye on her while focusing on other things around them. Then when they stop walking, he appears to be keeping track of her by sitting at her side. However, rather than look to Mom for cues as to what the next step is, Asa simply places his right paw on her left foot. This way he can happily look in every direction except at her, and yet be prepared to move should Mom decide to wander off! That’s totally cheating!

Now Mom, who is easily mislead, thought this was cute behavior, and had no idea that Asa was cheating in his heel responsibilities. However, Mom and Dad’s trainer was quick to publicly shame him, while simultaneously praising what a good boy I am. Not to brag, but I gaze lovingly at whoever I’m with, giving that person my undivided attention. So this week’s homework is to continue practicing heel with Mom and Dad by walking in all sorts of directions, while also trying to keep Asa focused on the task without using his tricks.