Jericho has been an amazing dog. Full of humor. Relatively obedient. Almost always well-behaved. Not a mooch. Not a chewer. Not much of a barker. And I had little or nothing to do with most of it as far as I can see. I just lucked out with him.
There are a few things I've learned though and I thought I'd share them in case other dog owners find them useful.
General philosophy
Dogs aren't appliances. I get perturbed by people who ignore their dog except for feeding or a begrudged walk and when the people decide they want some pup-time. Dogs have their own intellectual, physical and emotional lives and that's the responsibility we take when we adopt our pets. I believe a dog should get at least a short walk everyday with some extra events like trips to the park or swimming or interaction with other dogs at least twice a week. The dog also deserves some playtime everyday. Anybody that disagrees should try living out the dog's life for a few days: no leaving the yard, no talking to other people, no interaction except some simple toys. Try it and you'll see I'm right. Granted, as this website indicates, I'm probably more towards the pampering side of the spectrum. But that doesn't mean I'm not right.
Consistency
As with anything where some discipline/training/learning is attempted the key is consistency. The dog doesn't speak English so it needs to be shown repeatedly what you want and praised when it does it right. The dog does want to please you so if you can make it understand what does, then you're on the right road.
Barking
The way to train a barking dog to stop is to firmly tell it "No." Until it understands the word "no" then all your yelling to "Shut up!" will only convince the dog that making lots of noise is a family event to be cherished. The dog will not understand the meaning of the your yelling and will be confused when you run over to swat it. Incidentally, all dogs should be allowed to bark sometime. If you believe otherwise then let's see how long you can keep your yap shut.
Rule of fives
I try to do things in fives. One of his tricks is hide-n-sniff where he sits in one room while I hide 5 treats in another room. When he's released to find them he searches and I count them down. When he gets to one and gets praised then he knows he's found them all.
This also works when walking. When he gets too intent on sniffing and the walk has become long then I slowly count down to 5. At "one" I whistle and get the leash a tug to get us underway. He's learned that the countdown means he's got a moment or two to finish and mark it if he's going to.
Snacks
Frozen carrots are better than ice cubes in summer. They are cold but don't melt all over the place.
Small spoonfuls of lowfat frozen yogurt (vanilla) make wonderful treats after a hot walk.
Grieving - added 1/02/07
Unfortunately this is an entry I had to make years before I expected it. Grieving is hard. The only way around it is through it. Grieve for your pup. Get past the pain of the loss but take the time to feel it. It is an important part of your life that has been lost and to deny it or suppress it is to diminish the specialness of your lost friend. You need to get to the point where you can again celebrate the life of your friend and enjoy the good memories.