How good a dog was Jester?  During our hike of the Superior
Hiking Trail in 2000, when Jester was six, my two human 
hiking companions and I had stopped for a little break.  
Jester roamed off the trail about fifty feet away, snooping 
about.  I happened to glance over at him just as he picked up 
an object he had found in the tall grass.  He had it fully in 
his mouth and was about to wolf it down when, not knowing what
it was, I prudently shouted for him to "drop it", which
he did instantly, without so much as making a mark on it.

I went over and picked it up.  It was as savory a treat as
I'd ever seen.  My companions were familiar with it, explaining
to me that it was a snack bar often made by hikers - a blend
of oats, nuts, honey, chocolate, butter - utterly dense and
mouth wateringly delicious.  Jester, though very hungry,
had instantly respected my wishes from fifty feet away.

My human companions and I then stood together and discussed
the large snack bar in detail, each of us also breaking off a
corner of it and eating it.  Suddenly, I remembered Jester.
I looked down.  He was sitting just a foot from us, eyes
glued to the snack bar, mouth wide open, drool pouring out.
And he was absolutely politely silent, even as the snack bar
was disappearing down our throats.

For goodness sakes.  I gave him the rest of the bar, which
he had found without any help from us, and of which there
was still about 3/4 remaining.