Handsome hound,hope your father in law is able to continue your good work when he's well again.the doggie looks as if he's enjoying himself,is there some border collie in there?.sometimes collie x's are so clever they appear a bit thick to begin with, but when the penny drops they are great to train,and get to be fast on the uptake.

Aww, he's a lovely boy, glad he got the knack eventually, hope your father in law is feeling better soon.

Thanks for the kind wishes. Father-in-law had a quadruple heart bypass and after a few set-backs is now at home and on the mend.
I've no idea what kind of dog Mickey is and I doubt very much that his training will be continued. When I look at him I can see husky and dalmation somewhere in there - along with 99 other varieties too. He is essentially a guard dog and has the run of the grounds which are substantial but if he sees a human he can get rather over-exuberant. He slabbered so much my mosquito repellant lost its effectiveness and I have some lovely red bites