He really is. It's rare I get to see an all-around good dog, since people call me mostly for problems that are making them tear their hair out. In this case, Sam is not one of those dogs. My first impression of him was this; he's just a happy puppy who gets a little too happy when people come over to visit. This is expressed through lots of bouncing around the visitor, and grabbing them on the way back down. His owner likes it that he's so ecstatic, but wants to stop the jumping altogether. Sam uses wee wee pads but sometimes misses when he aims to pee on them. I don't count these as accidents, but they're not to be ignored completely. He's at the age (adolescent pup) to start using only the yard as his bathroom. He has learned to ring bells hanging from the doorknob when he wants to go outside to play, which could turn into a signal for when he has to relieve himself. Right now, the backyard is his playpen where he becomes the greatest entertainer of himself. He loves to stuff his face deep into the snow and dig wherever he finds a suitable spot. When he is not tossing pine cones into the air, he is barking back and forth with the dog on the other side of the fence all day long.
He has a habit of running out the front door when the opportunity arises, to explore nothing in particular, and then to play "catch me if you can". He will steal if given the chance (a stray dish towel, stuffed animal, etc.) and he needs to learn how to walk on a leash without dragging his owner around the neighborhood.