I tried an experiment that worked really well this first time. Peter had run out of clean, pressed shirts and I simply had to go iron some. I was thinking I would put Rocky in his crate but he’d already been there once today while I went out for groceries, so I decided to bring him upstairs with me. I iron in my sewing room and it is full of tempting targets like pattern pieces that rustle in the breeze and dangling electrical cords but I thought he might just be happy to be near me. We went up together (he generally follows me wherever I go if we are alone in the house) and I let him sniff around with the occasional “Rocky...” in a warning voice if he looked too interested in something. After a minute, he contented himself with some personal grooming and then lying about on the carpet near my feet. I pulled him across the carpet, a little bit away from the electrical cord for the iron and he didn’t seem to mind. He was very interested in the noises the iron made to begin with. I also use a pump spray bottle for extra moisture and it makes a funny noise sometimes. I decided to flip on the radio which I have permanently tuned to CBC. It has been a disappointment during the strike but I wasn’t sure if there was new programming now that the strike was effectively over. When I turned it on, I couldn’t tell from what I was listening to, if it was new or old stuff! But that’s sort of typical for CBC I guess. They were playing an Indian song with some fellow doing that yodeling thing they do and Rocky was transfixed. I have therefore determined that CBC is the radio station for entertaining puppies.

Rocky has definitely got his own personality and a mind of his own, but he seems to be very biddable and good-natured about not getting things his own way. I am hopeful this will make for an excellent guide dog.