Rocky is a gem. He gave a pretty accurate picture of himself, but I might just add a few things.

He has adapted well to our household. Going for walks, retrieving the tennis ball and getting attention from his humans are still favorites of Rocky’s, but he has added another fun event to his life….swimming. First, he checked out the lake from the house. The first day that we actually went down to the lake, he wasn’t very interested in the water except to watch Lacy go in for a quick swim. . I’m pretty sure that he had never been in a lake before. But……...the tennis ball rolled in the lake……. And Rocky carefully entered the water, got his ball and got back out as quickly as he could. It happened a second time, and a third. He got his ball each time, but he quickly got back out. Rocky didn’t seem to like it very much. Well……the second day, we went down and he led me right to the water as if to say, “Hey, I’ve decided I like this!!” And, that was it. Now, he loves retrieving the ball from the water, and will continue as long as we want to throw it. We are working on dropping it, but he teases a bit. There are other interesting things in the water too…. a duck (decoy)! Rocky beat Lacy to check it out. What fun he has in the water now.

Other Rocky tidbits:

• He seems to be in great shape for an eight-year-old. He has plenty of energy for walking and playing and, unlike most eight-year-olds, is not overweight.

• He is crate trained, but also can be trusted with him free roam. It seems that if he gets lonesome, he will find one of my shoes by the back door, and have it by him while he naps – he never chews on them. It is sweet. He loves me ----or at least he loves the smell of my feet…. oh my!

• I don’t think Rocky’s surrendering owners took much time to work with him. He does have excellent recall, however, and comes eagerly. Things that we are working on are sit, stay, drop it, and a modified heel. Sit, he knew when he came, but sometimes, he just doesn’t feel like doing it the first time! Walking nicely on my left with an Easy Walk harness is a skill he has learned well this last week. Yeah. Dropping the ball is sometimes a challenge. He will drop the ball onto our chair or if we ignore him, but otherwise, he will not drop the ball immediately when he returns from retrieving – he’s a little tease…. Goals for this week….improve dropping the ball and beginning a concentrated effort on the stay command. I truly don’t think he has ever heard the stay command before coming here, and I feel it is an important one. I have some really good treats and expect great results on both. Stay tuned for our progress!! With continued obedience training, I think he will be GREAT!

• He has a wonderful demeanor. He lets me do any grooming I need to do. He has never had any aggression towards people or Lacy, including no resource guarding of his food in our home. He takes treats very gently. He just does not seem to have a mean bone in his body.

• He has the cutest little pink spot on the middle of his nose!