The Dog Island/Off to the Highlands

If you speak to Rode in his Dojo in Zoomy Village, he will tell you that it is time you saw Master Tao. But, to be his pupil you need a pass, like you needed the Apprentice Ring to get to Rode.

Graduation Test
Rode will tell you to talk to the Sphinx in the South Sandy Desert. You need to find a Certificate and bring it back to Rode. First of all, you need to speak to the Sphinx.

He will tell you that a snake somewhere in the South Sandy Desert has a key, called the Ivory Key. The Sphinx will tell you to find it and bring it to him. The snake is on the west side of the desert, and when you've found which one it is, bark and it will drop the key. Go and talk to the Sphinx again.

The Sphinx will tell you to go and sniff a glow, which will appear not far from the snake who had the key. Go up to it, and shake the to dig. Bring the Certificate back to Rode.

Rode will thank you, and tell you that he will let Tao know you are coming. He then tells you that Tao's dojo is in Gola Highlands, which is across the bridge in Green Meadows.

I want to cross the river
When you go to Green Meadows, you may remember why you couldn't go to the Gola Highlands before. You will see Henry, a Basset Hound wearing a Santa hat, standing by the bridge with a question mark over his head. If you speak to him, he will tell you that he wants to get to the Gola Highlands, but the bridge is broken and he cannot get across. He asks you to go and get help, and he thinks that Goliath should be able to fix it.

Goliath's house is in Treely Woods. It is just south of the shortcut to Pupsville, right next to the river. Go inside and talk to Goliath. He will tell you that he will fix the bridge.

Fix the bridge, I want to
When Goliath and you automatically go back to the bridge in Green Meadows, he will realize that he doesn't have any nails, so he cannot fix the bridge. He asks you to run to Mary Theresa's store in Pupsville and get some Nails.

Talk to Mary Theresa and she will give you some nails. Now go back and talk to Goliath. He will thank you and fix the bridge, and now you can go past to the Gola Highlands.

Henry tells you that Gola Highlands is straight on when you cross the bridge. In fact, the path isn't actually straight. You will actually have to go up the slope eastward, then turn around and go up the next slope westward. There is a Boar right where the two slopes join, so watch out for him. Run past him or wait until he falls asleep, then double back behind him and continue on to Gola Highlands.

Grand Master Tao
Gola Highlands is basically a load of cliffs with trees dotted around the place. Tao's dojo is near the top. If you go up the first slope, you will come to a wide gap which is too far to jump across. You need to go back and you will see a cave up a steep thin slope. Go up to it and press when the "Search" command appears, and you will find some elephant food. Go back down to the bottom of Gola Highlands and place it on the tree stump. An Elephant will come over to eat and you can use its back to get across the gap.

If you continue up the level you will eventually come to Tao's Dojo. When you go near the door, you will hear a gong sounding (like when you first met Rode) and Tao, the West Highland White Terrier, will be there. He will tell you that to be a Sniff Master, you need to find a Book of the Sniff Master, which is a two part book, and a Sniff Master Medal. You also need to raise an Anc Tree, and learn 100 different smells. He will tell you that there is a way to get things done; you cannot find the Sniff Master Medal until you have both parts of the Book of the Sniff Master. He believes that you can do it, because most important of all, you have the goal of curing your sibling's sickness. But you are not yet ready to look for the Book of the Sniff Master. Tao will tell you that you must help out all troubled dogs, and therefore you will learn lots of smells. He says that he will give you a hint on where to go.

Tao then tells you that Alice in Pupsville is having some trouble.

Maid to the rescue
If you go into Noble's house (and you might realize that Noble isn't in his usual place behind the counter) and then to Peter's room, Noble's maid, Alice, the Poodle, will tell you that Peter has broken master's (Noble's) favorite Blue Rose Bush. She asks you if you can go and find a Blue Rose in the Chiro Caves, so that her little Princely-Paws doesn't get into trouble. She then gives you a key called the Chiro Key. It is not needed to get into the caves, but it is needed to open a door.

When you are in the Gola Highlands, you may notice that at the top near the mountain there is a large boulder blocking the path to Chiro Village. If you go near it, Petasi will say that the boulder is too big to push, but it you could throw something at it, it might break, as it looks fragile. There is a boulder up on a cliff with a sloping edge nearby. You need to go up the slope to it, then go up to the boulder and select when you have the option to push. You will roll the boulder along, and then it will roll down the cliff, bashing into the other boulder. It doesn't break, like Petasi said, but instead rolls off the edge of the cliff, followed by the boulder you used to move it. Now the way to Chiro Village is open. You need to go across the bridge and to Chiro Village, then go through the entrance to the Chiro Caves B1.

If you follow the scent down the path in the fork leading to the right, you are going the wrong way. You will go past a bat, ending up at two rocks which are blocking the path. The scent metre is almost full, but you won't be able to get past. At the fork in the path, you need to go left. Past a snake there is a large metal door, which is what the Chiro Key unlocks. Go up to it and press to open it, and then you can go to Chiro Caves B2.

There is a snake right at the entrance to this part of Chiro Caves, so you need to run to the right or you will be attacked by it. There is another fork and you need to go right. You will find an entrance which leads back to Chiro Caves B1. Go through, and you will find yourself on the other side of the two rocks. Sniff around here, and you will find the Blue Rose. Take it back to Alice.

She will thank you and say that she is relieved that her little Princely-Paws will not get in trouble. She tells you that if you go past the Chiro Caves, you will come to the West Chilly field, and beyond there is the Snow Village. She says that you should visit there sometime.