Bo Rock’s First Day of Puppy School

Most of the SouthCoast school kids returned to school in some fashion this week. In addition to normal back to school jitters, parents of hybrid students also had COVID-19 worries to deal with.

My kids also made the return to school: one to high school, one to junior high, and one had his first day of puppy school.

One of my goals when we first adopted our white lab was to make sure to have him well trained. I asked around and the name that kept coming up was Eric Letendre from Westport.

We showed up a few minutes early. I felt like the parent of a toddler showing up to a party, bag in hand filled with toys and distractions to keep Bo busy while we waited. I even brought his favorite treats to show the teacher what we had already taught our nearly 10-week old puppy boy.

It turns out, I really needed none of it. The first class was mostly about making a human game plan and teaching us about what to do. Very little of the education had to do with the dog.

Just like an eager kindergarten parent looking to show off all of the positive attributes of our little polar bear dog, I was disappointed when the puppy couldn't keep his eyes open when the training portion of the lesson was about to begin.

How could this be? How can I have the puppy that is falling asleep in class? He's going to get sent to the principal's office on his first day.

Luckily, the instructor was very nice and understanding and seemed to expect Bo to be sleeping most of the time. He sent the humans home with some homework to prepare for next week's lessons.

Bo made it through his first day of school. Up next? The real kids start tomorrow.