Back to School Blues

Kyle and I are alive. We've been absent from the blog sphere, but busy as can be in real life. It's pointless to play catch up on everything we've been doing, but I have to include a back to school post.

All summer I fretted about how Kyle would do at work this year. Last year he was fine, but Kyle is a lot more energetic and vocal now. I wasted a lot of my energy worrying for nothing because Kyle has been great! He spends most of his time at school tied down to my desk quietly sleeping.

(Kyle uses my backpack for a pillow whenever he gets the chance. Some things never change.)

Every now and then Kyle gives up on the idea of sleeping and decides to watch the class instead. This always brings a smile to my face and the face of any student who notices him.

(Kyle stretched under my desk so that he can see the classroom of students. I guess he enjoys people watching.)

Although Kyle is normally great at school, sometimes his patience wears thin. On the Friday of the first full week of school Kyle decided he had enough. During the last class of the day, he pulled my desk with him as he tried to escape. It's a heavy desk, so he is one strong dog!

(Kyle pulled the corner of the desk about two feet in an attempt to get free. I laughed, pushed the desk back, and he's been fine ever since.)

Being back at school has provided Kyle with all types of training challenges. The halls are so crowded and littered with food that the poor boy is back in a head collar for a bit. (Teach me to brag.) He is improving by leaps and bounds at walking through huge crowds. I have a habit of pushing through groups of kids so that I can get where I am headed, and Kyle likes to help me part the red sea. It helps that Kyle is on a no petting rule until October 1 so that he could get used to focusing on me in the chaos. My students are counting down the days until then.

After Kyle escaped from me while I was talking to a librarian after school one day, I've decided to put more practice into an off-leash down. You have to know, the escape was my fault. See, I was stepping on Kyle's leash and using my hands to talk, and I didn't pay attention and must have moved my foot. Kyle took that opportunity to go make friends with students in the hall outside the library. Now, I've been practicing for a few seconds at a time in my classroom to try and avoid that mishap again. Thus far Kyle is doing wonderfully.

(Kyle is in a down stay in my classroom after school. Note the open classroom door. On a side note, I love my wall of books in the back corner. One student told me my classroom looks like a library. I can't think of a better complement.)

The most important thing about the school year is that the Kyle fan club is alive and strong. Even with the no petting rule, students have fallen in love with Kyle. Rarely a day goes by when I don't meet new students just because of my awesome puppy.

In his first paper of the year, one student wrote, "A good example of perseverance is (insert my name here) who chooses to train the dogs for the blind. I am sure that she gets mad and that she has times when she wants to give the dog to someone else to train but she perseveres." I love it. Thankfully the "mad" moments with Kyle are nothing compared to the happy moments.

Finally, cartoon Kyle is still making appearances on my white board. This drawing perfectly captures Kyle's pathetic after school face. He knows when it is time to go home.

(A green puppy drawing. I love the head between the paws and the sad eyes. Next to the drawing, Kyle is thinking, "I go home now? Pwease?")