“Rascal sounds like a handful.” Maria offered Lizzie a Fig Newton from her lunch bag.

“He is,” Lizzie said. She took the cookie and started nibbling off the edges. Then she sighed. “I hate to admit it, but I’m not even sure what to do with him next.” She had already given up on the training diary. It was just too upsetting to have to write down every naughty thing Rascal did. Dealing with Rascal was a full-time job, and after only two days it was wearing her out. Being at school was almost like a vacation.

“Maybe you just need a break,” Maria said. “I have a riding lesson after school. I bet Kathy could fit you in if you wanted to come.”

Lizzie shook her head and popped the last bite of Fig Newton into her mouth. “I can’t,” she said, scrunching up her lunch bag. “We signed Rascal up for puppy kindergarten and it starts today.”

“Puppy kindergarten?” Maria laughed. “What do they do, finger-paint and play with blocks?”

Lizzie giggled, picturing puppies tracking finger-paint all over. Or would that be paw-paint? What a mess! “No, it’s just a series of classes to teach puppies basic obedience, like how to sit and walk on a leash. They also get used to being around other dogs. It’ll be fun.”

And it did look like fun when Lizzie and Charles arrived at puppy kindergarten later that day. Dad dropped them off at the Littleton recreation center, promising to come back in time to watch the last ten minutes of class.

Rascal pulled hard at the leash when he heard the sound of barking dogs. He practically dragged Charles up the stairs. “Hey!” Charles yelled. “Take it easy!”

“Looks like someone needs to learn some leash manners,” said a college-age girl who was arriving at the same time. She stuck out her hand. “I’m Jamie, your teacher. And this is —?”

“Rascal,” Lizzie said. “We signed him up yesterday. We just got him on Saturday.”

“Oh, right,” said Jamie. “You’re the family that’s been fostering puppies. Charles and Lizzie Peterson, right? I’ve heard all about you. Isn’t one of your puppies going to be a guide dog?”

Charles and Lizzie exchanged a look. They were getting famous for fostering puppies! Cool. Lizzie nodded. “That was Shadow,” she said. “Our last foster pup.”

“That’s awesome,” said Jamie. “Good for you.”

She pushed open the door to the gym, and the barking got louder. “Oh, wow,” Lizzie said when she saw all the puppies. There were six of them — no, seven! Eight! They were running and tumbling and wrestling and biting one another. One of them, a tiny brown dachshund, was peeing in the corner while its owner chatted with the owner of a baby bulldog.

“Oops,” Lizzie said, pointing to the mess.

Jamie shrugged and pulled a roll of paper towels out of her tote bag. “It’s all part of puppy kindergarten,” she said.

“You can let Rascal off his leash,” Jamie added as she headed over to clean up the puddle. “We keep the door shut so the puppies can play safely when they first arrive. That way they burn off some energy.”

“But —” Lizzie began. She wasn’t sure how Rascal would get along with other dogs. They had decided to wait a few more days before introducing him to Goldie and Rufus.

“Just keep an eye on him!” Jamie called as she went to talk to another owner.

“Okay, Rascal, here you go!” Charles said, removing the leash.

Yahoo! Freedom at last! That leash thing was horrible. Didn’t they understand that he needed to run and play? Plus, he had a job to do. He had to let all these other dogs know who was in charge.

The second he was free, Rascal dashed away, zooming around the gym. He ran up to one puppy after another, pouncing on each of them and making it clear that he was the boss. The tiny dachshund pounced right back, but the bigger bulldog trembled in fear, backing up against his owner’s legs. Next Rascal jumped on a black Lab puppy, and a German shepherd with gigantic ears, and two poodles, one black and one white. Rascal stole a squeaky football toy from a shaggy black pup and chased a funny corgi puppy with short legs under the bleachers.

Lizzie and Charles chased all over the gym after Rascal, trying to keep him from scaring the other puppies. “Rascal!” Lizzie cried. “Be nice!”

“Come on, Rascal,” Charles pleaded. “Can’t you be friendly?”

Soon Lizzie was completely out of breath.

“Okay, everybody, let’s leash our pups and get started,” Jamie called from the middle of the gym floor.

“Ha,” said Charles. “Like that’s going to be easy.” He and Lizzie had already learned that it was tricky to catch Rascal if he didn’t want to be caught.

“Come here, you!” Lizzie said. She tried to grab Rascal as he flew past her toward the cowardly bulldog. It was so embarrassing. All the other owners were already standing in a big circle with their puppies. They were ready to work.

Finally, Jamie snuck up on Rascal while he was trying to wrestle with the shaggy black puppy. She hung on to his collar until Lizzie could snap his leash on. “Thanks,” Lizzie said, blushing.

“No problem,” Jamie said. “He’s just a wild child. That’s why he’s at puppy kindergarten, right?” She smiled at Lizzie.

But an hour later, she wasn’t smiling as much. Rascal barked when Jamie was trying to talk, chased the other puppies during leash-walking practice, and tried three more times to steal the black puppy’s squeaky toy. “Rascal,” Jamie finally said, “I think you need a time-out.” She asked Lizzie and Charles to take him outside for a few minutes and let him “cool down.”

Lizzie almost didn’t want to go back inside when the time-out was up. But Rascal needed training, and Lizzie needed help! “I’m really sorry,” she said to Jamie when class was finally over. “Maybe we shouldn’t come back next time.” Was Rascal going to be a kindergarten dropout?

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Jamie said. “You should definitely keep trying. Believe me, I’ve seen worse. He’ll learn!”

Lizzie was starting to wonder about that.