my dog ate my homework poem

Poems & Poets

My Doggy Ate My Homework

“My Doggy Ate My Homework.” © 2004 by Dave Crawley. Reprinted from If Kids Ruled the School (© 2004 by Meadowbrook Creations) with permission from Meadowbrook Press.

Source: If Kids Ruled the School (Meadowbrook Press, 2004)

1 Love Poems

School excuses: my dog ate my homework poems | 1lovepoems.

Unleash the Fun: My Dog Ate My Homework Poems

Welcome to 1LovePoems, where we take the classic excuse “my dog ate my homework” to the next level with a collection of hilarious and charming poems. Whether you’re looking for a silly rhyme to lighten the mood or a heartfelt verse to express your love for your furry friend, we’ve got you covered. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this range of poems about our four-legged homework helpers. Who knows, you may even find some inspiration for your next excuse!

Short Poems

1. “The Excuse” My dog ate my homework, I swear that it’s true, He gobbled it up, Before I even knew.

2. “The Apology” Dear Teacher, I’m sorry, My dog was to blame, He chewed up my homework, It’s my fault, I’m ashamed.

3. “The Confession” I’ll tell you the truth, My dog didn’t eat, I procrastinated, And now I’m a cheat.

4. “The Resolution” No more excuses, I’ll do it on time, Homework complete, And no more canine crime.

Medium Poems

1. “Excuses, Excuses”

My dog ate my homework, oh what a cliché, But when I walked in my room, I knew it was true all the way. The papers were scattered, a mess on the floor, My dog looked up, guilty as ever before.

I searched for a reason, an excuse that would stick, But I knew deep inside, I had only one trick. So I hung my head, and as tears filled my eyes, I said to my teacher, “I’m sorry, please don’t penalize.”

2. “Man’s Best Friend”

My dog ate my homework, I know it sounds absurd, But it’s true, I swear it, every single word. He’s my best friend, always by my side, But in that moment, he couldn’t resist his canine pride.

I begged and pleaded, to no avail, My homework was gone, beyond the pale. But as I looked at my dog, with his wagging tail, I realized it wasn’t his fault, he couldn’t help but prevail.

3. “The Last Straw”

My dog ate my homework, again and again, I couldn’t take it, I was driven insane. So I made a plan, to end this silly game, And prevent my dog from taking the blame.

I kept my homework far from his reach, And finally, he couldn’t quite breach. So now, when I hand in my work, I can finally breathe, without a quirk.

The Great Excuse

I’ll tell you a tale that’s hard to swallow, About a dog who ate my homework, oh so hollow. It may seem like an old cliche, But it really happened to me, I’m here today to say.

It was late at night, and I was feeling quite weary, I had a project due, and was feeling quite dreary, I had spent all night on the assignment at hand, But then I realized, I didn’t have a plan.

I knew I couldn’t make the midnight deadline, So, I decided to lie and say that I was just fine, I told my teacher a dog ate my paper, It sounded like a fib, it made them taper.

The teacher just rolled their eyes and said, You’d better have that homework done by next week or you’ll be dead. I was dumbfounded and didn’t know what to do, But then I thought of a plan, which I would pursue.

I went home and searched for the perfect pooch, It had to be a breed with a guilty rooch, I found the perfect one that very night, I named him “Homework,” and thought I was quite bright.

The next day, I walked into class with a grin, I had my homework in my hand, as I strolled in, My teacher couldn’t believe what they had seen, Homework wasn’t due for another week, it was just obscene.

But then the teacher noticed the bite marks and tears, The paper was in a million pieces, it brought tears, They looked at me and said, “This is ridiculous, it’s not your fault”, But I didn’t feel bad, I knew I had found the perfect vault.

As time went on, I’d always blame my pup, For eating my work, it became my go-to backup, I never got caught, not even once, My excuse was so believable, it was full of fun.

So, if you ever need an excuse to skip your homework, Just tell them your dog ate it, you’ll twist their mind cork, But be warned, it may become a bad habit, Your dog might become famous, and people might grab it.

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My Doggy Ate My Homework

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MY DOGGY ATE MY HOMEWORK - by Dave Crawley

"My doggy ate my homework. He chewed it up," I said. But when I offered my excuse My teacher shook her head.

I saw this wasn't going well. I didn't want to fail. Before she had a chance to talk, I added to the tale:

"Before he ate, he took my work And tossed it in a pot. He simmered it with succotash Till it was piping hot.

"He scrambled up my science notes With eggs and bacon strips, Along with sauted spelling words And baked potato chips.

"He then took my arithmetic And had it gently fried. He broiled both my book reports With pickles on the side.

"He wore a doggy apron As he cooked a notebook stew. He barked when I objected. There was nothing I could do."

"Did he wear a doggy chef hat?" My teacher gave a scowl. "He did," I said. "And taking it Would only make him growl."

My teacher frowned, but then I said As quickly as I could, "He covered it with ketchup, And he said it tasted good."

"A talking dog who likes to cook?" My teacher had a fit. She sent me to the office, And that is where I sit.

I guess I made a big mistake In telling her all that. 'Cause I dont have a doggy. It was eaten by my cat.

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My Dog Ate My Homework

One day I went into school Without my homework in my bag, I tried to explain to my teacher, My dog ate my homework However she wouldn’t listen, And sent me to my seat, I tried to do another sheet But the same thing happened to me. So, I went back to school, Without my homework sheet, So my teacher came home, Turned out she could change, The way my dog behaved! So I finally finished my homework, Much to my regret, Cos when I went back to school, I hadn’t finished my essays yet!

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My Dog Ate my Homework

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My Dog Chewed Up My Homework

by Bruce Lansky

I’m glad to say my homework’s done. I finished it last night. I’ve got it right here in this box. It’s not a pretty sight.

My dog chewed up my homework. He slobbered on it, too. So now my homework’s ripped to shreds and full of slimy goo.

It isn’t much to look at, but I brought it anyway. I’m going to dump it on your desk if I don’t get an A.

Copyright © 1996 Bruce Lansky.  From the book My Dog Ate My Homework . Meadowbrook Press. Reprinted by permission of the author.

About this Poem

“My dog chewed up my homework” is a common excuse used by students who don’t turn in their homework. Usually, it’s a fib to cover up the fact that the student watched TV or shot hoops the night before the homework was due. But what if it were true (I wondered). In this poem I concoct a scenario likely to be believed (and taken seriously) by the teacher.

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My Dog Does My Homework

A Funny Dog Poem for Kids

From the book When the Teacher Isn't Looking

My dog does my homework at home every night. He answers each question and gets them all right.

There’s only one problem with homework by Rover. I can’t turn in work that’s been slobbered all over.

 — Kenn Nesbitt

Copyright © 2005. All Rights Reserved.

Reading Level: Grade 2 Topics: Animal Poems , School Poems Poetic Techniques: Anthropomorphism & Personification , Descriptive Poems , Irony Word Count: 41

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My Dog Chewed up My Homework

I’m glad to say my homework’s done. I finished it last night. I’ve got it right here in this box. It’s not a pretty sight.

My dog chewed up my homework. He slobbered on it, too. So now my homework’s ripped to shreds and full of slimy goo.

It isn’t much to look at, but I brought it anyway. I’m going to dump it on your desk if I don’t get an A.

  — Bruce Lansky

Copyright © 2003. All Rights Reserved. From My Dog Ate My Homework . Running Press . Reprinted by permission of the author.

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From my dog ate my homework.

My Dog Ate My Homework is the first collection of Bruce Lansky’s own poetry. This book helped make Lansky’s reputation as a consistently entertaining poet with a unique voice and style. His poems are about someone named “I” or “me” who so resembles the readers, their siblings, friends, parents, pets, and teachers – they think Lansky is writing about them.

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About the Author

Bruce Lansky was first called “the King of Giggle Poetry” by the students of a school in North Miami Beach, Florida whose teacher “kidnapped” Lansky and forced him to perform at her school at needle point. The title refers to Lansky’s third poetry book:  A Bad Case of the Giggles . Altogether he has written or edited 20 humorous poetry and song books which have sold about 4 million copies. He visits schools, because he loves hanging out with kids (unfortunately, his grandchildren live in Sweden, so he only sees them once a year).

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Where Did The Phrase “The Dog Ate My Homework” Come From?

Dogs are known as man’s best friend. Dogs keep us safe, are hard workers … and can provide a handy excuse in a pinch. Maybe that’s why versions of the classic expression the dog ate my homework have been around for hundreds of years.

Today, the dog ate my homework is used as a stock example of the kind of silly excuses schoolchildren give for why their work isn’t finished. Very rarely do people say, “the dog ate my homework” and expect it to be taken literally; they use the expression as an example of a typically flimsy excuse.

So where did the phrase come from?

Forrest Wickman, a writer for Slate , describes the legend of the 6th-century Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise as the alleged first recorded “the dog ate my homework” story. According to the tale, Saint Ciarán had a tame young fox that would take his writings to his master for him. One day, the fox grew up and decided to eat the leather strap binding the writings together instead. Still, this tale is more Garden-of-Eden parable and less terrible schoolchild excuse.

The notion that dogs will eat just about anything, including paper, turns up in lots of stories over the centuries. An example comes from The Humors of Whist , published in 1808 in Sporting Magazine . In the story, the players are sitting around playing cards when one of them remarks that their companion would have lost the game had the dog not eaten the losing card. Good boy.

Some attribute the creation of the dog ate my homework to a joke that was going around at the beginning of the 20th century. In a tale found as far back as an 1894 memoir by Anglican priest Samuel Reynolds Hole, a preacher gives a shortened version of a sermon because a dog got into his study and ate some of the pages he had written. However, the clerk loved it because they had been wanting the preacher to shorten his sermons for years.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the first example of the dog ate my homework excuse in print can be found in a speech given by retiring headmaster James Bewsher in 1929 and published in the Manchester Guardian : “It is a long time since I have had the excuse about the dog tearing up the arithmetic homework.” The way this comment is phrased suggests that the whole dog ate my homework story had been around for some time before it was put in print.

When was the word homework created?

But in order for a dog to eat homework specifically, homework had to be invented (oh, and how we wish it hadn’t been). True, the word homework , as in what we call today housework , appears as early as 1653. But homework , as in school exercises to be done at home, isn’t found until 1852. Once we had homework , it was only a matter of time before the dog was accused of eating it.

How we use this phrase now

No matter the origin, sometime in the 1950s, the expression became set as the dog ate my homework . This inspired any number of riffs on the theme, like my cow ate my homework or my brother ate my homework . In the 1960s, the dog ate my homework continued to gain popularity. The expression popped up a couple times in politics over the years, like when President Reagan said to reporters in 1988, “I had hoped that we had marked the end of the ‘dog-ate-my-homework’ era of Congressional budgetry … but it was not to be.”

It seems unlikely that the dog ate my homework was ever used consistently or frequently by actual schoolchildren. In fact, it’s the unlikeliness of the story that makes it so funny and absurd as a joke. Instead, teachers and authority figures appear to have cited the dog ate my homework many times over the years as such a bad excuse they can’t believe students are really using it.

In the 21st century, students don’t spend as much time working with physical pen and paper as they once did. That may contribute to the decline in the use of the phrase. So, maybe soon we’ll see a new equally absurd phrase pop up. Come on Zoomers, you’ve got this.

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Linda's Book Bag

Loving books and reading, the dog ate my homework: and other poems for children by aaron james.

I’ve been lucky to feature several children’s books recently and am delighted to be reviewing  The Dog Ate My Homework: and other poems for children by Aaron James today. Getting children engaged in reading is so important in my view.

The Dog Ate My Homework: and other poems for children  is available for purchase here .

The Dog Ate My Homework: and other poems for children

The Dog Ate My Homework by Aaron James is a collection of short poems that will capture your imagination. Filled with fun stories that make you think, laugh and tell your friends. Do you remember your first day at school? Or when you tried to convince your teacher you actually done your homework? Or the excitement you felt when you bought your new pair of trainers? In The Dog Ate My Homework you will get a chance to read all these stories and many more!

My Review of The Dog Ate My Homework:

And other poems for children.

The Dog Ate My Homework contains five school themed poems for children.

I enjoyed this collection of school based poems because I think it covers themes that many children might feel anxious about in a reassuring and entertaining manner. The poems are about the first day at school (and I’d have liked that one first in the anthology as it marks the beginning of school life), having new trainers, school dinners, sports day and homework so that familiar aspects of school life can be discussed with children in a safe and positive way. Similarly, a range of emotions is presented from excitement to fear, affording a discussion with children without threat.

I also really liked the fact that the persona behind the poems is a boy as it can be difficult to engage boys in reading and with poetry in particular.

The language and rhyme schemes are simple enough for children to read the poems independently and because the poems are so well illustrated I think this would be a smashing collection to promote the enjoyment of reading. There’s enough substance for each poem to act as a story without a reluctant reader becoming bogged down.

The Dog Ate My Homework is a collection I really recommend.

About Aaron James

Born and raised in Tottenham, North London and today living in Bromley, South London with his wife, Aaron James works as a poet and spoken word artist. The Dog Ate My Homework is his first children’s poetry book.

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5 thoughts on “ the dog ate my homework: and other poems for children by aaron james ”.

I super idea for a poetry book for kids, Linda. I love it.

Like Liked by 1 person

I agree and poetry is so often ignored. Thanks for commenting Robbie.

Goodness, I’d love to read this book. I have the feelings grownups will chuckle and enjoy it as much as the children. Wish this book was around a few years ago, we always struggled to find suitable and fun poems to learn for school!

Sounds like a fun collection.

Yes, it is! I enjoyed it.

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The dog ate my homework : poems about school

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