5 Tips on How to Help your Dog Transition to your New Work Schedule
5 Tips on How to Help Your Dog Transition to Your Return to Work
As the world begins to ease back into normalcy, we’re all looking forward to congregating with our loved ones and returning to our daily routine. For many of us, that means the return to work and daily work schedule.
It is crucial that we take our dog’s well being into consideration as we return to work this season. They have become closer to us during the 2020 quarantine and a sudden detachment or schedule change can cause a range of issues from separation anxiety and depression to aggression with other people and dogs.
To help you make the transition smoother for you and your dog, we recommend these 5 tips:
Build up their tolerance to alone time
Just like you, your dogs need time to adjust to new things. Start by leaving them home alone or at dog daycare for short periods of time before leaving them for a full day. Dogs don’t tell time, so it’s hard for them to know how long you’ve been gone and if you’ll ever return. Starting with shorter periods alone will help them understand that you are always going to come back when you leave.
Try to build up to a full day over at least 2 weeks, in order to make the return to work feel like a smooth transition instead of a stark change.
Set your dog up for success
A happy dog is loved, mentally stimulated, socialized, and exercised. If you leave your young dog home alone while they are full of energy, you're setting them up for failure. With so much extra energy and no one to interact with, they will start to take matters into their own hands.
If you have to leave them at home all day, getting them out for a long walk or intense run before you leave for work can really help keep them calm the rest of the day. It can also be helpful to keep them contained in a smaller space, and to leave toys they can’t ingest easily, like hard bones or antlers.
Have someone check in
If your friends and neighbors aren't around, try out Wag! for on-demand dog-walking services. If you have a trusted neighbor or family member who can help you out, that’s also ideal. Even 30-60 minutes of activity and socialization in the middle of the day can make a huge difference in your dog’s overall mood and health.
Try out a dog daycare
Dog daycare has many benefits for your pup and you. It can give you peace of mind so you won't need to worry about an anxious or destructive dog at home alone. Dogs are very stimulated when they go to daycare, both mentally and physically. Having that level of social interaction can help them better interact with dogs and humans outside of daycare. It can also help them stay healthier and happier. Dogdrop is a new kind of dog daycare that is based around convenience and flexibility. You can drop off your dog for just an hour or all day.
Check out DOGTV
DOGTV has created scientifically designed programs based around a dog’s daily cycle. They claim to provide your dog with stimulation through playful animated sequences, relaxation through calming scenes and soothing sounds, and exposure to the outside world. Although keeping your dog entertained with DOGTV will definitely help prevent boredom behavior as you return to work, not enough research has been conducted on its benefits to relieve separation anxiety. It still doesn’t hurt to try this fun, technological method of dog entertainment!
We hope these tips will help ease the return to work for both you and your dog. Whether you decide to have someone from Wag! check in while you’re away, drop them off at a dog daycare like Dogdrop in Los Angeles, or if you decide to try out DOGTV.
If you’re based in LA, try Dogdrop’s services free for a full week. Just schedule a Good Fit Test to get started.