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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

What does your dog do all day?

62 replies

Chipshopflipshop · 10/02/2023 10:06

We have a 20month old old cockapoo, we rescued her as a puppy so she's been with us since she was 3 months.
She's always been full on as cockapoos tend to be, needy, hard to tire, and basically just the third child in our house. We got her after all the lockdowns but I was still WFH everyday so spent a lot of time with her, although as time went by I went to the office more so she's used to being alone.
Now I'm working in the office and home 50/50, the days I'm at home she is a torture. She never likes down and sleeps, always hoking about, pawing at me, staring at me, it's driving me nuts!! She gets an hour off lead walk in the morning and again when I finish for the day at 4pm plus a bit of training with the ball, but I honestly believe she thinks that my only purpose in life should be to walk her. She has loads of enrichment toys, snuffle mat, puzzles, chews etc but she just walks around aimlessly like a caged animal, she doesn't want to go outside either.

So tell me, what does your dog do while your WFH? What am I doing wrong??

She's the best dog in other ways, so friendly and well trained, great recall etc

OP posts:
Chipshopflipshop · 10/02/2023 10:07

I should say she's never left alone for more than 4 hours and I have a dog walker and family who come and play with her etc so she's well entertained even when I'm not here

OP posts:
BiteyShark · 10/02/2023 10:11

Mine sleeps on the sofa next to my desk. He gets a morning walk off lead for an hour and the odd ball thrown for him in the garden but he doesn't really pester me until about late afternoon time when he knows I should be finishing work.

He is 6 though so has had plenty of experience of being ignored whilst I work.

The weekend is a different story and he demands much more attention.

Jeni1206 · 10/02/2023 10:21

Mine is 5 months so quite a bit younger but I also WFH and it is a struggle! I take him for a good walk in the morning and then he sleeps from 10-12 ish, where I cram in as much work as possible. He then potters about from about 12-1 ish where I attempt a bit more work. Then a walk again, after which he'll have another nap, where I frantically work a bit more before kids come home!
I'm lucky that he naps when he does, but he does need a good walk before each one.

MavisFlump · 10/02/2023 10:34

My rescue is 2. She gets a long walk in the morning, sleeps for several hours when she gets back, plays around on and off for a couple of hours, has another sleep, gets another shorter walk late afternoon, has her meal and mostly sleeps all evening.
I’ve been training her to settle otherwise she’ll pester for food/play/walks all day.

2dogs1braincell · 10/02/2023 10:36

Maybe look at training an “off switch”
There are ways to teach your dog that they need to just chiiiiillllllll out. Lucky with mine cause they’re happy to snooze 80% of their day but that’s sighthounds for you.

kenadams86 · 10/02/2023 10:37

I have a 16 month rescue working cocker. He gets 2 decent walks a day and is rarely left alone because he hates it. Occasionally left for an hour but otherwise he comes on school runs and we are in and out during the day pottering and getting jobs done - so i suppose he's stimulated a lot. When we are home though he will just curl up on the sofa and sleep, but if I get up he will follow me. he's a good boy for his age and for what he's been through x

Tirednest · 10/02/2023 10:39

Has breakfast and goes oit for a poo and wee. Comes into work with me and spends the day mugging the girls in the office for treats. Sleeps. Walks for an hour at lunchtime. Sleeps. Walks for 30 mins in the evening. Hides from the horses. Barks at squirrels. Comes home. Sleeps. Watches TV on the sofa with me.

Tirednest · 10/02/2023 10:40

Mine are fairly old - 11 and 12.

AnotherAppleThief · 10/02/2023 10:41

2.5 year old Cockerpoo here. He's different around dh and I, dh is the fun one and the one who walks him and he rarely leaves dh alone! I'm the one who feeds and trains him and with him all day as I work from home and he's an angel! He sleeps, watches me work or do chores, I play with him of course but he has an off switch with me that he doesn't seem to have with dh.

Notplayingball · 10/02/2023 10:42

Sleeps mainly. But I have a giant breed that isn't that energetic - I wouldn't be able to cope with a high energy breed!

One 20-30 minute walk in morning, one 20-30 minute walk in the evening and she is happy.

Mumsafan · 10/02/2023 10:43

Our dog mainly sleeps. He moves around the house sleeping in different positions and places. if someone comes to the door or posts something through the door he jumps up from his slumber and legs it to the door barking furiously.

This is only during the cooler months.

During the summer the back door is always open and he wanders in and out at leisure , sometimes sunbathing, sometimes just sitting on garden furniture.

He has one decent walk a day, often off the lead and chasing balls etc.

At sometime between 4 and 5 he positions himself on the stairs so he can see out of the front hall window to watch for my husband returning from work , and then he whines until I let him out to run to the van where he sits in the van for 5 minutes, comes back in, gets a chew from my husband and resumes sleeping.

He likes to go to bed at 10pm each night and lets us know about it.

He is 13 this year but he has been like this since he was a puppy.

He also spends lots of time having his photo taken by me .

devildeepbluesea · 10/02/2023 10:49

3-ish rescued crossbreed, probably poodle in there. We have a walk in the morning when he has ball fun so he’s nice and tired. Bit of brekkie then snooze. He’ll come for a cuddle occasionally then a quick trot for a pee at lunchtime. He’s fine then til he starts bothering me for an afternoon walk in the woods when he has a good chase and bark at all the squirrels.

Home, snooze, tea, snooze, bed.
He lives the life of Riley.

Tirednest · 10/02/2023 10:53

He likes to go to bed at 10pm each night and lets us know about it

Our lab does this, although it's at 9pm on the dot

lovemypuppa · 10/02/2023 11:06

Have you tried crating him and not engaging at all - not even eye contact? As long as he's had a good hour in the morning, it should be doable. My dog gets excited if I even look at her, so I learned to ignore. She's a giant bred and low energy but was still challenging and the staring at me was very annoying. I dont crate her as she's too big but have a sharp 'no' command/tone and she knows she's getting no attention so goes and lies down. It's tough 'being tough' sometimes but it does work if you're consistent.

KILM · 10/02/2023 11:13

18 month cocker spaniel here and I trained her out of this by sticking a baby gate between me and her during the day, and taking away some of her toys so she only has two. She was overstimulated- now she sleeps mostly

KILM · 10/02/2023 11:15

Also might be controversial... but I find ours doesn't settle if I give her a walk before work, its like it wakes her up too much - a cockerpoo doesn't need 2 hours a day, you are training it to need 2 hours when a good hour is enough - maybe drop the morning walk for a bit or take her for a quick one at lunch instead?

Bunnyfuller · 10/02/2023 11:19

Up, breakfast, several laps of the garden (big garden) onto the sofa in the room I work, sleep, up for some lunchtime barking/begging. Plays for about an hour (chasing squirrels/pigeons) more begging/sleep, kids in go nuts for an hour, dinner, sex with toy, sleep.

also has a fondness for joining Teams calls. Mine is a pug, aged 6

familyissues12345 · 10/02/2023 11:36

We've got a 5 year old and she spends all day either asleep or sat in the front window getting arsey with anyone who has the audacity of walking past her house (she's part schnauzer...)

She gets a lunch walk and an evening one and we've just started using a dog walker on a Wednesday so that she gets time to socialise with other dogs

familyissues12345 · 10/02/2023 11:37

Bunnyfuller · 10/02/2023 11:19

Up, breakfast, several laps of the garden (big garden) onto the sofa in the room I work, sleep, up for some lunchtime barking/begging. Plays for about an hour (chasing squirrels/pigeons) more begging/sleep, kids in go nuts for an hour, dinner, sex with toy, sleep.

also has a fondness for joining Teams calls. Mine is a pug, aged 6

Sex with toy Grin

WaggyTailsWetNoses · 10/02/2023 12:45

Two working Labs here, aged 2 and 8 months. They are a bit of a nightmare first thing, and either tumble about playing or look for trouble before breakfast. They have either an hour walk first thing with DH or a 3 hour group session with a walker, who incorporates lots of gundog activities etc. On those days puppy has a lunchtime 40 minute lead walk.

Apart from that, they spend their lives asleep in their bed or on the sofa. Puppy likes to bimble about the garden digging up things she shouldn't. About three times a day, they go a bit nuts for quarter of an hour, chasing each other about. Then they resume the snoozing.

We chose working Labs because we wanted a working dog, but one with an off switch. I don't think your problem is rare in spaniel owners!

Maybe try some scentwork/ retrieval games a couple of times a day to tire her brain out?

Mummyme87 · 10/02/2023 12:49

I have a mini daxie and she sleeps alllllll day. Always with one eye open however. She moves from one sleeping spot to the other sporadically

dinmin · 10/02/2023 12:56

Cockapoo here too! Try a calm sniffy on lead walk instead in the morning? Our dog was struggling to settle at the start of the working day when we were wfh as got too revved up by the off lead shenanigans. Then home for a snuffle mat / other calm enriching breakfast and then settle on a bed? Ours now basically has walk and breakfast and then just snoozes under desk / in room where one of us is working. Follows us to the kitchen etc if we go to get a drink or for lunch or whey develops whatever but then just lies down there too. Barks at the door going for deliveries etc but otherwise mostly just chills while we work.

If you think she’s after your attention, behaviourist suggested we do two minutes of training every hour (where possible) so dog is getting regular attention from you for the right reasons. Would that work?

Nap1983 · 10/02/2023 12:56

2yr old lab here. Gets up greets everyone like he’s never seen them, has breakie, back to sleep, least an hours walk In Morning around 9-10am, sleep till lunch then sleep, quick walk about 4ish then dinner. He’s left a few evenings alone for a few hours then walked again in evening. He goes with a dog walker a few days for socialising and these days he prob only goes one other walk.

Badger1970 · 10/02/2023 13:00

I've got 2 spaniels, 9 and 4. Both have a good hour long walk before breakfast, then spend the day snoozing under my desk at work and trying to get our staff at work to give them a biscuit. Then another hour long walk when we get home, tea and snooze all night on the sofas!

EdithStourton · 10/02/2023 13:02

Morning walk, breakfast, sleep.
Odd check on the humans to see what they're up to. Instant arrival in kitchen if they hear anything.
Short lunchtime walk. Sleep.
Afternoon walk - training time.
Their dinner, sleep.
Supervisory duties in kitchen, our dinner, sleep.

If we do anything, they tend to materialise, but otherwise, apart from the odd check to make sure we know they're alive, and more active checks if walk-time is approaching, they sleep.

High-drive gundogs, aged 2 and 6.