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Original poster

WFH with puppy - where?!

27 replies

goldeline · 20/11/2023 19:41

I have a lovely 11 week old golden retriever puppy. After taking the first week off to bond with her, I'm now just over a week into attempting to work from home whilst she's here. My desk is upstairs, and she has free roam of the open plan kitchen/playroom downstairs, where her crate is.

I've been working from the sofa in the playroom a majority of the time as she's understandably upset when I'm not around. This is difficult as I'm stuck with my laptop only, and I need several monitors to work effectively.

I'm contemplating moving my desk downstairs so that I'm with her during the day, but I'm worried that she'd then get so used to having me around, it'll be harder for her to be alone in future.

I'm guessing there are a lot of MNetters working from home with puppies, so hopefully someone can give me some advice.

Thanks!

OP posts:
KateyCuckoo · 20/11/2023 19:43

Can't you put a bed next to your desk? Food, water and toys downstairs so she knows upstairs is the place to be calm.

Original poster
goldeline · 20/11/2023 19:45

She naps well by herself downstairs and I'd worry about her having lots of toilet accidents if she was upstairs, as it's not right by the garden. Also, if she did need to go out I couldn't leave a meeting to carry her downstairs and take her out.

My desk is in my bedroom and there are lots of non-dog safe things there, so that would be a concern too.

OP posts:
gofullpelt · 20/11/2023 19:51

She's still very young and needs to get used to you not being around, but only in very short bursts to start with.

Does she nap in her crate?

When mine are little I tend to work downstairs but crate train them so they're happy to nap in there. Then I start working upstairs for periods of time while they nap in the crate.

It's a bit of a pain as I have to swap rooms through the day but I only have to carry my laptop and headset up and down.

Once they're older and more relaxed I just work upstairs and pop down for toilet/tea/puppy play breaks.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 20/11/2023 19:57

My puppy is 15 weeks nearly, and I wfh 4 days a week. She goes to puppy club on day 5.
my set up is I work downstairs. Pup has a crate in an adjoining room. We get up at 6 for breakfast, walk, play, etc. Once I log on at 9 she has about half an hour- an hour mooching about in with me, then she does 2 hours in her crate and she sleeps the whole time. Come out 11.30/ 12, she eats at 12, then we have a walk at lunch. Then she does another 2 hour nap. If my dd is home then she will play with her for an hour or so, I do toilet breaks during her awake time but she does ask to go out so she just lets me know and we go outside. I log off at 5 and then she has lots of attention from me and the children. Her daytime is pretty quiet, I reward quiet. We’re about to invest in a pen so we can give her a section of the room that’s a safe place where she doesn’t need to be completely in her crate but to be honest she is pretty chilled in there. She goes there by choice in the evenings when we’re around.
the Days are a bit of a logistical task but generally I manage to get most of my calls around her nap times and my company are pretty chilled. We’ve got things like sniffy mats and enrichment games for when I really need her to behave!

all that being said- it’s still hard and I do look forward to the time when she isn’t into everything.

Riverlee · 20/11/2023 19:57

We couldn’t leave our pup alone free roaming in the house. Even at one we don’t completely trust him to be downstairs alone. He is a lot calmer, but not totally trustworthy.(possibly you have a safer space).

idontlikealdi · 20/11/2023 20:16

11 weeks?! You know why you can't work from home effectively with a baby, you've just got a big furry one...

tizwozliz · 20/11/2023 20:17

I spent the first 4 months or so working downstairs from the kitchen with both my labs when they were puppies. It's not caused any issues long term. They both soon learned that I'm quite boring when sat at a computer.

Original poster
goldeline · 20/11/2023 20:18

She sleeps in her crate at night but we haven't enforced it during the day. The rooms she has access to are safe - everything is out of her reach for now, anyway. I do have a pen but it hasn't been used yet.

She just has so much energy when she's awake so is constantly nibbling at me whilst I'm working. I do make sure I give her play time when I can take a break, and she has a lot of enrichment toys etc. maybe it'll get easier in a few days when I can take her out for walks..

Thanks for all the replies.

OP posts:
Original poster
goldeline · 20/11/2023 20:19

I know she's a baby. And she's getting loads love/attention, just trying to work out the best set up for us both.

OP posts:
PinotPony · 20/11/2023 21:08

Your new puppy needs, beyond all else, to be prepared for when its going to be left completely alone because everyone is at work, at school, or out socially. Separation anxiety, and ‘various being alone disorders’ are rife after lockdown.

This isn’t easy but I would beg you to consider any or all of the following:

•	Leave the puppy at home some days. Absolutely don’t all walk the dog every day, especially not multiple times. Go for a walk, cycle, whatever, enjoy it, and leave Fido at home to learn that he doesn’t always have company, and that is from day ONE of him coming home.

•	Put the puppy in its crate, kennel, or quiet room, for periods during the day even when you are home. Ask children to leave it be, and don’t respond to wailing and complaining (from children OR puppy!) Do this for an hour or two at LEAST once or twice a day. They need the skill set of being contained and again, ‘not part of everything all the time’. Go out in the garden and potter about. Go upstairs. Go read a book. Put pup away when you need to do office work.

•	Put the pup in your car and leave it on the drive/in a safe place you can basically see. I’m not advocating vehicles on the road, away from your home of course, BUT pop pup in, (preferably of course you would be travelling it in a crate, so your interior is safe, but basically its normal place in the car – No dog should EVER be travelling loose on the back or front seats…..), and, again, pop a carrot or biscuit in, and then, with suitable ventilation, just teach it sometimes to be on its own. Don’t leave stuff in with it to entertain it for hours. If you do that it really won’t understand that the point is that its LEARNING to do nothing. To be alone and a bit bored. To GO TO SLEEP.

None of this stuff is cruel, dangerous, or teasing the dog. Its PROPER lifeskills that they absolutely need.

BigBundleOfFluff · 20/11/2023 21:52

I have a Goldie too! I moved both monitors, base laptop keyboards etc downstairs to my kitchen table - within running distance to my back door. Her crate is in the kitchen too. Pup only had the back of my house to live in for the first 6 months.
At first she slept in her crate, then by my feet then wherever she felt like it.
She's realised now I'm ultra boring when working and just pads in when I'm opening the fridge. I've moved back upstairs to my study and she has the run of the house now - I did that when she was a year, she checks up on me but tbh - I more wander down to her for company.
I have indoor cameras everywhere so I can see if she's silently waiting at the back door for a pee.
It was worth not having a kitchen table for a year- a bit annoying yes but I'd do the same again for the next pup

ilovesushi · 20/11/2023 22:47

I think you are going to have to either move her into your work space or you move into her space. She'll probably settle fine and sleep a lot if she has the reassurance of you being there. When mine was a pup and I was wfh, I moved into the kitchen where her pen and bed were. She cottoned on very quickly that I was boring and not worth bothering about when I was on a zoom call or sitting at the island. In breaks I'd do some short training sessions or games with her. It worked well. Now when I'm wfh, she'll spend some time with me but equally she'll go and lie by the window to look out or settle on the sofa.

Original poster
goldeline · 20/11/2023 23:08

Thanks everyone. I think I'll move my desk down temporarily until she's big enough to be allowed around the whole house.

For those who worked in the same room as puppy, have you experienced any separation anxiety when leaving puppy home alone for short periods?

OP posts:
SpringingJoy · 20/11/2023 23:17

For those who worked in the same room as puppy, have you experienced any separation anxiety when leaving puppy home alone for short periods?

I worked from home from when ddog was 8 weeks. She wasnt ever left for ages and ages. I view puppies the same as babies - you can't spoil them by being too present, you just instil a sense of security which follows them into adulthood.

Ddog is 16 months now and absolutely comfortable at being left alone now for several hours when needed, even though its not very often.

Never say goodbye on leaving. Never greet them on returning. Best advice I was given. Although actually feels rude and a bit mean when you do it 😂

RandomButtons · 20/11/2023 23:22

Don’t take her upstairs- golden retrievers are prone to hip problems and climbing up and down stairs can exacerbate that.

She’s a big shark teeth fluffy baby. You’ll have to set up downstairs for the time being and gradually increase your time away from her over the coming months. Same as you would with a human baby.

SpringingJoy · 20/11/2023 23:24

And for goodness sake please ignore every single word of @PinotPony . Leave them alone regularly from day one. Lock them in a crate for two hours a day just to prove you can. Leave them alone in the car on the drive for the same reason.

Some of the worst advice about puppy raising I've ever read. Especially leaving a tiny puppy alone from day one which would be awfully cruel and more likely to result in an anxious, neurotic mess of a dog.

Singleandproud · 20/11/2023 23:29

Is your TV in a position that you could use that as a second monitor? I often attach mine to my laptop if I want to work standing up instead of sat down or if I'm in meetings where I only have to listen and am mostly camera off.

bluejelly · 20/11/2023 23:34

There's a brilliant Facebook group called Dog Training Advice and Support. You can post questions and qualified vets answer. They are amazing and I've learnt so much from them. They also have a book and lots of guides.

Lastqueenofscotland2 · 21/11/2023 06:52

Some of the advice further up is… yikes.

Leaving dogs far too soon and far too young is far more likely to create separation anxiety.

LeafDancing · 21/11/2023 06:52

I moved my desk downstairs when we had the puppy. Plus we used a large crate in different room covered in a blanket for daytime naps every day, that worked well for important on camera calls as well if I timed it right her mid morning nap usually. I had a range of toys including frozen kongs & frozen licki mats were great for occupying pup I’m not gonna lie though the first six months juggling puppy and wfh is hard but fun. My colleagues didn’t mind seeing her when she tried to say hello to camera. Plus I was sitting close to back door so could let her in / out very frequently which is ideal when toilet training good luck your have fun juggling. Gets easier after a year 🤣

ilovesushi · 21/11/2023 08:04

Our pup was a late lockdown pup and I was wfh with her mainly in the same room when I was working, but we never had any separation anxiety issues. She is a goldie lab cross. We built her up slowly to being left for periods. I used to leave a licky mat with peanut butter on or a stuffed kong, and leave the radio on at a soft volume, and close her in the kitchen where she couldn't come to any harm or cause any damage. She was fine. At 6 months she started at a lovely doggy daycare two days a week. No issues whatsoever settling. She is a lovely confident doggo. I never leave her home alone for more than about three or four hours because I don't need to, but I am always absolutely confident that she is okay. If I do need longer the neighbours pop in to let her out for a wee or sometimes take her back to their house.

Newpeep · 21/11/2023 08:33

My OH WFH with our puppy. We dog proofed our main room and he moved his work station onto the table. It will be months until pup can be ok on her own (genuinely) so just go for the least stress option.

BigBundleOfFluff · 21/11/2023 08:41

For those who worked in the same room as puppy, have you experienced any separation anxiety when leaving puppy home alone for short periods?

Not at all. I 100% wfh and although I don't need to leave pup for long it's fine when i do. In fact, I'd say my pups no 1 talent is settling and being at peace with herself /content. As a breed, goldies are happy go lucky confident dogs but even still, you being around all the time, ensuring it's needs are met is brilliant for developing a secure connection.

I have moved my desk upstairs now and it is nice to get my kitchen table back but you get used to it. My biggest issue was that I was a little too close to my fridge and snacks...!

VWT5 · 21/11/2023 08:45

I would echo what PinotPony says exactly.
I used to have multiple dogs staying, looked after for prolonged periods.
There was only ever one single dog, (in probably a total approaching 100) where I had to decline the owner further stays.
It was because the owner had allowed the dog to be at her feet 24/7 under her desk since it was a puppy…it had never once in it’s life been alone.
Absolutely let him see the crate as his safe, quiet space, independence in a playpen, and teaching him over time that he can be happy in his own company when you are not there.

Newpeep · 21/11/2023 09:04

Well my older pup is obviously broken and highly unusual as she has total access to one or both of us pretty much all of the time and sleeps in our room (so she doesn't bother our cat) and she is an independent madam who chooses to take herself off to sleep or play and is in no way clingy. nor does she follow us around once she hit the 7/8 month mark. Unless she thinks she is getting something of course ;). We've just started more formal alone training as she has shown she's not bothered if we pop in and out and it's so far going well.

In short, no, being with them does not make a clingy and anxious dog but genetics and being left alone too long too soon absolutely can.