What do you do with your dog during the day?

[Nucon]

We got our dog 7 years ago when I was working from home permanently. Fast forward 4 years and I was made redundant and had to get a job where I'm in the office full time. My in laws used to have him round theirs during the day with their dogs but they have since split up and this now isn't possible

He started going to day care but we agreed with the daycare owner not to bring him back after a couple of days as he wasn't getting on with their resident in tact male dog and didn't want to risk things escalating. He currently comes to work with me 5 days a week and is upstairs in my office with me but I don't think this is suitable for him for much longer as he gets stressed by the noise of people coming and going downstairs and it's really winding him up

Daycare round here is around £35/£40 a day on average which would be a real struggle for 5 days a week and I'm not sure what we would do if there was another dog he didn't get on with. I'm out of the house for 8.5 hours a day which obviously is far too long to leave him so I'm starting to wonder what our options really are

I take mine to work with me but he's well behaved. Would a crate at work help?

A mixture - sometimes he comes to work with me (I'm a dog walker), sometimes he goes with DH who's self-employed and works outdoors half the time, and the other days he goes to my FIL who spoils him rotten! I'm normally finished by 2, so if he's not with me I'll go and collect him from DH or FIL.

DH sometimes has days off in the week too in which case the dog just stays home with him.

If he's struggling at work with you and you can't afford daycare, what about a dog walker to come in at lunchtime?

@Thommasina he does have his crate set up in the corner behind my desk which he is happy to go in, and he's got chews and toys to play with. It's just that he gets stressed and has periods of barking & growling when he hears the door go or hears people talking downstairs or coming up the stairs. Some days this won't be at all but others it could be up to 15/20 times a day which doesn't seem very fair on him making him so on edge

I am no expert but if he's calm and waggy at other times then I wouldn't worry too much about barking if it's contained barking.

Barking and growling like that isn't great, but it can easily be worked on. Can you work on distracting him or giving him some brain games or something for stimulation?

8 hours in one room even with company is a long time - does he get any walks or anything or is he just in the room with you all day?

I do take mine on a 40 minute walk every lunchtime which we both like. Then a couple of trips outside during the day.

@coffeesaveslives I do a lot of work on distracting him with treats but a lot of the time after I've distracted him and think I've done it long enough he'll bark again. We've been working with a trainer for ages but it's been slow progress. The only issue with this is sometimes people are coming upstairs to speak to me so it's hard to distract him and be at the top of the stairs talking to someone if that makes sense so it's really hard to be completely consistent with it

He comes outside with me for a sniff around and quick toilet break every hour or so, and at lunch time we go for a walk for 30 minutes. I have looked at getting a dog walker at lunch time but that would only solve an hour of the day not the rest of it. There are also other people in the office who give him a lot of attention throughout the day and play games with him

I leave mine at home, she has a dog flap and I've built a fence on the patio so she can't get down the garden, I leave a light and the TV on .
I leave work early and finish off at home, I also wfh 2 days

Mine does go to daycare 3 days a week but like you say it's so expensive 😩
But to be honest dog walkers who take them on a decent long walk weren't that much cheaper!

I used an adaptil plugin and collar to get my dog to chill out at work. I think a small amount of growling/barking isn't a big deal if it isn't bothering others? Mine would be the same at home.

I also find having a white noise running, like a fan or similar covers a lot of the background noise that causes mine to react (she is an occasional barker too).

Failing that, maybe leave him at home two days a week and pay daycare to make cost more manageable. I find mine is more tired on days after day care so calmer in office.

I wonder if a dog walker doing a good walk
would tire him out enough to get him to sleep?

He sounds very noise sensitive so white noise or a fan could be an option too to try and dull all the noise coming from elsewhere maybe?

That sounds so tough! I'm lucky to work from home and have a great dog walker for days when I'm not there. Years ago for previous dog we used Borrow My Doggy and had a couple of fab people who would take her out for walks quite frequently. Worth a look to see if there's anyone near your office who might like to have a leg stretch sometimes?

Have you looked into Borrowmydoggy? My friend uses this for her dog when she's working. People on this website volunteer to look after dogs, obviously with agreed days and times.

Sorry, this is a bit off-topic, but those of you who have experience of Borrow My Doggy, do you know if you can become a borrower if you already own a dog? My dog loves company, so I'd love to borrow a dog a couple of times a week for walks/play with her, but don't know if it's allowed?

I don't see why not - as long as you're upfront and the dogs meet properly first!

My dog can usually be with me all day including at work but sometimes I have to work in a hygienic environment which he absolutely can’t go in. He is actually fine to be left in the car on these occasions, he seems to see it as his den (I can see him in the car from where I am) and then I’ll take him out for a break every couple of hours and a proper walk at lunch. He’s better in the car than in the office where there are people coming and going - a mixture of the people and it feeling less ‘his’ perhaps?

in the summer when it’s hot then I put his crate in the shade (again where I can see it through a window). Appreciate this wouldn’t work in all workplaces though.

people on our street WhatsApp have sometimes arranged dog swaps for days when they are not around too. Might be worth an ask?

I only work part-time and DH and DS both work from home for part of the week, so we just need dog care for some of the time. We have a local woman, who is a trained dog walker, but also has a p/t admin job WFH. She either has the dog for the day at hers (£40) or she collects her at lunch-time for a walk (£15). Dog is now 5.5 years old and seems to sleep most of the day (on my bed!) if no one is in.

@OneDayIWillLearn this is what my husband suggested we do but I wasn't sure whether other people would judge me or not! We've got a fairly big car with his crate set up in the boot which he would happily sleep in. But I'm not sure it would be fair to do that to him every day

@Nucon i mean my dog literally just snoozes! If he was barking or distressed or vigilant I wouldn’t do it but I can see him and he isn’t. I worked at home on my computer all this morning and he slept on a chair the whole time. I don’t know how different those two experiences are from his point of view to be honest!! It’s comings and goings that he’s more switched on by. Snoozing somewhere he feels safe where there’s nothing particular for him to concern himself about seems fine.

Leaving your dog in a crate in the car all day for five days a week would be cruel and dangerous. It can do serious damage to joints particularly dogs that are getting older - imagine if you were confined to one position and could only turn around for six-eight hours. I'd leave him at home over the crate tbh as at least he can move, be comfortable etc.

Tbh I think you would be better off working with a new behaviourist for your dogs issues as it really doesn't sound like much progress has been made.

You can't leave your dog in the car all day - not only would it be too hot in summer (and potentially too cold in winter), there's no way you can keep an eye on them while you're working.

Not only could someone report you, there's also the risk of someone driving into your car, or stealing your dog (especially if you always leave him in the same place at the same time).

If you're going to leave him somewhere, then it should be at home.

Your dog may not be bothered where he sleeps but there are other risks that come from leaving him in the car.

Lack of temperature control, theft, someone having an accident and driving into your car, someone thinking he's distressed or has been abandoned and reporting you etc.

And, with the best will in the world, you can't supervise them and work at the same time.

@coffeesaveslives theres always someone on MN who wants to tell you that you’re doing it wrong, I’m sure you’re feeling very superior!

I’m not going to share my full risk assessment but I can assure you this is safe and of course I take into account temperature (which I’ve already said). With the best will in the world, you don’t know my workplace or work. It would not be appropriate for everyone - I think you can take that as read and I said as much in my original post - but I am 100% sure in my case it is safe and appropriate.

Nope, not superior at all, just contributing to the discussion as it is a discussion board!