Don’t you know how to effectively organize a home office with your dog and work while maintaining a good relationship with your pet? First, you need to work out your daily rhythm, which your dog needs to know and get used to so as not to feel confused.
Effective work from home with a dog requires developing a daily routine divided into performing your tasks and activities with your quadruped. Creating a space where you only perform your professional duties is essential. That will allow the dog to understand better when you are only working and cannot play with him.
What you will learn from this article:
- When working from home with a dog, you must separate time for work and time for the dog
- Don’t weave play with your dog in between your work
- Start work at a regular time to develop a consistent daily routine
Working from home with a dog
When I took my dog under my care, I knew that he would accompany me during my daily work. His profession is based mainly on the remote performance of tasks. Thus, most of his work is done from home, being in the home office.
You’re probably thinking now that I have excellent conditions to take care of a dog. He doesn’t feel lonely when I have to go about my work. He doesn’t stay home alone for long hours. Yes, you are right, but working at home with a dog is much more complex than it may seem at first glance.
It quickly turned out that I couldn’t just sit down to my work, and my dog then politely took care of himself because he understood that I was doing something important. Alright, this is what our everyday life looks like now. However, I achieved this by eliminating the bugs I want to tell you about today. It was not an easy and rapid process.
Organization of work from home with a dog
First, you must find the best place to work at home. That will help you build a good relationship with your dog while working and improve your productivity and focus while completing tasks.
Consistency in the workplace is important because your dog can associate the space with that time during the day when you can’t play and relax with him freely.
Try to do your work in a separate room where you do not spend any time with your pet during the rest of the day. That is the most comfortable and convenient solution, but it realizes that not everyone has such housing opportunities. Then what?
As I mentioned at the beginning, set aside a small space that will be only a place for you to work. It can be a small desk in the corner of the room. If you are not doing work-related activities, try not to spend your free time in this place.
Mistakes made when working with a dog at home
Performing your work remotely from home with a dog by your side exposes you to common mistakes. I made most of them myself at first. However, I believe that, whenever possible, we should learn from someone else’s mistakes, not our own. Therefore, I will tell you what I was doing wrong so that it will be a cautionary tale for you.
Work in every part of the house
This point ties in directly with my advice to designate a space in your home solely for work. I initially worked in every part of the house. Just where it was most convenient for me at the time. And that quickly turned out to be a big mistake.
As soon as I sat down with the laptop on the couch, my pet sat beside me, bringing his toy. He was amazed at why I didn’t want to play with him. We often spend evenings together on the couch, having fun. Therefore, my dog could not understand why I refused to play this time.
The situation was similar when I was working at the kitchen table. If you are a dog sitter, you know that dogs wait for something to “accidentally” fall off the table during meals. Therefore, my pet was right by my side when I undertook to work in this place. He didn’t understand why I wasn’t offering him any morsels and, what’s more, why I wasn’t paying attention to him.
So, in the end, I had to find some space at home for a small desk, and it turned out to be a bull’s-eye. My dog started associating my desk with a place where no attempts to encourage him to play together were successful.
Breaks at work for activity with the dog
A common mistake made during the home office with a dog at home is the lack of distinction between performing one’s duties and taking care of a pet. It is ineffective for your work to be frequently distracted by activities related to your dog.
Plan your working day so that before taking on your professional duties, you can devote time to caring for your dog. Take him for a walk, feed him and play with him. It is essential to do these steps before work, not during it.
Dogs like routine, so when your pet understands your daily schedule, it will be much easier for you to work from home. The mistake during the home office is to take a play break every time your dog comes to you with his toy and asks for it.
If you accept the invitation to play a few times, your dog will do it constantly, even when you are very busy. He won’t understand why there are times when you’re happy to play with him and there are times when you ignore him and tell him to go to his seat.
I know it will be hard for you to refuse your quadruped to spend time together. But really, your indecisiveness in such a situation makes him sad. He may think he’s done something wrong if you want to play with him for one minute and then refuse to play with him. That will negatively affect his well-being and self-confidence.
How to work from home with a dog
Knowing what mistakes dog guardians often make in the home office, you know what you should beware of. However, I also want to give you some tips that will make it easier for you to work from home with your pet.
The constant rhythm of the day
As I mentioned, most pets like routine and a constant day rhythm. This trait in dogs will help you organize your work from home better.
Plan your morning before work to find time to be active with your dog. Go for a walk together and spend some time playing with your dog.
Playing wrestling and stretching with my pet in the morning sometimes works better than coffee. In our case, a bullet made of a thick rope from Bowl&Bone Republic works excellently. After returning from a walk and playing together, it’s time for breakfast for my dog.
After spending most of the morning together, I sit down to work. My dog feels taken care of and willingly spends time relaxing and playing alone.
After finishing work, I take my pet for a walk. I like it very much because, after spending so much time at home in front of the computer, going out into the fresh air relaxes me.
Dog toy |BULLET red
Keep your dog entertained
You can’t expect your dog to be able to take care of itself if you don’t prepare the space and the right conditions for it. What exactly do I mean? First, ensure that your dog has constant and convenient access to his toys.
All kinds of organizers are great for this purpose. I have a COTTON toy basket from Bowl&Bone Republic in my living room. It is large enough to accommodate all my pet’s favourite toys. In addition, it fits very well with the aesthetics of my interior.
What toys will work for independent play for your dog? First, varied will make your pet always find something they want. Prepare a tug, a mascot, preferably one with a rustling insert, or a ball for the dog.
Working in a home office with a dog is not so scary
The basis for working from home with a dog without unnecessary difficulties is a good organization, routine and firmness. First, you must teach your dog what your daily routine looks like, when it’s time to play and when you can’t give him your attention.
Or maybe you have proven ways to make working from home with your dog easy and pleasant? If so, tell me about them in the comments.
If you have any questions or want me to discuss a topic in the next post, share it in the comments section.
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