A K9 behavioral specialist says dog owners working from home need to take steps today to ensure their fury friends don’t feel left behind when they return to their offices.
Before she hops on a work Zoom, operations manager, Jeanne Strutz makes sure Amy Jo and Gus are comfortable. Although the family’s black lab and Australian heeler don’t spend as many hours in their crates today as they did when she left home to work, Strutz continues to make crate time part of their daily routines.
“I’d love to let them lay by my feet and stuff like that all day, but it’s better for them to continue on down the path of consistency….being familiar with their crates, being familiar with a scheduled, not letting them get away with everything,” Strutz says.
Officing from home for nearly a year now, Stutz says at first the routine change was confusing for her fury family members.
“They weren’t really sure. Like, why is she closing the door on us? And why is she making us, you know, stay away from her? Because I had a meetings or whatever and didn’t want any interruptions, and so it took al little bit for them to understand that you know, if the door is closed, they need to keep kind of quite. So, definitely, a routine change for them. Thinking that, you know, I’m home, we can do all kinds of things, to, OK mom says, “No, we have to be quiet,’” Strutz says.
And although she doesn’t know when she will return to the office, Strutz wants to make sure when that time comes, the routine shift doesn’t create anxiety for Amy Jo and Gus.
“If we are going to go back to the office, we do need to prepare everyone because I think many people have become very attached to their pets and vice versa, their pets attached to them,” Strutz says.
Trainer and K9 Behaviorist for Paws Pet Resort, Sami Jo Menning agrees, she encourages pet owners not to delay and to begin preparing their canine right away for the day they return to the office.To set your dogs up for success, Menning suggests introducing extended amounts of crate time into their daily routine.
“Start preparing now. This is something I’ve told my clients, you know from the day that they went to working at home, is, you know, have some time where it’s not just you and your dog 24/7 with each other, because that can lead right into separation anxiety. When you go back to not having to be with your dog 24/7. So, just some designated time where your dog is still being able to be independent and calm and confident,” Menning says.
“Making sure that their days look similar so that the day that you go back, you’re not worrying about how your dog’s gonna adjust being at home for eight hours by themselves. …Making them you know, be in their crate for significant times throughout he day. Like instead of you know 30 minutes, maybe working up to 3 to 4 hours of being in their crate so that when you go back, it’s not such a sudden change,” Menning says.
When Menning talks about a crate, she is referencing a kennel that is large enough for the dog to stand up and turn around in. She explains that a dog’s crate is a space where they feel safe and comfortable. It’s a space where they can relax. She shares some crate training tips that she uses with her four canine kids, Tex, Blu, Raymond and Lola.
“They get fed in their crates. I have a multiple-dog household, so that’s what works easiest for me. So, doing some training, some crate games, going in and out of the crate for rewards, making it a fun command, building your reward history and letting them know that they can use the crate when people are home, when people are away, when company is over. It is not just you go in the crate when people leave. It’s a very normal part of the routine,” Menning says.
Sami Jo Menning also suggests exercising dogs before crate time and providing them with a few toys to entertain them, like a peanut butter-stuffed Kong.