Maximizing Your Dog’s Well-being While Working From Home: The Essential Role of Dog Walkers

Working from home with a dog can be an adjustment for you and your beloved pup. On the one hand, having your dog close by for all that extra companionship seems ideal. On the other hand, balancing your job’s demands and deadlines amid your dog’s needs for attention, play, training, and care can prove challenging. However, with some planning, boundary-setting, schedule coordination, and positive reinforcement, you can achieve a work-life balance that includes your dog’s happiness and work productivity. Following are some tips for dog owners to help your WFH situation become rewarding for you both.

Hire a Dog Walker

Consider enlisting an insured, background-checked, professional dog walker from Green Paws Chicago to provide not only midday exercise, potty breaks, mental stimulation, and socialization for your dog while you hunker down on work projects but also personalized training reinforcement.

 Understanding that consistency is key to successful dog training, our walkers are equipped to work on specific commands or behaviors you or your dog’s trainer are focusing on. Whether it’s practicing ‘sit’ at every crosswalk before proceeding or reinforcing indoor commands during visits, we integrate these training moments seamlessly into our walks to ensure your furry friend’s education continues even in your absence.

Dog walking services can be ideal partners in your quest to balance WFH demands and dog duties. Trusted pet sitters allow you uninterrupted time to concentrate on career priorities, knowing your furbaby is not only enjoying healthy activity but also receiving consistent reinforcement of their training. 

Walks drain physical energy while providing much needed mental stimulation, so your dog will more readily nap during your conference calls. When you have finished work for the day, you’ll find your dog happy and tired from their outdoor adventures—and potentially even more obedient, thanks to the training reinforcement—leaving you alone to finish that presentation rather than vying competitively for your attention.

Set Up a Dog-Friendly Workspace

When working remotely, designate an inviting corner as your office zone and equip it to meet you and your dog’s needs. Place a comfy dog bed beside your desk chair, or consider a furniture piece where your pup can snooze underneath while you type. Include toys and chews to occupy your pup as you focus on work. 

Create a Consistent Routine

Dogs relish routines, so develop a regular schedule syncing work tasks, pet care, and play. For example, start each morning by feeding your dog and taking them out to potty before you dive into emails or calls. Schedule a dog walker in the afternoons to get your furry one outside for a walk or to play fetch.

Incorporate Brain Games

Use a pet sitter to keep your dog mentally stimulated with sessions of daily training. Teach new tricks like fetching balls, playing ring toss, or learning new commands like “shake” and “roll over”. Rotate puzzle feeders and toy puzzles to activate their brains during the workday. These mental exercises will prevent boredom and anxiety while you’re focusing on work.

Monitor for Signs of Stress

Pay close attention to body language cueing discomfort like lip licking, yawning, or panting without exercise—notice scratching, tail chasing, barking, or other repetitive behaviors that may signal stress or boredom. If displayed, initiate playtime with your dog and assess the environment. Reduce noise, create barriers from outdoor stimuli, or turn on calming music or videos made for pups to watch on YouTube to help them calm down.

Designate Dog-Free Work Blocks

When you need uninterrupted focus, confine pets away from your workspace. Place your dog in a separate room, crate, outdoor run, or pet-gated area with water and toys. Start slowly, gradually increasing separation intervals and rewarding them for calm independence. This process prevents conditioned responses from constant togetherness, such as separation anxiety. Define work expectations so they learn to settle themselves when you cannot engage.

Train “On Duty” vs. “Off Duty” Cues

Use distinct visual signals like wearing reading glasses or switching fun play hats to demonstrate shifting roles—just as service dogs understand vest cues. When the glasses come off, initiate play. Teach your dog to “go lie down” when the work hat is donned so they associate the visual cue with your busy periods. Apply rewards to reinforce their recognition of each mode.

Final Thoughts

These are just a handful of the most important issues to tackle when working from home. 

Stay vigilant to signs of boredom, anxiety, insufficient exercise, or needy behavior patterns and hire a dog walker to break up your pup’s day with outdoor time, a walk or indoor play time on inclement weather days, and get them daily interaction with someone from outside your household. It may be a piece of cake to implement all of these daily routines or possibly a process of elimination. Adjust your schedule, environmental arrangements, and training cues until you strike the right balance for coexisting happily and productively together. In the end, your pup will surely love you for it!