Anyone who has an indoor dog knows the struggle of figuring out How To Keep My Dog Calm While I’m At Work. From day one, your pet wants to explore and own your home, but it isn’t always safe for them to roam free for hours while you are the office. As a reader asked us recently about how to handle this situation, we decided to share some simple tips that may be beneficial to our readers who are struggling with dogs at home during the day.
The question that inspired this post came from a reader who told us that she works Monday through Friday during the day. She comes home to walk her dog, but still came home to a chewed-up mess. She just can’t bear the thought of crating her pooch, but also wants to deter her pup from destroying the house! So what can she do? For starters, she can check out tips for how I keep my dog calm while I’m at work!
Related: How Can I Stop My Dog From Barking When I’m Not Home?
How To Keep My Dog Calm While I’m At Work
Leave them in a crate. Nobody likes the idea of leaving their dog crated for long hours each day, but sometimes that is the only safe option for them and your home. Crate training your dog can be a tedious task, but once they are trained, it can be a great place of safety and comfort for them. If they will be in a crate all day, you will want to make sure you or someone else is stopping at least once or twice to let them out to use the bathroom, play and run off some energy.
Use a doggy daycare. Yes, these do exist and are wonderful choices. Look into various options in your community, but a dog sitter, doggy daycare or even your local vet can all help you by letting you take your dog each day to be played with, entertained and fed while you are at work.
Seclude them in certain areas of the home. Sometimes you can prevent some destruction by giving them their own area of the house to roam. This could be a specific bedroom, the basement or even a garage (if climate controlled). While not totally loose in your home, they are given some freedom outside a cage that makes them feel less like they are being punished.
Related: Retractable Dog Gates – Safety and Convenience
Remove temptation items. Sometimes it simply is about removing items in your home that pose as temptations. Shutting doors, putting shoes away and even moving various plants, magazines or décor items can save them and you tons of frustration.
Give them a calming item. Leave them with something soothing to play with, snuggle with or sleep on while you are away. Sometimes, especially with younger dogs, they feel abandoned. Leave something that smells like you with them so they can be comforted. A t-shirt, blanket or even pillow left for them to smell and sleep with will go a long way toward calming them.
The question of how to keep a dog calm while you are at work has come up repeatedly and we hope that these suggestions will help you to manage this task easily.
Do you have any other tips for how to keep a dog calm when you’re at work? Share in the comments!
