I work at a dog friendly office, but my dog isn’t well behaved :(

[mrpaul89]

I used work a 100% work from home job. So I got to watch my dog all the time. But I recently started a new in-person job with a dog friendly office. Today was the first day I brought him in.

I thought he would love sitting by my desk. But instead, he starts barking every time someone walks by my office. I get one more day to see if he settles in, but then I’d have to leave him at home.

I’d consider a dog walker or doggy day care, but it would be really difficult for me to afford.

Do you have any advice?

Edit: I’m gone for 10 hours a day because of my commute, and unable to come home during my lunch break. A big concern is how he can go to the bathroom when I’m gone. I’m trying to avoid a dog walker because I can’t afford it, but I may resort to that option if I can’t figure out another solution.

Edit 2: thank you so much to everyone for your comments. I wish I could reply to everyone, but know that each of your comments was so helpful. My current plan is this:

1. I’m not bringing my dog in tomorrow. If I have one day left to bring him in, I will do a TON of training and make sure he’s on his best behavior.
2. My boyfriend is going to watch him temporarily (he has a little bit of time off work), and I’m going to get a dog walker while I work on training.
3. I’m going to start bringing him to a lot of people-centric places, instead of dog parks. Farmers markets, outdoor restaurants, and stuff like that.
4. I’m going to work on training him on my apartment balcony, and enlist a friend to knock on the door and walk by the window while I train him to be quiet. Then, I’ll expand this to more areas, instead of just my apartment.
5. When I eventually bring him back to work, I’m going to make sure he’s nice and tired. I took him on a run this morning, and to the dog park yesterday, but I don’t think it was enough.

Thank you again to everyone who responded. You guys are awesome!!

 

[davecb]

@mrpaul89

I thought he would love sitting by my desk.

Is he ok with a crate? Some dogs don't do well with total freedom in a situation like that. If he's ok with a crate, I'd park one by your desk, and bring in a sheet to cover it.

If he's just hanging out in it and chilling, he's not covered. If he's barking, he's covered.

 

[mrpaul89]

@davecb Hm, that’s a good idea!!

 

[davecb]

@mrpaul89

Hm, that’s a good idea!!

My young dog is terrible at hanging out on a leash when we're at a dog event, but if she's in her crate, she's quiet and happy. I think having to make decisions about everything doesn't do her any favors. So having to decide, should I bark at this?? What about that? Now?? doesn't work for her, but when she's in her crate, she seems to feel like she can allow the human to make the decisions.

 

[jeager016]

@mrpaul89 My dog has a fabric travel crate for my home office. He's far less reactive to outside sounds than without it. And he doesn't have a crate anywhere else. Just his little dark hideyhole

 

[n0bodee]

@davecb Stealing this idea! My dog was a covid pup and is also getting used to the office setting. I've had some success with switching to a quieter desk and going in on days where fewer people are there but this just might be the thing that pushes us to the finish line!

 

[davecb]

@n0bodee

Stealing this idea! My dog was a covid pup and is also getting used to the office setting. I've had some success with switching to a quieter desk and going in on days where fewer people are there but this just might be the thing that pushes us to the finish line!

When my young dog is in obedience class, she's in a crate. And if she can keep her opinions to herself, the sheet is folded back, so she can watch the other dogs working.

If she decides that she needs to tell everyone how stupid they all are, and how she is the queen of the universe and they need to understand that, the crate gets covered again.

 

[tono77]

@davecb Ah hahaha- most amusing thing I’ve heard all day

 

[demakers]

@davecb Def try crate training the bugger. Hes trying to guard his turf ( your office) to give himself a job. It can sloooowly get better with training.

 

[ylime]

@mrpaul89 Some dogs do not do well in transitions. They get anxiety
Be patient

Many dogs spend time at home

 

[headbanger]

@mrpaul89 Can you do short day (maybe only 15 min?) and then work your way up? Even stopping by on days off and letting the pup get used to the new area.

 

[mrpaul89]

@headbanger Actually that’s a great idea. Short visits may help a lot.

 

[godwilling]

@mrpaul89 With lots of high value treats

 

[grace53]

@mrpaul89 Short trips are a good plan! Make them quick and very sweet, progressing from a few minutes at a time. Walk around and sniff the outside and inside of office areas, have coworkers offer treats, pop down a lickmat and sit on a spare chair for a few minutes while you pretend to work. All of these are great steps. They’ll also let you know where your dog is at—if they can’t settle even for high value treats and a lickmat, then they may not be able to settle for long enough to do a full day, but if, on the other hand, they are able to ignore or quietly notice others passing while you have your ‘fake work’ time, then they may be able to work up to it.

It all depends on the individual stress sensitivity and alert levels of your dog, but helping them through a transition is always a good idea, as positive exposure to a new environment is enriching in any case.

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@mrpaul89 Maybe it is just not for your dog, dogs can easily sleep for as long as their humans are at work, their quality of life does not decrease just because they are left alone.

 

[mrpaul89]

@imagebeastmarkbeast That’s fair. My main issue is that someone needs to let him out. Because of my commute, I’m gone for around 10 hours and can’t come home during my lunch break. Unfortunately, I may have to get a dog walker, even if I can’t really afford it…

 

[samdasari]

@mrpaul89 If you decide on the dog walker option, ask friends and local social media for recommendations. (Or maybe at the dog park or your vet?) Our dog walker is $12 for a 45 minute walk. She’s cheap and she knows it, but she’s retired and loves walking, other people’s pets and a way to make money... compare that to the $$$ I saw on TaskRabbit or similar and I was astounded.

Fair warning: I’ve hired several people for things from the NextDoor app and never, ever, ever again. I don’t know wth it is with NextDoor but there’re some sketchy ppl with “good references” on there.

Final tip, ask for pix and get an outdoor camera.

 

[mrpaul89]

@samdasari Thanks for the heads up. I’ll avoid nextdoor. I’ve been looking at rover, and there are some ok prices, but I’ll ask around because $12 sounds amazing!!

 

[jamoaluv]

@mrpaul89 I've never used Rover, but I've heard some pretty awful stories about that too.

 

[mrpaul89]

@jamoaluv Dang, that’s too bad!! I’ll keep that in mind as I figure out my options.