Going Back To Office After Working From Home -Tips?

[Allyalbon]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some tips or suggestions! I have been working from home the past 2.5 years, and I have had Charlie for 2 of those years - she has always had company at home during the day. However, in a couple of weeks I am heading back into a studio based job and so she is going to be at home on her own for about 8 hours a day.

She is pretty laid back and although she sleeps surprisingly little for a greyhound, she does chill and lounge around a lot. She isn't very needy for attention and will often go lie in another room or on the bed for a lot of the time. If I move around though, she will come investigate. She doesn't seem to suffer from separation anxiety, other than becoming like glue when she realises husband and I are about to go out together, then she gets very underfoot and a bit whiney and sad, but from watching our camera, she settles down very quickly once we leave and snoozes or chills on the sofa. We have gone out for 8+ hours before, and she has been fine, however this is going to be the first time she will be left on her own consistently day after day.

To prepare her, I have been leaving the house for longer and longer each day and I also try not to give her too much attention during working hours. I would still love some tips from others who may have been in the same situation!

She gets a frozen yogurt/peanutbutter cup in the morning which keeps her nice and busy and seems to tire her out.

She is not very food motivated, but she does like her topple toy, keeps her entertained for hours (I think she just likes the noise and mayhem it causes!) but I am going to put part of her breakfast in that to give to her when I leave.

I am considering getting a dogwalker 2/3 times a week to break up her day. She is very lazy though and generally doesn't want to go on a lunchtime walk, hence why only a couple of times a week. We are probably also going to get a cleaner once a week (yaaaay!) and that should keep her entertained for a couple of hours on a Friday - she loves "helping" me clean...

She has a pee area and a bed on our small balcony - she can look down into the enclosed quad on the ground floor where people walk their dogs during the day, which she quite likes. She is happy to pee out there if she needs to.

I will leave my radio on too, as she is used to that.

She gets a 30-35 minute walk in the mornings, which I will probably increase once I am used to getting up early again! She also gets a 20-40min walk in the evening.

We are strongly contemplating getting a second dog too, but I will need a car before I am willing to do this (need to save up again...) and we are debating what breed to get - this changes on a daily basis! I want another greyhound desperately, but my husband is worried about two large dogs in an apartment. We are looking to buy our own place in about a year so we may wait and get a second dog when we have a house with a garden. This will give extra company and tire her out too but is not an immediate option.

 

So that got a bit too long, but if anyone has any tips or experiences to share, I would be terribly grateful!

Edited May 16, 2017 by Allyalbon

[rsieg]

I think the morning walk is key, get Charlie tired out before going to work, longer is better if you can do it. Also helps to make sure she has done the potty thing.

 

Not so sure I would go with the dogwalker 2-3 times a week. Dogs like a fixed schedule, same thing every day. So I think I would either go without the dog walker, or have the dog walker come every day. Obviously the latter may be cost-prohibitive, but if so you might check to see if they offer a dog sitting service for lower cost. That is what I do with my guys, the sitter comes, lets them out, checks water et cetera, but does not take them for a walk. For that service it is same cost for any number of dogs (since there really is not additional work for the sitter, I suppose), which might also be a consideration if you get a second dog. Of course, you might also compare costs for the dog walker versus the house cleaner -- if the latter is cheaper schedule it five days a week and have the cleanest house on the block :-)

[MaryJane]

I would go with a dog walker 5 days a week - dogs like their routines. Maybe it's just me but, it's not a house cleaner's job or responsibility to watch a dog and I would be worried that she might inadvertently let the dog out.

[GeorgeofNE]

Doesn't sound like there is going to be a problem. I disagree about the dog walker. There are lots and lots of folks who believe (as is their right) that leaving a dog alone for the workday is too long, but there are just as many people, like me, who do it (and have been doing it for 20 years now). My limited experience with the dog walker is that makes it so the dog is "left" twice every day instead of just once.

 

I don't know what your home is like, but if it's a condo, you might well find out that your neighbors do not appreciate one little bit allowing your dog to urinate on the balcony. How do you clean it? Being mindful that if you're hosing it down, then uriney water is pouring down probably on your downstairs neighbor's balcony. Even a die hard dog lover such as myself would not be pleased about that.

 

Sounds like you're on the right track, just keep up the leaving and returning with no big deal, and I bet you she'll be fine. Remember: dogs don't think the same way we do. She won't be waking up on Monday thinking, "Oh man, now I have five days of being left alone all day!" She will take each day as it comes. And probably just sleep all day the way mine have.

[Allyalbon]

Thanks everyone for their comments, gave me some things to think about.

 

I have discovered that a 40 minute walk is the sweet spot - for the past 5 days she has had a morning walk of 40 minutes or more and then she is totally conked out for the day! She normally hangs around and harasses me for cuddles and fuss (and treats) on and off throughout the day but since the long walks, she actually abandons me to go snooze on the sofa or totally crashes out on the bed - I can even move around the house and make noise without those sparkly eyes and cold snoot appearing to see what I am doing. It seems to be giving her extra pee time and she doesn't even want to go out at lunchtimes when i've offered. Between the long morning walk and another 20-40 minutes in the evening she seems pretty happy with the activity level.

 

I have also been going out and leaving her for longer during the day, giving her a big treat when I leave and now when I return I get a snarky face as though I interrupted her alone time...

 

I think that a dog walker may be unnecessary actually, as @GeorgeofNE suggested - knowing Charlie, someone visiting and then leaving may very well feel like she has been "abandoned" twice that day. Although we will be getting a cleaner on Fridays and possible another day, so she will have some disturbance on those days. @rseig, I did make the suggestion of a cleaner every day to my husband but that idea didn't fly We will see how she does for a couple of weeks and then make the decision as to whether she needs a break in the day with company - I do suspect not.

 

@GeorgeofNE - the potty area is very concealed and private and consists of a diy project of mine with active soil, fake grass etc, so it is very clean. I am a neat freak and the idea of letting pee run off the balcony is horrific, don't worry! She only uses it twice a week or so - and hasn't used it at all since taking her out on her long morning walk - and it gets cleaned and washed whenever she uses it. It's very useful though as it makes me less worried at leaving her alone during the day as she has an area to go and isn't forced to hold it for hours.

 

And husband and I are in the more advanced stages of getting her a friend at somepoint soon which I am sure will also help. The current argument is whether it will be a greyhound or perhaps a rescue italian greyhound... if anyone has experience of italians with greys (albeit a small one at 54lbs!) I would be so appreciative.

[Guest mpsoderberg]

Hi! I just wanted to follow up and see how things went for you and your hound! My beloved dog walker is moving out of state and I am trying to determine whether or not to search for a new one or attempt for Tanner to be home during the work day without a mid-day walk.

[GeorgeofNE]

I wish I had a potty spot on my balcony! You're new here, so you don't know, my George never did learn how to hold it very well, so eventually after spending thousands of dollars trying to figure out why, I started using hospital pee pads next to my balcony slider. He would pee on the glass, and it would land on the pad! Anyway, I tried to teach him to use the balcony for emergencies (mainly if it was solid ice out and I was concerned about falling on my fake hips) but he just refused to do it. Darn it.

[Allyalbon]

Hi everyone!

 

I wanted to follow up after being at work for a couple of months!

 

Charlie has done *superbly* with both of us being at work all day. I am genuinely surprised at how very well she has done, beyond expectation.

 

I get up at 6:30am (if I fall asleep again after my alarm goes off, she comes over to remind me!) and she gets fed. I do my morning ablutions and then she gets walked at about 6:45 for 25-45 minutes, as sometimes she just doesn't want a long walk. She then rejoins husband in bed and I go to work at 7:45. Husband leaves house at 9:30 (lucky) and gives her a treat ball or dentastick. I have been fortunate to catch him leaving the house a couple of times on the camera, so I can see her reaction - she stares with pointed ears at the door for 10 seconds, checks the kitchen for fallen tasty things, does a circuit of the living room and then heads into the bedroom for a few hours - I am going to put a camera in there too to see what she is up to. She then re-emerges between 2/3pm and snoozes on the couches. She is a bit unusual in that she never sleeps for long, more like dozes, and will move between the two couches, her beanbag and then the bedroom every half hour or so. She has never slept heavily though, even when we are at home.

 

Then I get home between 5:30-6:30 depending on the day, and she is very happy to see me because then there will be more food. She has become more affectionate on having me arrive home, definitely! It used to be "oh, hi" and now it is "yaaaay! Muum! foood!"

She then gets a 20-45 min walk depending on weather (Texas...) and then it is cuddle time.

 

She has a pee spot on the balcony as mentioned, and she uses it a couple of times a week but seems to prefer to wait until we are walking her. She does this during the weekends too, she is just too lazy to go out and pee during the day even when we offer to take her on an extra walk... we have had no accidents at all which I am pleased at. She doesn't seem to drink or eat much during the day and tends to wait until we get home even though she has free access to water and some food.

 

Her very mild SA when we both go out in the evening has almost gone! She used to whine and get underfoot when she knew we were going out, now she just lies on the bed and makes sadface. Getting to enjoy her alone time, I think!

 

Occasionally, my husband or I would go home at lunch to check on her and she really didn't appreciate being disturbed. She really seemed to be irritated we were around during her alone time

 

I did have a dog walker one day when I had to work stupidly late, but she didn't pee on her walk, was statue-ing and generally didn't want to do it, even though she knew and has walked with the woman before (who also has a grey) so she really doesn't want to do anything during the day!

 

I have as of this week been chatting to the rescue we got her from, with the intention of getting her a friend soon. She is doing well on her own, but she really does like the company of other dogs, is so happy after seeing dogs she knows, and also uses them as a guide when we are on walks, so I think she would appreciate a companion. Also, we really want another one - so it will be interesting to see how that changes the day time dynamic!

[Cricket57]

Glad to hear things are going well with Charlie. Thanks for the update!

 

Cricket