Now that some states are opening things back up, life is changing yet again. Some of you are taking your work back to the office - soon if you haven’t already - and your at-home co-worker might be finding it all so confusing. 

Your at-home co-worker? Your dog. 

Quarantine has been great when it comes to spending more time with our fur babies, but now that we’re transitioning back to normal operations slowly and surely, we have to think about how our fur babies are handling the transition. How can we make this change less stressful for them?

In this blog post, we walk you through preparing your dog for when you go back to work after quarantine!

How Do I Prepare My Dog For When I Go Back to Work?

Tip #1 | Transition back to your regular schedule.

Prior to quarantine, you more than likely had different times set aside for different tasks and activities. You could have been feeding your dog at specific times. You could have been taking your dog on walks at specific times, etc. etc. After quarantine began though, those times may have shifted and you might have added more walks to your daily schedule. It’s time to ease back into the old daily routine. 

Tip #2 | Start to leave the house more often. 

Your dog is used to having more time with you, so before you go back to work for long periods of time during the day, make it a thing to leave the house more often leading up to returning to work. This will help reduce the shock for your dog for when your work from home days are over.

Tip #3 | So about that crate…

If you crate your fur baby when you leave the house, you’ll definitely need to ease them back into that process. Start having your dog take naps in their crate at select times of the day to get them more used to it again. 

Tip #4 | Don’t get anxious about their anxiety.

This is more so of a tip for you. You may be faced with a last minute notice of needing to return to work and your worry is that there’s not enough time to get your dog prepared. The thing is, no matter how little or how much time you have to prepare your dog, they’re still going to experience some level of anxiety. Understand that this phase is temporary. 

Tip #5 | When your dog is stressed and anxious…

The key is to keep your fur baby stimulated. Try taking your dog for a long walk or take part in heavy playtime before you go to work so that they’re more sleepy and likely to endure your absence with little to no problems.