So, you’ve landed the dream remote working job – and think now is the perfect time to get a dog. If so, I have been where you are, and it’s very exciting! Just to prepare you, a puppy at home while working can be quite disruptive. I’ve learnt a thing or two after working from home for over a year with my dog Honey, since she was 10 weeks old. I’m going to talk you through my perfected puppy schedule for productive remote working.
The good news is, remote working with a puppy should only get easier as they get older. When a dog is young you are still navigating things like house training and getting your puppy to sleep through the night. They also don’t know how to settle on their own yet. I know this is controversial to say, but I found having a crazy adolescent dog easier than the initial puppy phase. Don’t be discouraged though! All the benefits to having a dog definitely outweigh the difficulties. You will get more exercise, fresh air, and cuddles than you’ve ever had.
So, what is my situation?
As much as I dream of being a self-employed full time blogger, I have been in my corporate job for 4 years now. So working from home involves zoom calls and tight deadlines, so I needed the perfect puppy schedule in place to navigate this.
My dog is called Honey, and she is a Springador. This is a labrador crossed with a springer spaniel. In other words, a mix of two working dogs with loads of energy! If you are interested in Springadors, check out this blog post.
I chose to crate train Honey, and mention her crate in the schedule a couple of times. I highly recommend crate training a puppy, so they have a safe and comfortable space to relax. If you are home alone with a puppy all day, it will give you so much peace of mind if you have a way to contain your puppy while you just take a shower, go to the bathroom, or take a zoom call. Here is some advice on crate training your puppy.
Here is my detailed puppy schedule that got me through remote working in the early days:
Morning puppy schedule
7AM: Wake up. Go straight downstairs and let the puppy out into the garden for a morning toilet trip. Give her breakfast and fill up her water bowl. Then, I would make a coffee and play with her in the lounge for about 30 minutes. After this I put her in her crate while I get ready for the day.
8AM: Go for a walk. This step depends whether your puppy has had all their vaccinations yet, I couldn’t walk my puppy until she was 14 weeks old. The general rule of thumb for walking a puppy is they can walk 5 minutes for every month they are old. So at 14 weeks, these were short 15-20 minute walks.
8:30AM: Puppy’s first nap. By this point, the puppy has had enough stimulation from the playtime and the walk that they should be ready for a nap. I would give her the opportunity to settle on her own, however if she is awake still after 30 minutes I put her in her crate for an ‘enforced nap’. Puppies should be sleeping about 18-20 hours per day, but they don’t know how to regulate this for themselves. Therefore it is not mean to put them in their crate for a nap, it is helping them to get all the rest they need.
11AM: Puppy Wakes Up. This would normally be the first tricky time of the day for me. If I was lucky, Honey would sleep until lunchtime. However more often than not, she would wake up around 11AM raring to go. Unfortunately I still had another hour of work to do before lunch. After letting her into the garden for a toilet trip, I try to have some sort of enrichment or training activity ready. Here are some of my best distraction techniques:
- An enrichment toy. We have this Kong stuff-a-ball to put treats in, that she would throw around to try and get them out. Lick mats are a great idea too – just spread some peanut butter or greek yoghurt on, and have it in the freezer ready. Here are some lick mats from amazon – we get so much use out of these!
- Settle training. This technique is going to benefit you the most long term. Sit near your puppy’s bed, and treat them for staying in their bed. That’s it, simple right? Not only does this keep them occupied, as they stare at you waiting for treats – but it is training them through positive reinforcement to be calm in their bed. If you’re lucky, the puppy might even fall asleep. Settle training is incredible helpful for visits to cafes and restaurants too – its such a good skill to practise during the working day.
- Shredding empty cardboard boxes. A dog trainer taught us at puppy classes that digging and shredding are natural instincts for dogs. By letting them use this instinct on boxes, they are less likely to feel the urge to shred up your shoes. So keep hold of your recycling and empty amazon parcels. They will come in useful when you are really clutching at straws for a way to occupy your puppy!
- Training tricks. This can’t be done from your laptop, but is a good way to tire out your puppy. Just spend 5-10 minutes training things like sit, lie down, roll over etc. Your puppy can’t concentrate for too long, so doing this in short bursts is the best way forward. For example, every time you are waiting for the kettle to boil.
Afternoon puppy schedule
12PM: Hurray, lunchtime! I can shut the laptop for an hour and give her my full attention. Honey and I would both eat our lunch, and then it was time for another walk. Did you know, 15 minutes of a dog sniffing, is as tiring as 1 hour of running around? Apparently sniffing is so mentally stimulating for them, it is a great way to burn energy and make them sleepy. We would either do another walk in our village, or I would take her to the park. An easy game to stimulate your puppy is to throw treats across grass and just let the puppy sniff them out. I would often take her lunch with us, and use this instead of treats. You can do this in your garden too, if you have one.
1PM: Nap time again. After lunch I have to get back to work, so again I will give her the opportunity to calm down and relax on her own. If she didn’t I would put her in her crate for another ‘enforced nap.’ Make the most of these opportunities while the puppy is asleep to do your hardest tasks of the day while the puppy isn’t distracting you! I would also try and schedule my calls for around this time.
3PM-5PM Crazy Time. This is the hardest part of the day. Honey normally has woken up by this point and is desperate for play time, while I’ve still got 1.5-2 hours left of work. This is why I said make sure you’ve done all your hardest tasks before this point. It is pretty hard to focus when you are distracting a puppy at the same time! I would again use one or many of the distraction techniques I mentioned previously, just to keep her entertained or tired out. You can also get puppy safe long lasting chews. Make sure to read the instructions for any bones or long lasting chews that you buy, to make sure they are suitable for puppies. Our favourite long lasting chews we have been giving Honey since she was a puppy are these Yakers chews. You can get them from Amazon but also from most pet supply shops, like Pets at Home.
5PM – Log off! Breathe a sigh of relief as you finish another day of work, and can give all your attention to your puppy again. I might do another small walk at this time to get some fresh air and decompress from work!
