Working from home has many advantages when you make the decision to bring a puppy into your life. It can give you more time to be effective, efficient and consistent but it also can be harder than you think.
Here are my top tips to raising a puppy when you work from home.
Create A Den It’s no secret that puppies enjoy chewing, getting under your feet and getting into everything. Creating a den that keeps your puppy safe and out of potential danger is so important. Work calls and meetings will no doubt get in the way of 100% supervision, so rather than giving your puppy free roam of the house, allow them get used to hanging out in their den. A play pen is brilliant for this, make it comfortable with their bed, provide plenty of enrichment and fresh water.
Set A Routine It is important to set a routine for your new puppy, having a daily schedule can help you keep on track of toilet training, naps, meal times and exercise. It’ll give your puppy predictability of knowing what is going on, this is especially important when you start to introduce alone time. Use Meal Times To Your Advantage
I am a big believer in ditching the food bowl whenever possible and I recommend this even more if you work from home. Your puppy’s meal can be used to add enrichment to their day and keep them busy while you work. Using snuffle mats, puzzle toys, Kongs etc will give your puppy more mental stimulation, slow down their eating and keep your puppy busy. Perfect for when you’re on that all important work call.
Help Your Puppy Become Independent It’s cute having a puppy that follows you from room to room, sleeps by your feet and becomes your companion and it’s so easy to slip into a routine of letting your puppy become your shadow. It’s important that your puppy learns that sometimes you wont be around. It's good idea to have their den set up in a different room to your office. Initially you can work in the same room as your puppy to first get them used to spending time in their play pen or crate for parts of the day while you are still in the room and slowly build up time away from your puppy. Practise lots of short intervals through out your work day. Unfortunately many puppies who have access to their owner all day long can develop separation upset which can lead to separation anxiety.
Make Plenty Time For Play, Training & Exercise Work can become consuming especially when you are trying to juggle life with a new puppy. Don't forget to add in play time, short training sessions and exercise to your daily schedule. Not only will this strengthen your bond but it’ll tire your puppy out.
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