How to have an awesome office dog

How to have an awesome office dog!

Taking your dog to work can be a great way to bring a little extra joy to the office while reaping several benefits for both you and your pet!

As more workplaces become pet-friendly, bringing dogs to work has been shown to boost morale, reduce stress, and improve employee satisfaction. Having dogs in the office encourages breaks, promotes exercise, and fosters a positive work environment that can help strengthen team bonds. 

Not only do dogs benefit from the extra social interaction and mental stimulation, but employees and coworkers also gain from the warm companionship dogs bring. 

So all in all - it’s a win-win really, and I’m all for it!

HOWEVER…it’s important your dog has some key skills to ensure they are relaxed in the workplace, and not a distraction to you or others. 

Here are the key things to work on if you want an awesome office pet.

1. Containment - crate and clip station ‍

It’s really helpful if your dog is happy in some kind of containment when they’re at work with you. This is particularly important for those dogs that are a little territorial, so they can be contained if reactive to certain people (see next note around sociability below!).

If your dog was crate trained as a pup, a crate might be a practical option for you.

I also like them to be happy on a clip station. This is simply a lead or light chain clipped to the wall (or secured around a heavy piece of furniture) with a dog mat or bed beside it. The lead should not be too long, only 0.5 - 1m. It helps recreate the concept of a “den”, a safe, contained space for your dog. Your dog will come to love it and automatically settle down when on the clip station if it’s introduced properly! 

If your dog is already relaxed about being clipped up, great. If not, care must be taken when introducing a pup or dog to a clip station as we don’t want them to get a fright and make bad associations to a place that should be a safe place.

To introduce the clip station:

• Do this training work at home to begin with before practising in the office 
• Do this training session when your dog has had some good exercise and play, so they are more likely to be settled.
• Use a clicker and high value food rewards, such as chicken, cheese or dog roll. If you don’t use a clicker, instead use a “yes” marker where you just say “yes” in a positive tone of voice in place of the click and follow with a food reward immediately after.
• Drop pieces of food on the clip station mat, to encourage your dog onto it. Click as they eat the food from the mat. Continue this for a minute or two.
• Then ask your dog to Sit and Down. Once they are down, attach the clip lead to their collar. Click and reward continuously with the high value treats. 
• If they get up, again ask them to do Sit and Down. Ideally aim to get them in a Zen Down, as this is particularly calming. 
• Continue to click and reward if your dog stays in the Down or Zen Down position, throw the food rewards between their front legs to encourage them to stay down, or smush the food into their mat so they have to spend a bit of time licking it up.
• If they get up cycle back through those basic commands to keep them calm, thinking and focused on you and the food rewards.
• Bond Gaze is also a great calming technique to practise here.
• Practise this 1-2 times a day, until they are happy to settle on the mat, slowly extending the time they are there.  
• Start by staying right beside them to keep them calm. Then you start leaving them alone, just for a moment to begin with, then gradually extending. Leave a toy and/or food treat that lasts a wee while to make it an attractive spot.
• Over the course of the next week or two extend the time your dog is on the mat without you being there. Go about your day, going back to your dog intermittently to click and reward calm acceptance and quiet behaviour - do not attend any barking or attention seeking behaviours.
• It’s great to have a clip station set up by the couch, and you can practise this work in the evenings when you’re watching TV etc. 
  

At work, you can have a clip station set up beside your desk. This keeps your dog from wandering, and keeps them contained if there are new people around, or if you need to pop away for a moment. Ideally have a crate under the desk too if possible.

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2. Sociability ‍

An awesome work dog needs to be sociable and accepting of all types of people (and other dogs, particularly if other staff members bring dogs to the office, too!). Dogs that are territorial at home can sometimes transfer this guard behaviour to the office, and may bark or become aggressive to people coming and going. It’s important to ensure your dog has excellent sociability before you take them into work, and also to proactively practise nice meet and greets in the workplace once you do start bringing them in. If you’re dealing with any territorial behaviour or reactivity, check out our Virtual Training Schools to resolve this issue first.

Ensure your dog doesn’t jump up to greet new people, regularly practise asking for a nice Sit before they interact with people around the office.

3. Noise desensitisation

Your workplace may have noises or experiences that are unfamiliar to your dog e.g. new types of machinery, elevators, escalators, office equipment etc. When you’re first introducing your dog to the office, bring your clicker and high value treats to click and reward them as they encounter new sounds or stimuli. Be aware of anything that might give them a fright, and front-foot this by introducing them to that thing in a controlled, positive way, using lots of treats! If your dog is fearful of certain noises, we cover how to treat this sound sensitivity in our Virtual Training Schools. 

4. House training

Hopefully your pup or dog is fully house trained before you start bringing them into the office. However note that this does not always generalise to new places!

When first introducing your dog to this new place, walk them around the entire work area on a lead first, allowing them to sniff and check things out. If you see any sign that they might want to toilet, take them outside to a grassy area immediately. Note that some dogs will be more triggered to mark or toilet inside by the smells of other dogs, so if you’re in a pet-friendly office they may be a little less reliable than they are at home. A clip station is a great solution for this, as it keeps your dog contained (and they won’t want to toilet on their bed).

It’s also good to use a toileting command such as “be quick” - introduce this first at key toileting times at home (e.g. first thing in the morning, take your dog out, use a “be quick” command then click and reward when they finish doing their business). This will help with efficient toileting breaks throughout the day.

Always toilet your dog before going into the office each day, and have very regular toilet breaks initially until you know their routine needs.

5. Basic obedience

Ensure your dog knows the key commands like Sit, Down, Wait, Come, Off and Leave It and Quiet. These are all essential in the workplace! Keep treats with you for the first few weeks at least, so you can reward your dog for responding to their basic commands in this new place. 

A few key reminders to make taking your dog to work more successful:

• Ensure your workplace is an environment that’s safe and suitable for dogs to be in
• Consider doing your first visit when the office is less busy or over the weekend, so they can get acclimated to the new environment in a calm way
• Check the comfort of other staff members with dogs and make accommodations for this if needed
• Exercise your dog well before the work day, and bring stimulation toys or long lasting chews
• Have a way to contain your dog when needed e.g. a crate or clip station 
• Make sure training is up to scratch (especially sociability, house training, hyperactivity and barking)
• Scout the office for anything dangerous to your dog e.g. toxic plants, harmful human foods in reach, chemicals etc. 
• Ensure workmates know your dog’s rules e.g. are they allowed to offer treats, can they let your dog off their clip station?
• It’s nice to have a support person in the team who can look after your dog when you’re away from the office or your desk.They should know how to work your dog, socialise them and exercise them.

Enjoy!

Having your dog with you at work can be so very rewarding, so I hope you’re able to make it work!

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