In honor of National Take Your Dog to Work Day tomorrow, I’ve decided to talk about the benefits and complications that come with bringing your dog to work. I’m one of the lucky people that can bring my dog to work with me every day and Sadie is definitely my favorite coworker. But there are also some difficulties with having Sadie in my office. I personally think the pros far outweigh the cons, but you can decide for yourself.

• Less anxiety, for both the dog and the human. Your dog won’t get separation anxiety staying home alone all day and you won’t have anxiety about your dog getting into trouble when home alone all day.
• Boosts morale in the office and makes people smile.
• Saves time and money – no running home from work to feed and walk the dog and no need to pay a dog walker
• Forces you to get up and away from your desk every once in a while so your dog can take care of business
• A new environment is stimulating for your dog and he or she will be excited to explore the new area with all its sights and smells.
• An office can be a great place to refresh your dog’s training in a practical environment. Sadie learned her ‘leave it’ and ‘no barking’ commands very quickly in the office setting.

• Finding bathroom areas and dealing with possible accidents.
• Making sure you have all the necessary supplies on hand, like bowls, a dog bed, dog food, doggie bags, toys, treats, etc.
• Chewing up shoes or other items (Sadie likes to steal the occasional slipper from under a desk) and making sure coworkers dog proof the office. When you have a dog it becomes second nature to keep harmful items off the floor, but your coworkers may forget to keep things out of reach from a dog.
• Your dog may dislike coworkers or think he or she needs to protect you. This could lead to barking, growling, or biting if not handled properly. Similarly, if your coworkers also have dogs, the dogs may not all get along.
• Coworkers with allergies or fears can also be a problem. You must try to be respectful of their wishes and keep your dog from having contact with those people and their belongings.

Sometimes it’s tough being an office dog. Your Mom finally hands over that treat you’ve been begging for, but you’re not quite ready to eat it yet. Where can you possibly find a safe place to bury a bone in an office?

Sadie has this issue almost every work day. She’s tried burying bones in the filing cabinet, the supply closet, under desks, in people’s purses and shoes, and many other creative locations. But Sadie’s favorite hiding spot by far is the recycling box. Sadie hops right into that box, digs around the papers, and makes sure her bone is good and safe.

There’s only one problem – it’s too good of a hiding spot, because Sadie can never get her bone back out of the box. I’ll be sitting at my desk working, when all of a sudden I hear Sadie start whining from the other room. If I don’t immediately go running to her, she then begins kicking her hind legs back in frustration. At that point I know I have to go help her, because her next step to get my attention is barking. Sadie knows that barking is not allowed at the office, but she also knows that if she lets out one bark, I will come running to keep her quiet and will conveniently rescue her bone at the same time.

This post is part of the Thursday Barks and Bytes blog hop hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like A Dog.

  This post is also part of the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop hosted by Ruckus the Eskie, Love Is Being Owned By a Husky, and M.K. Clinton.  

This week’s #52Snapshots of Life theme is below. The word below is used very frequently in Sadie’s daily life, especially when we are at our office. Multiple times a day someone will ask where Sadie is, only to find her below the conference table or below one of the chairs. And Sadie’s main home-away-from-home is located below my desk, where she sleeps away the boring hours when I’m actually getting work done.

This post is part of The Lazy Pit Bull‘s 52 Snapshots of Life Challenge.