
Sadly, the life of a dog can be relatively boring.
In today’s modern world, most people work or go to school during the day leaving the family dog alone much of the time. While you tend to your daily responsibilities, your dog spends his days in a crate or roaming your empty home with little to no stimulation. When people do finally get home, they are usually too busy to invest hours into the dog. After all, we all have to make dinner, visit with friends and family, clean, relax, etc. In our laundry list of daily chores, our dogs can often become a box to check off the list: one half hour walk per day - done! However, after spending hours alone, most dogs - much like people - need more than 30 minutes per day to feel fulfilled.
I often dream of a world where we can bring our dogs with us everywhere, to allow them to lead more fulfilled lives and receive lots of mental stimulation. However, since that isn't likely, we can open up the workplace to our dogs and allow them to receive stimulation by being with us more. I’m particularly speaking to people who are employers or business owners (or people willing to persuade their bosses and managers).
When you bring your dog to work, suddenly your dog’s day has gone from sitting home alone to being busy for a whole day just like you. When you get home with your pup, you are both exhausted, fulfilled and ready to eat dinner and lounge on the couch for the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy. The imbalance that occurred between you and your dog just melts away.
Employers are also able to create better work environments, because having dogs in the workplace makes people happier and more productive. Having well-behaved and friendly dogs in the office creates a warm and inviting atmosphere for customers and employees alike. If your office is forward thinking and smart, then you can improve your office’s health and lower health care costs by having lunch time walks with co-workers and their dogs. Having dogs in the workplace reduces stress and even encourages people to take their required lunch break (source).
I believe this is so beneficial, that Andrew Warner Dog Training will offer a free consultation on how to establish the proper rules and guidelines that could make dogs in the workplace a possibility at your Indianapolis area business.
E-mail andrew@awdt.net to set up a time to make your workplace a productive and happier place to be. If you’re not the person in charge at your employer, please feel free to forward this along to let them know that you want to bring your dog into work with you!