Separation Anxiety And Leaving Dogs Home So You Can Go To Work

“According to survey data, 67 percent of pet owners say they’d rather quit their job than comply with a return-to-office policy and leave their pets at home. And since 71 percent of American households now own pets, the group argues this could devastate companies demanding people show up to work again.”

I get the idea that you want the best for your dog. But your dog needs you to get a job and pay the bills. Sorry, that is life. Imagine we go back in time…

Little House On The Prairie… Pa stays home with the kids and the wife, doesn’t plow the fields or do other work… because he wants to be home. In North Dakota. Guess how that would have worked out. They would have all turned into popsicles during the winter, Laura Ingalls Wilder would have never written her book, we would never have seen the TV series, and all those cereal companies would have spent their advertising on other TV shows.

I did a Zoom lesson for a student in Chicago the other day. One of her dogs barks and whines continually whenever she leaves the house. More an issue of the dog not liking being left along than pure Separation Anxiety. She needs to go into the office 2 times a week and can’t risk getting a noise citation, nor does she want her dog to be that unhappy. There are training solutions for this kind of thing. 

It is unreasonable to not build your career and to not fully support your family, including your dogs. Even wolves leave the pack from time to time to go hunting. Either they do that, or they would all starve. The remainers aren’t falling apart just because the hunting party took off. If wolves can go off hunting to support the pack, then you can do likewise and support your family. 

Plan accordingly.