Looking at a silver lining about the current COVID-19 situation, there are now so many dogs enjoying working from home. Forget rushed morning dog walks before heading to overcrowded trains and buses leaving your dog at home just to meet them again in the evening after a long day at the office, or, if you were lucky, commuting with them to get to the office. Now, if you are among those who are able to work from home, your dog is the perfect co-worker.

So it seems appropriate to temporarily repurpose our Office Dog Series giving it a different spin and featuring stories of London dogs working from home! After we put up a call on our social media we were overwhelmed with the many lovely stories we received, so today we bring you 5 stories to start, with the view of making it a weekly appointment! If you would like to take part, at the bottom of this post you will find how.

London dogs working from home diaries

Kai

“I am not sure what is going on but my humans has been home all the time! They’re spending a lot of time on the screen. Sometimes I think they’re going a bit crazy talking to the screen especially when I try to see what’s going and I would hear a lot of laughing. I try to help with whatever my humans are doing but my paws are too big for the keyboard. It’s been great spending so much time with my humans, but I haven’t seen many of my doggy friends lately. I hope they’re spending just as much time with their humans as I am!”

Juno

“In the Doggo Juno World: WFH = What Finally Happened?!?
Moving to London 7 months ago has had many benefits, but this past Working From Home Week for my HOOMANS has been amazing for me. I called it: What Finally Happened Week! Because, BOTH mom and dad are home ALL day, everyday with me. Family Time 24/7. What other reason is there?!”

“But here’s a few of my fave:
1. I get to eat EVERY MEAL with them leisurely and every so often, my mom or dad will sneak me a piece of fruit or veggie.
2. I get to go on long family walks 3 times a day to different parks where there’s no other HOOMANS or doggo so I’m off lead most of the time.
3. I get cuddles and tummy rubs from BOTH of them multiple times a day with treats when they get up to get snacks and that’s been a lot lately.”

Hiro

Hiro (from Hiro & Wolf) “I couldn’t believe my luck this week it’s 10am and I’m still on the humans bed, perhaps she hasn’t noticed. Or has she left the house already and forgotten about me… I pretend not to care but just in case of the latter I lightly pad downstairs to my secondary snooze spot, a deeply padded cane armchair with a view of the front garden and any enemies (aka cats) that might be on the approach.

There’s my Human sat tapping away on that dull grey box. I tell her she should probably be designing rather than reading the news so drag her sketchbook over and lay it out on the floor. I like to watch her draw, she usually puts on nice relaxing music, or my favourite Ludivico Einaudi tracks and I don’t have to worry about keeping guard all the time when she stays in one place.

We have lunch in the garden together and she feeds me pieces of cheese from her sandwich. My other human is also home and is always busy in the garden so I decide to spend the afternoon keeping him safe from cats whilst he builds what looks like an enormous fog kennel that they are calling a workshop, I think it is almost definitely for me though because they love me so much.”

Best things about WFH according to Hiro:

1. “Having both my humans around at all times
2. Being able to lie in for as long as I like
3. I can play my favourite game, find the best sunny spot, every day!
4. It’s Spring and so I can listen to all the plants coming up (but only when the humans aren’t looking because they don’t seem to like it when I sleep in the vegetable patch).”

Wolf

Wolf (from Hiro & Wolf) “This morning Wolf woke up as usual at 6.30 am after all it is Monday and he insists that things must go on as normal. Downstairs for the morning garden sniff and snack and then on with the collar. Wolf feels that working from home cannot be done naked. It has to feel as normal as possible. Whilst checking the morning’s orders and emails it will be s a great opportunity to catch up with his favourite pod cast ‘A Dog’s Life ’ by his friend Anna Webb.

Breakfast is served by his human business partner, Bee at 9am and then it is time for a bit of beach exercise before heading to the Hiro + Wolf Hindquarters in Margate. The shop is closed the public but Wolf will be packing some of the online orders from our wonderful supportive customersIt will then be time to sniff the fresh air on the way home to take up position at the dining room table with the door to the garden open and carry on working to the sound of the seagulls. After dinner, Wolf likes to retire to the sofa to snooze next to his human who has taken up crocheting. Wolf sincerely hopes that Bee does not produce some brightly coloured disaster to dress him in!”

Great things about working from home:

1. “The garden is close by.
2. The sun is out and the sunny spots are still as relaxing as they were last year.
3. The next door cats like to sit on the wall so a staring competition is always a great break the day.
4. The next door dogs are barking so he can bark back and find out the paw news.
5. His human likes to graze throughout the day so watching her snack is better than tv and hoping for crumbs to fall is always serendipitous.
6. The bed is close by and there are 2 sofas to take many naps on.”

Eddie

“I’ve had such a brilliant ten days with my Mummy and Daddy, who usually work in the office 4 days a week. They have said I’ve been really good, finding my new “woofing” spot on the window sill to warn them of delivery drivers and children playing in the garden. I have loved Mummy and Daddy being at home because:

1. I get lots of scritches and belly rubs from Daddy! He is a barrister and usually works really long hours – I am so happy that I get to see him more, it’s pawesome!
2. A family friend gave me a hard yak milk chews! They are the best and keep me occupied for hours.
3. I get to make a guest appearance at every conference call which makes it much more fun for everyone! All of Mummy’s colleagues squeal when they see me – I feel like a celebrity.”

Think positive!

But it’s not just the dogs who have something positive to say, it’s first of all humans who can emphasise the silver lining. To this end, I would like to leave you sharing this inspirational message from husky Juno’s mum: “Success isn’t just about what you accomplish in your life, it’s about what you inspire others to do. Take this opportunity to be an inspiration by taking a negative situation and turning it into something positive. Being positive in a negative situation is not naive, it’s leadership.” Things she is particularly appreciating about working from home are:
“1. Not having to wear makeup and uncomfortable clothes/shoes to the office. My face has been glowing and less laundry!
2. Saving money on transportation, eating out, and multiple cups of coffee. BUT that biggest expense saved: no dog walker and I’m forced to take a health break. WIN WIN!
3. But the best part, more time with doggo Juno who is always my sidekick, cheering me on with those baby blue eyes and drooling over my Doritos while I eat them. This beats nosy office distractions any day.”

Take part in the London Dogs Working From Home series!

Get in touch by leaving a comment at the bottom of this post, on our social media pages or email us at hello [at] thelondog.com, all you need is a blurb about your dog’s experience WFH and a list of 3 best or funniest things about WFH, from your dog’s perspective.