It’s a very serious question, and one that is very “of the moment”. As pandemic restrictions ease and remote working gets replaced by days onsite, several articles have looked at the best advice and practical recommendations for preparing your dog for the new reality of being home alone during daytime hours.
Indeed, since the early days of the pandemic and the first lockdowns, pets have been a valuable source of comfort for their owners. They have helped them through this stressful and confusing period by providing emotional support in the face of social isolation or quarantine.
But after two years of these idyllic relationships, the return to the office has prompted “separation anxiety”.
Establishing new routines
Should you leave your doggo alone at home all day? Have him looked after by a third party? Take him to work? These are some of the many dilemmas that pet owners – dog owners in particular – are facing. The return to the office is creating new organisational issues, not unlike with childcare.
While some people attempt to gradually get their dog used to spending longer periods at home alone, others prefer to call upon professionals. This explains why dog-sitting and dog-walking professions are booming.
In England, dog-sitting service Barking Mad has seen demand increase by more than 1,000% since the beginning of the year compared with the same period a year earlier, reports the “Guardian”. Even compared with the beginning of 2019, well before the pandemic, demand has increased by nearly 500%.
In Britain, where an estimated 3.2 million households acquired a pet during the pandemic, dog-sitting costs between £10 and £15 per hour (between RM56 and RM84), according to the Trustedhousesitters website.
Demand for doggie daycare is also on the rise in Australia, to the point where some facilities can no longer take in animals. “We do have to turn away dogs,” Sam Mendelson, general manager of operations at Kip Daycare, told the “Sydney Morning Herald”.
In the United States, a study by 365 Pet Insurance found that a dog walker can earn up to US$35,000 (RM148,000) a year. Not bad, considering the average American salary is around US$60,000.
For those without deep pockets, there exist alternative systems set up a bit like AirBnb or based on mutual aid, such as Rover, Pawshake, and BorrowMyDoggy.
New canine colleagues?
According to a study by Rover.com, 77% of pet owners would value working for a dog-friendly company. With the pandemic, the expectations and priorities of many workers have changed, and many organisations have responded by offering “dog-friendly” jobs. It’s also a new way for employers to entice their employees to return to the premises.
It’s no longer rare to come across golden retrievers or Australian shepherds in the corridors of offices and open spaces, especially in many anglo-saxon countries. Employees who own a dog see such a culture as a major advantage when choosing a workplace.
In the United Kingdom, job ads mentioning dog-friendly workplaces have increased almost fourfold on the Indeed portal since 2019. In the last six months alone, these listings have increased by 43%, according to “Daily Business” magazine.
The furry creatures are universal attention-getters, offering a breath of fresh air and stress relief to employees. Numerous studies have shown contact with dogs can improve mood and promote the secretion of feel-good hormones.
In the US, many companies have been accepting dogs on their premises for years. A leader in that area is none other than Google, which for the past 20 years has made available a dog park/doggie daycare centre, the Doogleplex, to employees with pets, on top of offering numerous initiatives such as a puppy therapy programme.
At Amazon – ranked as last year’s most “dog-friendly” company – as well as Tripadvisor and Ben & Jerry’s, many pet perks are on offer, such as health insurance for animals, allowances to pay for their care, or days off for adopting a new pet or the event of the death of a furry companion.
In any case, with the return to the office, owners are ready to do anything for their pooches. According to a recent study, many say they will miss their dog more than their significant other or even their own child when they have to return to the office.