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How To Keep Pets At Home Entertained During Remote Work

July 27, 2020 by Mary Telesz

a person keeping a dog entertained while working remotely at homeThe COVID-19 pandemic and government-mandated lockdowns have required many workers to work from home for an extended period of time. One of the many benefits those lucky workers have enjoyed is being able to spend more time with their beloved pets at home.

If you are currently working from home, your pet probably loves the additional time it gets to spend with you. It means more time to interact with you and deepen the bond you already have. When it is time for you to focus on work, however, having pets at home can be a challenge. Your pet may not understand why you are so distracted for so many hours each day. After all, who doesn’t want to play ball or go for a walk?

After many weeks of having you home all day and night, your pet may have become a bit of a pest as it wants and expects your attention constantly. Your pet may sit and stare at you and give an occasional bark. It may bring a toy to you and wonder why you won’t play. Your pet has no concept of conference calls, virtual meetings, or computer research time. How can you make the most of the situation?

Easy Ways to Entertain Pets at Home While Working from Home

It’s easy to manage your pet while you work from home. Understanding what they need and providing it will strengthen your relationship and help your pet relax. Here are some easy ways to do it:

Establish a Daily Routine

to stay productive while remote working from home owner must schedule time to entertain petsThe easiest way to train and manage any pet is to establish a daily routine and stick to it. That means you do the same thing at the same time each day. Get out of bed at the same time every morning, eat breakfast, go outside, play, nap, eat dinner, and go to bed at the same time each night. You may be surprised how fast your pet understands the new routine — a few days is all it takes. Over time, your pet will relax because it knows what behaviors are expected at set times of the day. The more consistent you are in following the routine, the easier it is for everyone.

Establishing a routine is essential for training a puppy or a new pet. It will make the job of housebreaking a puppy much easier, and a new pet will become accustomed to a new home with a lot less stress.

Go for Scheduled Walks

Take a break from your work and take your dog for a walk every day at the same time. It’s a good exercise for both of you. Most importantly, it allows your dog to release stress, work off pent-up energy, and enjoy the mental stimulation dogs need for good health.

Take a scheduled walk in the morning, again at midday and again in the evening after dinner. Within just a day or two, your dog will be able to relax and nap while you are hard at work at your desk.

Create DIY Toys

Make sure your schedule includes time for your pets to play with you. In your pet’s mind, nothing is better than playing with you. What can you do when your pet wants to play with you when you are in the middle of a work project with a deadline? Distract your pet with a toy — don’t scold it. Like most pet owners, you probably have toys around that your pet can play with by themselves. If not, make your own toys!

For cats, almost anything can be a toy — a string, a balled up piece of newspaper or an empty paper bag or box will be fine.

toys can be used to entertain pets at home while owner work remotelyFor dogs, you can make simple and inexpensive toys that will keep the dog occupied — at least until you are finished with your conference call. For example, stuff an old dried-out shin bone or hollow antler with peanut butter or soft cheese mixed with kibble. If you don’t have an old bone, use an empty plastic soda bottle without the cap. Put some kibble in it and watch your dog work to get the kibble to spill out. You can also use a sealed plastic container with strategically-sized holes poked into it. (Keep an eye on your dog to make sure it doesn’t try to eat bits of plastic to access the kibble!)

Invite Your Pet to Work Meetings

Depending on the situation, bringing your pet to a virtual meeting can be a way to lighten the mood and bring a few minutes of joy to everyone. Your pet will probably enjoy the unexpected attention.

Take Breaks to Interact with Your Pet

Build time into your daily routine for short scheduled breaks. That will be time for you to interact with your pet by playing, training, cuddling, sharing a snack, going outside for a few minutes of fun, or all of the above!

Work with Paw Pals

If your work keeps you from being able to take your dog for a walk or spending quality time with your pet, consult with the pet care experts at Paw Pals. They are available to answer your questions about your pet’s behavior and work with you to provide it with the attention it needs when you cannot. Contact them today for more information about their professional pet care services.

Filed Under: Pet Advice

Contact Paw Pals for More Information

Paw Pals specializes in professional dog walking, dog sitting, and pet sitting services. One of our reliable, adult staff members will keep your pet safe, while providing your pet the love and care they need when you are away. Contact us to learn more!

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Paw Pals Pet Sitting, LLC
14001-C Saint Germain Drive #213
Centreville, VA 20121
(703) 345-1695

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Tuesday
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Centreville – 20120, 20121
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Clifton – 20124
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4.9
Paw Pals Pet Sitting
Paw Pals Pet Sitting
4.9
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith
21:22 03 Oct 21
I never worry when Mary and team take care of my dog!
Michæl Silva
Michæl Silva
21:38 01 Jul 22
Mary at Paw Pals Pet Sitting is the greatest! She has helped me train my pooch Chico how play nice with other dogs and for that I am extremely grateful! A+A+A+A+A+A
Kwi Kim
Kwi Kim
22:37 17 Jun 22
I hired Paw Pals based on my sister’s referral. Meet & greet was very thorough and detailed. I was surprised that my finicky cat came to check the sitter out. Subsequently, a sitter watched my cat over several separate visits, and it was clear through the visit reports that my cat loved the sitter. All the visits were completed having followed my directions & with professionalism.I would highly recommend Paw Pals to anyone who’s looking for a dependable, personable, & professional sitter.
Joseph Walter
Joseph Walter
19:55 13 Jun 22
Paw Pals provided a large number of photos of our pets along with a personalized message on how our pets were doing with every single visit. I would highly recommend using Paw Pals, we'll be continuing to use them whenever we go on vacation.
Ashley Manning
Ashley Manning
09:50 11 Jun 22
Highly recommend as pet sitters!Initially, a sitter from the company will visit the house to meet the pets and learn where everything is. Tatiana took careful notes and we got her some spare keys.While we are away, Paw Pals sends sitters to come and look after our boys. They feed them, scoop litter, bring in mail and packages, and they will even manage trash, recycling, blinds and lights so that everything is comfortable for our kitties. Each time they check in, we receive an email message with updates and pictures, which is so comforting when we are on the road.Also, if you don’t let Paw Pals know when you are home, they assume something has happened and will continue to care for your babies. If something were to happen, I know they would be okay.Five stars for Paw Pals!
Brian Wood
Brian Wood
04:08 22 May 22
We have used Paw Pals for a number of years now and would highly recommend to anyone looking for help with their pets. Great communication from owner Mary and flexibility to make adjustments in schedule as life changes over time. Have had a consistent set of walkers who have gotten to know our pup and the various walking routes around our neighborhood quite well.
Lesley Bush
Lesley Bush
13:58 18 Mar 22
We can't rave enough about Paw Pals. They took care of our 18 year old Cat and 20 year old Chinchilla while we were away and when our flight got cancelled, they were so accommodating and available last minute for an extra day. We worked with Jen to coordinate visits from Miko and Danny. I loved the pictures and updates on how our Lil geriatric guys were doing. Thanks a million, Paw Pals!! Our special pets were so well cared for.
Sebastian Barnes
Sebastian Barnes
01:06 17 Jan 22
I have used Paw Pals for several trips over the last few months, and they have been phenomenal every time! Mary is extremely kind and responsive, and she makes sure that my cat and dog have the care that they need every time I am out of town. All of the pet sitters that I've had have been incredibly sweet to my pets, and they treat them like their own! Will gladly continue using Paw Pals every time I need a sitter.
Julie Shildt
Julie Shildt
17:45 14 Nov 21
It has been a pleasure doing business with paw pals. We have used this company for several trips we have taken over the past 6 months. They have been wonderful caretakers for our 2 cats. Anytime there is ever a question they don't hesitate to give us a call and they leave the best notes and pictures in the emailed report of each visit. We are so glad have found such a great company.
Andrea Hall
Andrea Hall
22:45 03 Oct 20
I wasn't sure about hiring a new doggie walker service... after all they are our kiddos... my babies were in great hands and I felt relaxed having them in their care. Thank you for everything!
Katie McCune
Katie McCune
19:19 15 Jul 21
I honestly cannot recommend Mary and her whole crew enough! We started using Mary originally about 7 years ago to stop by occasionally when our Aussie Lana was younger. Over the next couple years Lana stayed with Mary and her family for a couple weekends when we went on vacation. When we moved to our new house in Manassas, Lana stayed with Sam, who lives in Manassas, overnight for moving day, and did great. Right before the pandemic, we adopted our second Aussie, Goose, and Mary recommended a fantastic trainer for him.We now have weekly walks for the dogs, and they love all of their walkers! Trevor, Paul, Hazel, Sofie, and probably a couple others have helped Goose get used to more people, and have helped my husband and me when our schedules are crazy.Paw Pals is our go-to for any help with our dogs, so I highly recommend them!
Alexandra Hill
Alexandra Hill
22:43 23 May 21
I was a nervous mommy to leave my cats with a sitter service for the first time. Paw Pals went above and beyond to care for my cats and ease a nervous mommy. I already made a reservation to use them again!
Cindy Welgoss
Cindy Welgoss
13:12 27 Nov 20
We have been using Paw Pals for several years, and through a variety of pets that we have loved. Mary and her team have always been *exceptional* in every way. They are professional, courteous, and truly love our fur family! Mary herself is an organized and stellar administrator of her pet care business, keeping detailed records of our pet’s needs, scheduled pet visits, payments, and balance due easy to keep track of as the pet owner. The pet caretaking team is reliable and trustworthy. When our dogs see any of their Paw Pal friends, they get SO excited to see them! Follow up comments are left via text to keep the pet owner informed of the visit and how the pets are faring. Paw Pals has allowed our family the peace of mind to leave our pets at home, for work, weekend getaways and longer times away when necessary, where they are the most comfortable and familiar. We are grateful to Mary and her team for giving us the ability to enjoy pet ownership without feeling tied down. The responsibility of having pets comes with the need to keep them safe and comfortable at all times, and Mary and her team affords us this when our family has to be away.
Dr Tammy Cashion
Dr Tammy Cashion
21:11 12 Mar 19
We have used Paw pals pet sitting on multiple occasions for our bunnies while we are away. Many pet sitters are not interested in small pets however; Mary and her team, are amazing and we trust her implicitly! We are very happy with the outstanding service we have received from her team including texts and photos of our pets when we are out of town. They always go the extra mile and we highly recommend them!
Kristin Conrad
Kristin Conrad
16:00 16 Nov 19
We are so grateful we found Mary and her team at Paw Pals. They are exceptionally responsive, amazingly organized and detail-oriented.We have such peace of mind when we travel knowing our home and pets are so well cared for. Paw Pals is the best pet sitting service we’ve used, and we’re so happy we found them.
Katie Russell
Katie Russell
15:01 17 May 20
Paw Pals is fantastic! I have had a great experience with Mary! Compassionate, professional, responsive, and prompt! Thank you!
Phillip Evans
Phillip Evans
14:38 11 Jul 20
When we adopted our new dog in January, Paw Pals agreed to walk her and give her some outside time so she wasn't in the crate all day. She loved her dog walker and you could see her excitement every time the walker showed up. We moved out of the area but would recommend Paw Pals to anyone needing someone to care for their pets.
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