Should You Take Your Pet to Work This Week?

Q and A with Pet Trainer Grey Stafford

Dr. Grey Stafford is Director of Conservation and Communications at the Wildlife World Zoo, which makes him the perfect choice for our Sweet Animal Expert. And since it's "Take Your Pet to Work Week", he's starting us out with some tips to keep the peace with your pets at the office.

For many of us, pets play such an important part of our lives that we want to spend as much time with them as possible.  It’s no wonder why somebody came up with the idea to devote the entire week of June 19th to taking our pets to work with us.

Although taking your pet to work sounds like a fun idea, before you decide to take yours to work, ask yourself whether he/she is prepared for all the people, places and things it will encounter along the way.  Perhaps your pet is so shy that a whole or even half day at your workplace is just too much stimulation.  Rather than a positive experience for him, it may only serve to make him more fearful or even aggressive in new situations.  Or, maybe you have the friendliest and most curious dog on the planet.  How then do you plan to encourage it to remain calm as it is bombarded with all sorts of interesting sights, sounds and smells?  Either way, if your pet is not used to making even local trips, an unfamiliar work place may not be the best place to start teaching “road trips.”  This is particularly true if you will be distracted by work tasks most of the day.  After all, we want to ensure the experience will be as successful for them as it promises to be fun for us.

If you think your animal stands a great chance of being successful at the office, bring some of your pet’s favorite items such as a dog blanket to help him feel greater ease.  Most importantly, be certain to acknowledge your pet with praise, attention, a timely treat and maybe a few quiet toys frequently throughout the day—more frequently than you would need at home.  Do this as he lies quietly in a crate or under your desk, as you calmly walk him around the building, or as he encounters coworkers and their pets.  Don’t wait or forget to respond to him until after he's become bored and started to fuss by pulling on the leash, scratching at the kennel door, whining, barking, or getting into your neighbors’ cubicles.  Given the large number of potential distractions at the office compared to the familiar setting of your home and yard, you should plan to be much more proactive in rewarding your pet for success throughout the day.  By paying attention to him while he's successful, he'll better understand what you expect and will be more likely to continue that good behavior.  One of the most common mistakes pet owners make is assuming pets know exactly what we want them to do all day long and ignore them until they get into trouble.  Waiting until they are already failing at something and responding with punishment isn’t fair to the pet and it won’t teach him how to be successful in the future.

If possible, consider taking your pets home early during a break or at lunch.  That way, they get to go home when they are still succeeding and before you risk overextending the experience past their current ability.  Also, talk with your coworkers ahead of time to find out which day they intend to bring their pets and whether they are used to meeting other animals.  Then you can choose the best time, if any, to bring your pet so that everyone has the best chance to succeed.

In the coming weeks, we’ll discuss other ways you can help your animal succeed using the same principles of positive reinforcement zoo keepers and animal trainers have used for years with wild, exotic and sometimes dangerous animals.  Good luck!

~ Dr. Grey

Learn more about Dr. Grey Stafford

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