# Problems at work.



## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

So I did a post on this a couple months ago, but we are having trouble again. Our 10 month old V goes to work with my wife. He has his own room with lots of toys and chews. The last couple of weeks he has become horrible in that he whines and barks that he wants out. Currently the room is just off the main office and the door is left open with a baby gate to keep him in. He is now whining so much that he no longer sleeps during the day, and of course this makes work very difficult for my wife. The first issue we had was when he was in his crate at work and moving him to the room seemed to helped but now we are back to the whining and barking.
Anyone else take their pup to work??? Any ideas????


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## Looney (Sep 28, 2011)

i'd love too but i work in a cubical type setup.

he just misses you! velcro for a reason. I was outside talking yesterday and he could see me thru the screen and was still whining like dad....dad....dad...i wanna come out!!!!

he quit eventually....

so cute but SOOOOOO annoying right! i'm just a newb at this but i love this dog more than i thought i would!!!!!! and that was a TON!!!!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Sounds like he maybe going through the teenage stage. Trying to push the limits. I would give him more exercise in the morning before work and again in the evening. Less rambunctious when they're tired.


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

TexasRed said:


> Sounds like he maybe going through the teenage stage. Trying to push the limits. I would give him more exercise in the morning before work and again in the evening. Less rambunctious when they're tired.


We have TexasRed and I should have had said. Mac is up a 6 with me for an hour running around on long line up at the park. He then gets a 20min walk at the office to potty and release excitement of getting to the office. The office is a converted sheep barn so surrounded by fields to which he runs around for an hour at lunch. Then he gets an on lead 30min to 1hr walk in the evening. So plenty of exercise. Still we have this behaviour. :-[


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## Lincolns Parents (Aug 6, 2011)

Don't know how you feel about bark collars....they DO work. They aren't for everyone but its an option if your wife is pulling her hair out. (IMO)
Just a thought......


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

If you really want him to be with you at work I would put the crate right next to you. Understand that what you are asking is unnatural for a V. He would be better off by himself in his crate at home. He should know the crate is his place and be comfortable and quiet. This assumes, as you say he has had enough exercise. If so, he will be quiet. If not he needs more crate training. Remember, NEVER open the crate if he is making any noise.


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

Linescreamer said:


> If you really want him to be with you at work I would put the crate right next to you. Understand that what you are asking is unnatural for a V. He would be better off by himself in his crate at home. He should know the crate is his place and be comfortable and quiet. This assumes, as you say he has had enough exercise. If so, he will be quiet. If not he needs more crate training. Remember, NEVER open the crate if he is making any noise.


Thanks Linescreamer. We did try the crate thing and Mac is an angel in it at home but the result in the office is the same. Whining and barking constantly. At home now he is only in his crate at night to sleep if left at home on his dog walker days he have free range of the kitchen.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Savannah comes with me to work. This will not be your last phase of whining and barking. Sort of like kids, what works one time will not work the next. I thought your room might have been a permanent answer (although one I can't do with my setup). So here are a few things to try...
1) Every couple of hours, randomly so it doesn't become a schedule. Have your wife get up, get the leash, and walk him at heel around the building. It's not excercise so much as a change in scenery, a break in the day, a chance to be with her.
2) Put a crate in the room with him. When he starts whining or barking, have her give a command (rotate them so he doesn't get used to them) from her chair. Sit, down, crate...anything so that she can say 'good boy'. All from her chair.
3) Whenever she goes to sit in her chair, have her say the same phrase. 'I have to work now'. 'Be quiet so I can work for a bit'. Anything to let him know that wife in chair means he has self-playtime.
4) If possible, have her schedule some lap time, or floor time if he isn't a lap dog. Usually for me I have a break from the phone ringing at certain times in the morning and other times in the afternoon. Then put him back in his room. When she sits back in her chair 'I have to work now'. Make it a routine.
5) Unfortunately, every once in a while, I run out of ideas, or time to implement them. In that case, I run through a few commands (sit, down, paw, come, stay), tell her good girl, and then crate her. If she keeps whining, without any fuss or comment, I get up and cover the crate with my coat. If she still whines, I slide the crate (with her in it) into the hallway. As soon as my issue has passed, I let her our of the crate with a few more commands and a short walk so she doesn't associate the crate with punishment.

Your wife will find tricks of her own over time. When she finds one that works for her, I'd really appreciate her sharing. I can tell that eventually, Savannah will stop (the whining is considerably less now than even 6 months ago), but we probably still have a few months ahead of us before we get there.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Hi, you have more than one problem. Staying in one place is just one part, there are pieces that must fit before the puzzle is solved. Dog training is like that. You must prepare (train) sit, place, stay and some other modules separately before you can even expect the dog to sit by your side at work.

The way you describe it, sounds like you own the business your wife works at....because I don't think any employer would even consider allowing a dog, let alone give him a separate room.

We run our business and feel fortunate we can have the dog with us all the time. When I work I ask him to sit/lie down and relax beside me. He learned to stay for hours... They sleep during the day so it would not matter if I leave him in the crate.

He is 1.1 year old now, but at 10 months I used a freeleash (google it) and dragged him around everywhere I went. This taught him to stay by me and relax. It took more than two months but the end it was worth it. I can let him loose on our walks, completely off leash biking around people, traffic, children, busy streets, other dogs....etc. 
It is still a work in progress because he will chase rabbits like crazy so I am taking a chance but that is why I have him whistle trained and if all else fails I still have the e-collar on him.

PLEASE USE THE FREELEASH AND TRAIN HIM PROPERLY TO SIT/DOWN/STAY 
GOOD LUCK


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

born36 said:


> Linescreamer said:
> 
> 
> > If you really want him to be with you at work I would put the crate right next to you. Understand that what you are asking is unnatural for a V. He would be better off by himself in his crate at home. He should know the crate is his place and be comfortable and quiet. This assumes, as you say he has had enough exercise. If so, he will be quiet. If not he needs more crate training. Remember, NEVER open the crate if he is making any noise.
> ...


It sounds like he needs more crate training. I still think for a young V it's too much to ask. However, if you are not training him to be quiet in the crate next to you at home, why would you expect him to be quiet in the crate at work. Do you think he will do this just because you want him to? So much of training is conditioning, consistency and patience. He is not getting any consistency. I would say a perfect dog would need a month of being crated at home for various time periods building up to a few hours with you next to him, prior to him accepting it in your[/color] work environment. If you keep letting the dog wounder around uncrated and back and forth in and out of the crate in the office what do expect? The dog doesn't know how to act. We as trainers and caregivers need to provide the structure and set the expectations. So, if you want him crated and quiet you need to crate him and ignore him until he is quiet. Start with 15 minutes and build up until he is comfortable in the crate and behaves for the required time period. Show him what is expected and reward good behavior. I would use cheese or hot dogs. Give him a piece when he is doing the right thing after 15 minutes. Next time he gets the treat at 20 minutes and the time after that it's 25 minutes. Get the picture? Do you guys think seeing eye dogs or master hunters just show up and do it? No, the owners/trainers spend countless hours getting the dog to react appropriately when asked.


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## finch (Sep 19, 2011)

I bring Finch to the office with me and she is great, but I don't have to go in every day... maybe if it were every day, she'd get bored more easily. She started coming with me from 9 weeks old.... I got her a special bed just for my office that usually sits under my desk like a little den and I always bring in something special for her to work on for the day, like a frozen kong or marrow bone. She likes being able to visit with my colleagues if she wants to, but generally she just stays in my office and doesn't wander. I think she would whine if she were confined to a crate b/c she would would _feel_ like she was trapped, even though she stays in the same 10x10' space anyway. Sometimes she gets a little restless so I stop what I am doing and talk to her, have her do a few tricks or go for a walk outside. I was planning to get her a bigger bed, but as you can see from the photo, she likes to squeeze herself into this one still. When we have staff meetings downstairs, I bring her bed and she knows that is time to nap while we are all talking. So for us, it is a mixture of routine and novelty. 


Good luck! I can't imagine working someplace where I couldn't have FInch with me... she makes the work day so much more enjoyable!


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