What are some of your favorite ways of hanging out with your dog(s) at home? What activities do you do at home? What does your dog do when you have no time for him?
My dog just seems to like to be near me. We hang out on the porch. Sometimes we watch people together, and sometimes I work and she makes sure no bad guys bother us. When I have to move around the house, she may follow me around to help. I’ve tried giving her toys to keep her occupied, but they don’t seem to interest her unless I’m involved. She loves walks, especially in the woods, but between outings she seems to turn into a stuffed animal.
Sometimes I worry that my dog might be bored. So I’m curious as to what others do with their dogs at home. Perhaps I can get some ideas to improve my dog’s home life!
My dogs definitely love to hang out with me as I work on the computer. Usually the older one takes the bed and the younger one takes the floor or the arm chair. The younger dog is still in his chewing phase. He likes to pull things out of the recycle bin and carry them off to shred. Cardboard egg cartons are his favorite. It’s messy, but I don’t mind letting him have his little pleasures. The older dog likes to dig holes in the yard. He has a game where he digs a hole, drops a tennis ball into the hole, and then scrabbles with his paws until he gets the ball out of the hole again. I’d rather he didn’t play this game, but that’s on me. He wouldn’t do it if I were supervising him better when he’s in the yard.
My dog is kind of like yours, naturally a chill dog. She gets a longer walk in the morning then eats and usually goes back to sleep while I work during the day. I step away from work to play with her a couple times during the work day. Another shorter walk mid-day.
Toward the end of the day is more when she gets active.After her final walk I have a kong filled with broccoli or such that gets frozen in the fridge. She snacks on those, then she can do a puzzle or work on her chew. Fetch for about 20 mins and she is good.
So sweet. I love ‘chill’ dogs. They’ll go for an 8-mile hike every morning if you want, but if not they’ll just lounge on the couch all day (maybe with some ball-throwing).
Our pup is content just to be near us. He will help with whatever I’m doing, housework, yardwork, he’s right there helping lol. We play a bit here and there during the day, inside or outside, but he’s honestly super happy just to be a part of the family. He’s almost 2YO now, so he’s pretty much doing whatever we’re doing, if we’re chilling watching TV, he’ll eventually lie out for a nap as long as he’s had his mental and physical excersise. I try to keep him a part of my daily home activities, whether that’s cleaning up or reading or whatever.
He’ll chew a bone or bully stick, watch out the window, or just check on the back garden on his own, but all he wants is to be a part of the family.
My social life drastically changed when I got a dog. I got a puppy during Covid bc I was home all day and bored and lonely. Now that things are opening, sometimes I regret getting her because my life is so drastically different now. If you care about your social life more than your dog, maybe consider rehoming to someone who has the time for her. Or, hire someone to help take care of her. I recently started putting my dog in daycare 2x week and those days are when I do my social activities / run errands.
There’s no easy solution here. Getting a dog is a giant commitment for the next ~10 years. You could look into training classes or join dog meet up groups if you want activities where you can both attend!