With most of us working from home to stop the spread of coronavirus, many of us are finding ourselves missing our daily routines more than ever. From catching up with work colleagues, going out for a daily coffee run and even (dare we say)… the commute.

But there is one member of our family who is loving this new isolation arrangement, and that’s our dogs.

For them, life in isolation means more walks, more belly rubs and more attention. And in return, our fur babies make for great companions to help get us through this difficult and uncertain time.

But when it comes time for us to actually work, dogs don’t exactly make for the best co-workers.

While being able to work from home right now is a privilege, trying to conduct meetings and complete daily tasks with a dog comes with its own unique challenges.

From barking during work calls to multiple daily walks, here are six things every working from home dog parent knows to be true.

1. Our dogs are a little, well… confused.

Sure, at first our dogs loved the fact we were spending more time at home with them. But now we’re fairly sure they’re getting a little confused by the fact that we’re at home in our pyjamas all day, snacking on foods they can’t eat and telling them they have to be quiet when we take a work call.

So my dog has been so happy that everyone is home for quarantine, that his tail has stopped working, so we went to the vet and the vet said ‘he had sprained his tail from excessively wagging it’ ????????????????????????

— Emma smith (@Emmasmith77xx) March 20, 2020

first day working from home and my dog just looked at me and sighed and i feel seen #covid19australia pic.twitter.com/IglyAlF3Ft

— Danny Tran (@DANNYTRAN) April 14, 2020

2. They want our undivided attention (but only when it suits them, of course).

Any dog owner will tell you that on the whole, their fur babies are a lot needier at the moment. Right now, our dogs want to know exactly what we’re doing and how they can stick their (albeit adorable) little noses in it too.

But there are other times when our dogs are very much getting sick of the fact that we’re home 24/7. Its seems dogs very much need their ‘me time’ in isolation as much as the rest of us.

“Bella has just had it. She won’t even sit with me anymore she’s so sick of the attention,” Jessie says.

“I feel like Floyd just wants me stop looking at him. Like he’s saying ‘let me lie in strange positions and places in peace, go away,” Isobel adds.

3. They have a knack for barking at the perfect time during work calls.

There’s just something about work calls.

For most of the day, our dogs will be busy sleeping or pottering around the house to themselves. But as soon as it’s time for an all-important work conference call, their canine senses will start tingling. Suddenly, they’ll find that old squeaky toy that’s been lost under the couch for months or start barking at the bird that’s been in the tree all morning.

It’s not all bad news though, more of our dogs have also been making appearances in morning Zoom meetings, which is always a great way to start off the day.

Me working from home: *makes work phone call*
My 2 dogs: “let’s go absolutely apeshit crazy in the background of his call”

— Charles Sager (@Charles_Sage12) March 23, 2020

Brand new element of my work day now that I’m working from home: Dog farts disrupting your conference call. pic.twitter.com/xtyKNKMG3X

— Craig Yargeau (@MrMeowzers) March 26, 2020

4. They are getting lots of walks. Too many perhaps.

Now that we are spending all our time at home, we’re finding any excuse to go outside and exercise. Which means our dogs are getting walked. A lot.

So much so, that we’ve found ourselves frantically googling if a dog can be walked too many times. 

Now on first name terms with every dog over the park. Safe to say Ruby is loving all the extra walks now we’re working from home ????

— Katie Benton (@katiebenton23) April 9, 2020

5. They have no concept of personal space.

Much like kids, dogs have little to no concept of personal space. It doesn’t matter how important the task you’re working on, dogs will always find a way to sneak onto your lap or wedge their head right in between your laptop and your arm. We can’t complain too much though, they make for great cuddle companions when work gets stressful.

Coworker is a stage 5 clinger ????????????????‍♀️#ShelterInPlace #workingfromhome #workingfromhomechallenge #weratedogs @dog_rates @IamActiveDog @DoggiePix @TwitterVideo

Working from home be like: pic.twitter.com/vUc97on48n

— hello (@lmerh) April 13, 2020

The joys of working from home ???????? you end up with a snoring dog on your lap #workingfromhome #workingremotely #StayHomeSaveLifes #dogsduringlockdown pic.twitter.com/GT4flfB06u

— Keeping your Books Ltd – Heidi Jenkins (@LtdKeeping) April 10, 2020

Working from home today is proving difficult when a certain little dog wants to lie on my laptop . Good job he’s so cute ???? pic.twitter.com/1rJvTvh1eT

— Laura Hawkins (@LauraHawkinss) April 11, 2020

6. You’re not sure if you’ll ever be able to work without your dog again.

For those of us fortunate enough to still have a job, we can’t help but think about the day we have to go back to the office and leave our fur baby behind.

Sure, we’ll no longer be able to pat them whenever we please or go for walks around the block with them on our lunch break, but just think about how much more excited they are going to be when we walk through the door after a long day at work.

Day 17 of working from home: When this is all over my dog is going to have to come to work with me. He may be 45 pounds but he spends all day on my lap and is going to be a mess when I leave.

— Haley Titsworth (@haleytee94) April 13, 2020