Co-Pilot vs. Co-Dependent: How Working From Home Changed My Dogs

Does anyone remember the bumper sticker "Dog is My Co-Pilot?"

I probably just dated myself.

Lately, I've noticed a shift happening in my house, from co-pilot to co-dependent. I think working from home might be to blame.

The Fab 5 have always wanted to be my co-pilot, which would make for a very crowded cockpit, but that's beside the point.

The Old Routine

For most of my career, I traveled weekly. Every Tuesday I dropped the pack at doggie daycare for boarding and headed to the airport. Every Thursday night I flew home. Friday was pickup day, and the weekends were ours. There was always playing, friends, family, and doggie friends.

We were always on the go.

Tuesday came around and the doggie work week began again.

My pack knew the drill. There was no hesitation or anxiety, just dogs on the go. Looking back, I think the consistency of that routine was doing a lot of heavy lifting I didn't fully appreciate at the time.

Fast Forward to 2017

I got Hudson and Erwitt while working from home, back before working from home was a thing. I still traveled plenty, and the boys picked up the routine quickly. It helped that they had Halo and Cherry to show them the ropes. Seasoned veterans, those two.

Fast Forward to Now

It's 2026. I work from home way more and travel a lot less. The good news is I'm around all the time. That's also, apparently, the bad news.

I started to wonder whether being available constantly had quietly shifted our dynamic. I love being with my dogs, but I've noticed something: more anxiety, more excitement when I'm heading somewhere, and a general sense that everyone wants in on whatever I'm doing at all times.

Effect on The Fab 5

Prayerie became more anxious. She had always been loose in the house, but she started tearing up her blanket when I left. New behavior, and not a fun one. We went back to crate management, as advised by my trainer Marc, for a stretch, and she's back to being calm when I'm gone now. All blankets are still in one piece.

Fleetwood is my shadow. Since I started to work from home fulltime, Fleetwood has become much more co-dependent. Rarely in a different room, follows me everywhere. However, by having more time at home, Fleetwood and I have been working on training. We have our routine. The best news is that I have seen Fleetwood making the shift from co-dependent to co-pilot.

Hudson and Erwitt are a lot more attached to me now, since I work from home more. However, it’s in a healthy way, not in a separation anxiety way! They are always ready to go somewhere with me. No anxiety. Just a little FOMO.

Daisy is a different dog entirely. She has no interest in being co-dependent or a co-pilot. Calm, cool, and collected, she goes with the flow and is perfectly comfortable doing exactly that. She is about as independent as they come, and the show circuit proved it. I wish I was this composed.

There's Actually Science Behind This

Veterinary behaviorists and dog trainers saw a significant spike in separation anxiety cases after 2020. Owners were suddenly home all day, every day. The dog got used to you always being there. Then you run to the store for 20 minutes and the dog loses it, because now any absence feels like abandonment. The baseline shifted without anyone noticing.

When a dog goes from seeing you leave every morning to having you home 24/7, their nervous system rewires around constant access and your presence. Remove yourself after teaching your dog this new standard and they act like the world is ending.

I honestly never thought about it that way. Once you're home all the time, any departure from that becomes a stressor. Prayerie's blanket situation is a perfect example.

The interesting piece, though, is that it comes down to two things working together: routine and time apart. Predictable patterns lower stress because they give your dog a framework to operate inside of. And regular, structured absence teaches a dog to settle and to learn that you leaving doesn't mean the sky is falling. My old Tuesday-Thursday travel schedule was protecting them on both fronts. They knew what Tuesday meant, and they got consistent practice being alone without the world ending.

The Observation That Made Me Think

After talking with Marc, my dog trainer, here's what stuck with me.

On gym mornings or when I'm leaving for lunch, the pack is completely unbothered. Nobody tries to beat me out the door. They all find their favorite spots and settle in.

My dogs are remarkably good at reading departure cues: the shoes, the bag, the energy. (Fleetwood knows the difference between sneakers and high heels. The heels mean going out without dogs.)

But reading cues is a double-edged sword. Sometimes it works in your favor because the dog learns the pattern and settles. Other times those same cues become the trigger, because the dog clocks the signs and gets anxious before you've even reached the door.

Marc's advice was to mix it up. Pick up the keys and don't go anywhere. Put the shoes on and sit back down. Leave for two minutes and then for three hours, no pattern the dog can latch onto. As far as they're concerned, you could be back in five minutes or five hours. Their job is to stay calm because everything is fine, regardless of what the cues are telling them.

Which Brings Me Back to the Original Question

A little co-dependent, and they very much appreciate a clear routine.

The irony is I used to have one built in. The travel schedule created structure without me having to think about it. Working from home is a different challenge entirely, and I'm still figuring out how to give them that same consistency in a much less structured day.

The gym mornings are proof they can handle it. Now I just have to give them more of those.

Co-pilots prefer consistency. I'm working on it.

-Kim Opdyke

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