[alaskayorkie]

It used to torment me that my dogs had nothing to do all day, but friends assured me that that's what dogs do. When no one's home, they sleep and rest.

It still bothered me, so I addressed it in 2 ways. I set a 5-hour limit on alone time. I don't always achieve it, but that's my goal even if I have to come home from work to feed them and let them in the yard.

Most importantly, I made sure our routine at other times is fulfilling and predictable. They get a walk before I go to work (easy for me because I work at 3 p.m.!). After the walk, they get some training time or supervised games with me -- fetching, nosework, agility practice, anything as long as it's quality time with me.

After their long day, I take them for a midnight walk as soon as I get home. When they get bored during the day, they know they can count on that evening walk. We also play games on that walk.

After that, it's often lap time while I watch TV. They can be a little amped up in the evening still, but the longer the walk, the more they relax.

I've kinda neglected mentioning that my wife is home with them when I'm not because she works a normal schedule. But their time with her is mainly lap time. Their training and exercise routine revolves around me.