Shop Dog Thoughts

[Steve Demuth]

Early in July, our beloved Golden Retriever died suddenly and unexpectedly of cancer. Pippen was the most loyal, loving, take-care-of-my-people pet one could hope for. He went everywhere with my wife as she worked in her studio, in our gardens, and around the farm. But he would not go into my shop.

Pippen's place in the household is rapidly being filled by Atticus, a 5 month old mostly Red Poodle with one (or maybe two) great grandsires who were Golden Retrievers.

I spend a lot of time in my shop, since I retired a year ago, and I want the dog to be a shop companion. I will train him to the required behaviors to keep him and me safe, but I thought it'd be interesting to here from any Creekers who have had dogs as shop companions how they went about making it work, and frankly, any stories about the joys or tribulations of having a pet in that environment.

(I am not particularly interested in hearing why this is a bad idea, can't work, or the like. I've already decided to do it :):) )

[John Kananis]

I hope it works out for you. I lost my Rottie to cancer last June - saying that she was wonderful would be the largest understatement of my life. Regardless, as much as I tried throughout her life, I couldn't get her to stay in the shop with me. As soon as a machine would turn on, she was out. Wasn't scared at all but didn't care for the noise I guess. Even when I used hand tools, my grabbing a mallet was her cue.

[Richard Verwoest]

I feel your pain Steve. I am not looking forward to the day I have to say good bye. My dog can usually be found by my side. He is a yellow Lab and is gun broke, so the machine noise does not bother him. My only real recommendation is to make sure he/she has their very own spot and is trained to lay there. Nothing worse than an additional tripping hazard.

Richard

[Dave Sweeney]

Your enjoyment with having a shop dog will solely depend on your ability to properly train the dog to be in that type of environment. If you have the ability to successfully do that then you can look forward to enjoying your time together in the shop. If training dogs is a struggle for you then do both yourself and the dog a favor and keep him/her out of the shop.

[Scott Clausen]

I have two dogs, one is very skittish of any loud noise. The other tries to bite me if I fire up a loud tool. There is no way I can have either in my shop unless it is hand tool time, even then, they are just not into it. Good for all of us.

[Jim Becker]

There's no wrong answer here and a whole bunch of individual, personal considerations including, and most importantly, the nature of the specific pet. If you enjoy having a shop-dog, then see how it works out. If you feel comfortable over a reasonable period of time, kewel. If there are things you feel uncertain about based on observed behavior including heavy distraction that impacts your own safety, then you evaluate.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Steve, I had a shop cat, Ellington Snodgrass III for almost 20 years.

I miss him every time I’m in the shop.

Best wishes for you and your new shop snoopervisor……..Regards, Rod

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

I'm all for it. You know what is and is not safe in your shop. Atticus will keep you on your toes for awhile and remind you to put certain things out of reach. If Atticus doesn't work out in the shop, at least you gave it a try.

After having "the most polite dog" hang around me for 15.5 years and only needing a simple "no no" correction for Little Miss Manners to keep her safe, it was a big adjustment to having a new pup. The Slovakian Crotchsniffing Hound recently turned 5 years old and is not allowed in the shop even when on a leash. Even with constant supervision, if anything is on the floor or within her reach, she will find a way to lick it, steal it, or eat it. Drop a sheet of sandpaper and she's on it before you can bend down and pick it up. The more dangerous the item for her, the faster she is at stealing it.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Sorry for your loss. Our Gus (Boston Terrier, Shitzu, Poodle) will hang in the shop if the floor is clean, his ball is present, and the man remembers to throw it fairly often. He would rather be outside. Gus's predecessor, Lillyfoot (Cocker + Springer + ?), would also begrudgingly keep me company. She too preferred the house or outdoors. The Cat will enter if the man is not present making horrible noises.

The Dog stories written by Gary Paulsen remain family favorites.

[John Ziebron]

I have raised 17 puppies for Leader Dogs for the Blind here in Michigan. Along with regular and some specialized command training the pups need to be very well socialized and acclimated to many environmental and man made conditions such as loud trucks and other loud vehicles, backfiring cars, etc. The earlier in a dog's life you can do this the easier it is. I took one of the pups at 8 weeks old (the day I picked it up) to a local city that just happened to have their 4th of July fireworks that evening. He was not bothered at all by the noise and ended up sleeping halfway through.

A 5 month old pup, depending somewhat on the breed would be much more challenging to get accustomed to shop noise. It would require a lot of time and patience and would need to be done gradually. You would need the make the noise experience "no big deal" for them and reward with treats. Gradually expose them to lower noise tools and go from there. Even young dogs can sense your anxiety which would transfer to them so you have to "train" yourself to not worry about any reaction they might have. And don't close them in the shop or chain them in the shop because one bad experience in these early stages could stop them from ever getting used to the noise.

[Curt Harms]

The Cat will enter if the man is not present making horrible noises.

The Dog stories written by Gary Paulsen remain family favorites.

We've had two cats who adopted me so would follow me down stairs to the shop. The first, a rescue who was some combination of Maine Coon/Norwegian Forest Cat/Siberian we think and was not at all deterred by the noise. I figured the first time I fired the jointer/planer up she'd beat feet. Nope, sat right there and made sure I was doing it right. The current occupant will follow me down stairs in case there's something that requires her supervision but will not stick around if I'm making much noise.

[Steve Demuth]

John,

Thanks for this excellent practical advice. I have had a lot of dogs over the years, and completely agree on the need for early training to accomodate to loud sounds.

[Rick Potter]

My shop door is usually open unless it is very hot outside. I have two dogs who will follow me inside, where they have a rug they lay on near the door. Fire up a machine and the Lab heads for the exit, while the Fox Hound could care less.

On the other hand, if the gate gets left open, the Hound will take off, while the Lab would never go past it. My old Lab Molly was like that too. Matter of fact, we moved the gate out about 5 feet, and she always stopped at the old location.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Dad had some Coon Hounds. One Red Bone named Eno was a great shop dog. He would lay near the wood stove and howl in his sleep when someone ran a router.

[Mike Henderson]

My shop dog, Skipper, was always with me, so when I was in the shop, so was he. He had a bed in the shop and slept there while I worked. I lost Skipper to old age this past December. I really miss him.

Mike

[Curt Harms]

Dad had some Coon Hounds. One Red Bone named Eno was a great shop dog. He would lay near the wood stove and howl in his sleep when someone ran a router.

A Duet! :D

[Rod Sheridan]

My shop dog, Skipper, was always with me, so when I was in the shop, so was he. He had a bed in the shop and slept there while I worked. I lost Skipper to old age this past December. I really miss him.

Mike

Unfortunately Mike, you will always miss Skipper.

Of course that's also the fortunate part as it shows how much he meant to you............Regards, Rod.

[Steve Demuth]

My shop dog, Skipper, was always with me, so when I was in the shop, so was he. He had a bed in the shop and slept there while I worked. I lost Skipper to old age this past December. I really miss him.

Mike

It's always a blow when a great companion shuffles of this mortal coil. Dog's lives are too short. The man from whom we've bought all our animal feed for the last 40 years lost a Golden Retriever, Elsie, that lived in their office at the grain elevator every hour they were open, for her entire life. She was a tiny little thing, for a Golden, three legged from birth and so frail a strong wind might have blown her away. But I dare say most of the people who did business at the elevator knew her by name, and choked up a bit when she passed. She greeted every one of them when they came in. When Elsie died, Ed declared with absolute finality that he could have no more dogs. "I can't go through this again."

So his son, who also works at the elevator, ups and buys a Golden Doodle, who now occupies Elsie's old spot. We'll all choke up when Millie goes, too. Even Ed has fallen to her charms.

[Jacob Mac]

I adopted a German shepherd when she was about 18 months. If I'm home, we are most likely together. But if it is loud or dusty in the shop, I put her inside. I don't want to damage her lungs or her hearing. But hand tools, sanding, designing whatever else, she's in the shop with me.

We just worked into it. She's a smart girl and didn't take much direct training. We started small and just gradually built up trust and a routine by ensuring small successful runs that built on each other.

She's five now, and she's a great dog. No way will I ever have a better dog, even if I love another fifty years

[Ed Aumiller]

Be aware that dogs have a different hearing spectrum than we do... Anything extremely high
pitched will often bother them more.. and make them uneasy and possibly damage there hearing...

You can buy hearing muffs for dogs that may help... they were developed for use in planes and helicopters...

[Scott T Smith]

Mutt Muff's and Doggle's are your friend when it comes to shop dogs.

Here is Ricochet, my now deceased Belgian Malinois, modeling a set of Mutt Muff's in my shop.

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As I type this, Maya, a recently rescued Belgian Malinois / German Shepherd mix, is by my feet in the shop. She's still learning the ropes of staying out of the path of the forklift though.

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[Steve Demuth]

Thanks for the reference. I had no idea such things even existed.

I can see how they work on your German Shepherd. I'm a bit mystified though, as to how to fit them on the floppy, long ears of my mostly poodle Atticus.

My one person shop is not generally an overly loud place, except when I'm milling lumber for a project. I have figured those will be days Atticus will simply not be with me in the shop.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I was working my day job yesterday, the homeowners were at work, I was making progress befriending their timid American Bully. We were friends by 3 PM. Then I got out the Shop Vac and started cleaning up. I lost a friend immediately.

[Alex Zeller]

I have a lab mix rescue dog that for most of her life was content to go for walks whenever possible and if I was working outside she would watch from the front porch. Since I work 12 hour shifts I taught Shelby to go into the basement if she needed to go before I got home. I plumbed up a hose so I can wash the cement when needed. In the last few years I moved my shop into the basement so now it's dual purpose. Now that her time is close she follows me down stairs which I don't like. She often finds a spot on the cool floor to lay down and just when I think she's happy she moves. There's no way I will work with a tool that can cause serious harm if I can focus 100% on what I'm doing. If you trust your dog to sit in the corner and the noises don't bother the dog then try it. I know that it's not for me. Also dogs seem to attract sawdust. Even when we walk out the basement door and she rolls around on the ground she still has it all over her that finds it's way upstairs.