So here’s an unexpected consequence of working from home: it turns out that Gunshy has developed separation anxiety.
Yup. That’s right, my job has turned my 80-lb mama’s boy into a sad, moaning, crying 80-lb baby. It makes me feel like the world’s worst puppy mom. How was I to know that being here all the time would actually be bad for my dog? Who knew there was such thing as him getting too attached to me? He’s almost seven! How did this just start happening?
The worst part is, we found out when our landlord was in the apartment below us getting it ready for a new tenant and Gunshy barked for two hours straight while we were gone. Two hours. We had no idea. We proceeded to record him the next couple of times we left, including our six-hour Easter excursion – during which he barked on and off the entire time.
What?
The really disconcerting thing (beyond possibly getting kicked out of our loft that we love) is the Gunshy is otherwise the perfect dog. You think I’m blinded by my love, but you’re wrong. I loved Bonnie to absolute pieces and she was as naughty as naughty could be until the day she died. Gunshy is never naughty. Gunshy is just compulsively good. He does what he’s told, he doesn’t beg – he’s scared of snow and cords on the floor, for goodness’ sake. He never has accidents or chews on anything, and he never barks. Or so we thought.
So now we have this issue on our hands. We’re dealing with it, but the point is, I was totally unprepared for working from home to have this consequence – or any negative consequence. I suppose it was naive of me to think that I could have the ideal work life without any downsides. In almost all ways, I love working from home. It feels perfect. It seems like it should be perfect, but I suppose there’s just no such thing as perfect.
Sigh.
However, The Oatmeal did warn of such things in one of my favorite of his comics, “Why Working from Home is Both Awesome and Horrible.” Here are some excerpts to delight you:
See the rest of the fun here.
Natalie Burg 