Eyes on you through every meeting? Hand over a job.

You unmute for your big update and your dog chooses that exact moment to bark at a leaf. Every workday has a few moments like this. The trick is to hand your dog a job right before you need the quiet.

So plan the boredom busters around your calendar: a job for every block where you need quiet.

A workday plan that fits around meetings

Before your first call: burn the morning energy

A sniff-heavy walk or ten minutes of fetch in the yard beats a fast lap. Sniffing tires the brain, so you get more calm per minute.

During the first big block: something to lick

A lick mat smeared with wet food, plain yogurt or a little peanut butter buys quiet time for many dogs. Check the peanut butter label for xylitol, which the ASPCA lists as dangerous to pets. Freeze the filled mat the night before to make it last longer.

A lick mat smeared with wet food, plain yogurt or a little peanut butter buys quiet time for many dogs.

Recipes and other mats are in our lick mat roundup. Put a towel under it on hard floors: flat mats can slide.

Lunch: a real break for both of you

Ten minutes outside, a short training game or a scatter feed of a handful of the day's kibble in the yard. Your dog gets attention, you get away from the screen.

The afternoon slump: a puzzle or stuffed toy

This is when bored dogs start redecorating. Hand over a stuffed, frozen toy or a food puzzle at the right difficulty for your dog. Start easy: a dog who can't crack it soon goes looking for something else to chew. Our puzzle toy picks and interactive toy picks do the entertaining while you work.

End of day: the payoff

The real walk or play session. It's the thing your dog has been waiting for all day, so make it count.

Hands-free options for when you can't look away

• Frozen stuffed toys: prep a few on Sunday, pull one out each day.
• Snuffle mat or rolled towel: hide kibble and let the nose work.
• Automatic ball launchers: for dogs who love fetch and can learn to drop the ball in. Teach it in short sessions first. See our automatic dog toys guide.
• A window seat: some dogs are happy watching the street. Others bark at every passing dog. You know which you have.

Keep it fresh: rotate

Toys get boring when they're always on the floor. Keep three or four in rotation and put the rest away. A toy your dog hasn't seen in a week feels new again.

When you're out of the house

• Only leave toys and chews your dog has already used safely while you watched.
• Skip anything small enough to swallow, and anything your dog shreds.
• For long days, a dog walker or a midday visit does more than any toy.
• If your dog howls, has accidents or chews at the door only when you're gone, that points to separation anxiety, not boredom. Our separation anxiety guide explains how to tell.
• Mix up when the best toy appears. If it only ever shows up as you head out, it can become a "you're leaving" signal for an anxious dog.
• Toys fill the gaps between walks. Keep the walks.
• Count fillings and treats toward the day's food.

The short version

Walk before your first call, lick mat for the first meeting block, a puzzle for the afternoon slump and a real walk after you log off. Rotate the toys, supervise anything new and get a midday visit on long days.