My family and I have had our puppy for a few months now and I would love if he could hang in the shop with me.
I’ve allowed him in a few times but he seems bored, whines, etc. My question is – Do you allow your dog in the shop? If so, what sort of setup do you have for them to make them feel comfortable and keep them safe?
Replies
As much as ‘shop dog’ seems great, with the dust and noise, the safest place for your puppy is waiting in the house for you - a great excuse to take a break and go visit your friend or head out for a refresher walk together!
Actually, by definition, it's not a shop until you add the dog.
My Aussie is usually out with me, but if he's not in the mood for noise he can roam the yard. He loves to be near the action. If I'm hand sanding or using hand tools... that's when he loves it.
I tried dog beds, blankets etc... he didn't use any of it. He prefers the cold concrete floor.
Aside from safety and hazards, I think it is important to consider whether your dog wants to be in the shop environment.
My shop dog, "Krypton", a 14 year old golden retriever died last January from hip dysplasia. For seven years or more he was almost always with me in the shop. He wanted to be with me. His preference was to relax on the shop floor with the door open to the outside world of sights, sounds and smells. He did not like the noise of the shop vac or table saw; he would leave and go out on the lawn to hang out with the goldfinches. Hand tools did not bother him at all.
Consider that we can protect ourselves from harmful noise and dust to some degree, but a dog cannot. My suggestion would be to restrict your pup's exposure entirely when using power tools. Keep your shop as dust-free as possible (mea culpa), especially the floor, provide freedom of access if you're not concerned about your pup running away, and most importantly, have a drawer set aside with dog treats. For me, having a mellow, uncritical canine companion in the shop was part of the whole experience of woodworking. Having said that, I would not consider either of my mini-dachshunds as replacement shop dogs. Best of luck to you and your pup.
You just open the door and let them decide. As my shop doors are usually open, my dog often comes in a lays down on the antifatigue mats. Occasionally gets in the way.
Cats are a different issue. When my cat gets in the shop and jumps up on the bench when I'm chiselling and starts pawing at the chisel, yeah, that becomes an issue :-)
Depends on the dog's temperament. A towel, piece of rug or anything between her and the concrete floor and my dog will lay there and watch me for hours. I'm no great dog trainer; she will put up with all kinds of things just to be near me. I don't think you get to choose; she's the wife's dog (supposedly). ;-)
My dog had to get out of puppyhood before it settled down in the shop. Often when woodworking, I will keep the garage door open and the dog is on a long leash that allows her to wander and sit on the front yard grass or in the shop with me. She is often content for several hours to be on the grass and watch folks pass by. Then she tires out and takes a snooze of the large doggie bed in the shop. If I were doing things noisy or dusty that required me to don PPE, I'd probably make her go inside the home.
I don't think you get to decide. I love dogs. Since my last one passed from old age, I have taken to pet sitting. We have 14 "regulars" (not all at the same time). They fall into three categories. My shop is attached to the house so some of them come and check on me every now and then, some just lay down on the ant-fatigue mats and some ignore me and wait for me to come back in the house. I do enjoy the ones that stay with me, I hope your dog turns out to be one like that.
I would love my dog to be in the shop with me but I don’t want him breathing that dust in. Especially fine dust from hand sanding.
Most of my dogs never wanted to be there, but I had a German Shepherd who loved being in the shop with me. I would allow it under certain conditions. I would not let your dog in there if you don't have sufficient dust collection. Bottom line, if you have to wear (or should be wearing) a mask, then you shouldn't be subjecting the dog to it. But my biggest rule was never when I was using power tools. Even the best trained dog can be unpredictable. I was profoundly affected by a true story of a craftsman who was working on his table saw when his dog (A German Shepherd coincidentally) exuberantly jumped up on him without warning. The dog was unharmed but he suffered a grievous injury.
Never had a problem with my last cat. She tolerated everything noisewise, although I rolled the planer outside to use. She had a favorite chair and there she parked, never bothered anything. Her chair was in a separate area, a little removed form the saw, etc.
She learned to like roasted peanuts, although gave her gas - she could clear a room when she had been eating them. I could never teach her to shell he own.
older dogs are usually better than younger ones in the shop, at least in my experience
Ask your vet. Describe the environment with respect to noise levels, dust levels, etc. and see what they say. My suspicion is that since you and I need respirators and earplugs to protect sensitive lungs and hearing that it's no place for a dog. As romantic as having a shop pet may be, I doubt if it's medically advisable. Anyhow, I'd be interested in what your vet would say.
Puppyhood is too early for a "real" shop dog. Too much energy, way too interested in anything, and unlikely to calm down while you're active. They want to be part of the action.
Training is key here. My German Shepherd was trained to leave the shop or go to her corner (special spot) when a machine was running. As soon as she heard the DC start, she'd get up and go lay down in her corner. When it was done, she might stay there or come see me. She was not allowed to come near me, thus avoiding any unintended accidents.
Like others, she often liked to sit by the open door and might leave if things got too loud. And later in life, she did have hearing issues. Machine noise affects dogs 100x more than people with those sensitive ears.
If you want to get the pup started now, go wear him out FIRST with plenty of exercise. Set up a space that is his, preferably using a 'place' command, and teach him to go there when machines turn on. Start with treats or whatever his motivator is (my GSD loved her ball). Turn on a vacuum or dust collector, walk him over to the spot, make him lay down and give him a treat. Then make him stay for a few seconds as you back away. Turn off the DC (or whatever) and allow him to move around. Don't call him over since he'll associate the DC stopping with immediately coming to you. Just release him.
Have fun!
I'm inclined to take the same approach as @BAinPHX - dogs and machine tools don't really mix.
There really isn't any published evidence to support dust harming dogs, though ONE paper found a small increased risk of lung cancer in dogs exposed to a lot of polluted air (not wood dust)
There is no good evidence of moderate wood dust exposure itself harming humans either (read on before you comment please) although the dust can be highly irritant and it stands to reason that it might be harmful in small quantities as it can be harmful in larger quantities. What studies there are show a small or no effect on the risk of COPD or lung cancer from occupational wood dust exposure. Some people will become highly sensitive to the dust, but this is an idiosyncratic reaction and probably not associated with a particular quantum of exposure - even tiny amounts of dust well below accepted safe levels can trigger this.
Dust from wood is NOT silicates - it does not penetrate deep into the lungs and does not damage phagocytes when they try to remove it, so does not cause lasting damage.
You also need to be aware that dogs live only a short time compared with humans and so do not tend to suffer from the same sort of chronic exposure related conditions that we do. Same goes for noise - they have sensitive hearing but the risk of damage from being in the same room as noisy equipment is small - human risk is tiny too (though I wear ear defenders it is mostly for comfort) but the human operator is also very close to the tools and sound pressure falls off markedly with distance.
In the short term, dust may irritate your dog and if this is the case then of course the dog should be excluded from the shop.
So the scientific approach says it is fine to have your dog in the shop from a noise and dust perspective, unless the dog is being bothered at the time. The dog is however a trip hazard and this needs to be considered.
Thanks for all the comments. Kind of a weird question the first place but just didn’t know who to ask.
It’s been a couple weeks and Karl gets restless in the shop with me so for now it’ll be just me. But given the current virus I’ve come to enjoy the solitude.
Dog: "Is this thing sturdy? Looks out of square to me. I need to get to my dog dish!"
When I fire up the table saw outside my one of my dogs attempts to bite me. I guess it sounds like the vacuum. Not a good distraction while using a saw. The other hates any kind of noise so it would be punishment. So no.
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