Why the first week back is the hard part
A holiday together quietly rewrites your dog's expectations: you are there for every hour, walks happen whenever, and the house is never empty. The return to work is not misbehaviour waiting to happen — it is an abrupt schedule change for a creature who measures life in routines. Dogs who have coped with your work pattern before usually relearn it quickly, but the first days can bring pacing, vocalising at the door, reduced appetite, or a chewed skirting board from a dog who has never chewed anything. Planning the transition in the holiday's final days beats repairing it afterwards.
Use the last days of holiday as a rehearsal
Start reintroducing absence while you are still off: leave him with a chew while you work in another room with the door shut, then graduate to short outings at the times you would normally leave for work. Restore the weekday skeleton early — same wake-up time, same morning walk slot, same feeding times — so the only new element on the first workday is the length of the absence. Practise departure cues too: shoes, keys, coat, picked up and put down without leaving, until the sounds stop predicting anything dramatic. Keep arrivals and departures low-key rather than staging emotional reunions at the door.
Set up the workday itself to succeed
Exercise him properly before you leave so the first hours alone coincide with his natural sleep, and leave a safe long-lasting chew or food puzzle plus an item of worn clothing where he rests. Decide honestly whether a midday break is needed: a dog used to company may need a walker, a neighbour, or a family member popping in for the first week or two, even if he later manages full days. If you can, stagger your return — shorter days or a midweek day at home in week one — and use a camera if you want facts about how he settles rather than guessing from the state of the cushions.
Read the signs and respond to the right ones
Mild restlessness, a long sigh-filled settle, and sleeping most of the day are a normal readjustment. Talk to your vet or a behaviour professional if you see persistent howling, attempts to escape, drooling and panting for long stretches, toileting by a previously house-trained dog, or self-injury — those suggest distress beyond a routine wobble. Avoid punishing anything you find on returning; the chewing happened hours ago in dog time and scolding only links your arrival with conflict. Instead, shorten the absence, add midday cover, and rebuild in smaller steps.
Make the new routine a family job, not a solo worry
The readjustment sticks when weekday care is organised rather than improvised each morning: who walks him before work, who does the midday visit on which day, and who feeds him if you are delayed. In KinsLe, Care Teams lets you assign those duties per pet to the family members and helpers involved, with completed tasks marked by a timestamp, so everyone can see the midday check-in actually happened while your dog relearns the working-week rhythm.