What are they doing when you're not watching?

Okay, you're free.

I'm gonna give you a treat.

Today I'm answering this question by spying on my own dog.

Coronavirus has forced us nonessential workers inside

encroaching on our dogs domains.

So I'm doing this because I am a BuzzFeed producer

who has to come up with videos around her own home.

Well technically my parents home.

I left my small Brooklyn apartment

along with my husband and dog

to shelter in place at my parents home in Florida.

They also have two dogs.

So today I'm gonna be spying on the dogs

and uncovering all of their secrets

(upbeat music)

Let me introduce you to the dog crew.

There's Lucy, that's my dog.

She is a lady.

She's tiny but she's very alpha.

And there's Shandy.

She's a big girl.

She loves food and she loves pets.

And then there's Jack who is on constant guard

from intruders or boats.

What are we barking at?

Absolutely nothing.

Yeah I'm a little nervous I'm gonna find out

that my dog Lucy does really gross things

or weird things that I didn't know about.

No, no, no, whoa, whoa, whoa.

But maybe she's just gonna be really boring.

There's a really high possibility of that.

But there's only one way to find out.

Time to get up.

Are you awake?

All right, I'm gonna follow you around today.

What do you think of that?

The day started out fine.

Breakfast was the main focus, watching it get made,

and then ravenously consuming it.

Then the day took a turn for the worse.

(thunder clashing) (rain falling)

Thunder, lightning, a dog's worst enemy.

(dog howling)

Other than vacuums and fireworks.

So obviously thunder outside.

The dogs are scared and they're now indoors.

Are you guys scared?

They are all huddled up on top of my mother.

So I guess they just judged her as the best caretaker.

Which I mean makes sense for Jack and Shandy

but was a little insulting to see Lucy also thought that.

I mean when you can't go outside

and you're stuck in your home,

then there's even less to do.

You don't want to come out here.

I mean I tried to get them to go outside, they wouldn't.

They did not want to go outside it all.

You gonna go outside?

No.

You gonna go outside?

Now that they're all stuck inside,

it's like, what are they gonna do?

I kept imagining what Lucy was thinking.

Why is the sky shouting at me?

Will I ever get to leave the house again?

Will I ever get to pee again?

With two months of staying at home and not going out,

I've asked the same questions.

I mean at least I had something to do

which was spy on them.

Spying requires distance and it's hard to get that

when you're sheltering in place with someone.

It's like Lucy was always aware of my presence.

It's like she had some sort of sixth sense.

I mean or it could have been just the sense of smell.

That could have been the sense that she was using

to know I was around.

But I felt like they were spying on me back.

Like sometimes I would be following Lucy

but she would then start following me.

So then I was like who's spying on who (laughs), okay.

It's anxiety inducing to not know

what the future holds and pretty early on

I could tell it was getting to Lucy.

What?

Are you bored?

At first I think she was just acting out a little bit

looking for attention.

Is this what you want?

She kept rolling her ball under the couch

and then barking until someone would get it for her.

By early afternoon she was picking fights with Jack.

Lucy was not a good girl, but I get it.

Being so close, you're bound to get in stupid fights

with your roommates.

Then as it got dark it seemed like the rain might stop

but then, bang, more thunder, more lightning.

At this point my mom had left for a pharmacy run

so the dogs surrounded my dad on the couch.

They must see him as the second most powerful human

of the household.

I'm probably number three, maybe.

It was a tough day but there were some reprieves,

dinner time, treat time.

Those are the same times I look forward to as a human.

They found a few things to do.

Shandy likes to watch TV, so she watched some TV.

She wasn't really a fan whenever there was a dog on.

I assume she thinks she would've done better in the part

and so she kind of barks at them in a jealous rage.

The days ending, they've been cooped up inside.

Lucy and Jack are at odds and I realized a few things.

Isolation was definitely negatively affecting the dogs

and also I'm a horrible spy.

That's why I decided to give myself another day

of spying on them and I'm really glad I did

because the next day was beautiful.

It was like night and day.

There was so much more energy.

I think they had been cooped up so Lucy

was running around like a crazy dog.

The dog's had a lot to do.

They had to catch up with the neighbor dog

I assume discussing the neighborhood gossip perhaps.

And yeah, you have to find your own forms of entertainment.

And they certainly did.

They could bird watch a lot.

Lucy found dead palms that had fallen down

from the storm the night before out of the neighbor's yard.

I guess it's like Trash to Treasure, you know?

There's a lot of watching out the window.

Is the delivery person coming?

And also I get that 'cause right now

we're only going out like once every two weeks

to the grocery store.

So anytime there's a package,

it's like the most exciting thing.

Mike and I decided to take them all on a walk

because walking a dog is an excuse

for us to get some fresh air and we even ran into

some very friendly dogs.

And we of course social distanced.

Spying was easiest when they were sitting and sunbathing.

Spying was hard when I caught Lucy doing something naughty

and I had to intervene.

No, no, no, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

She rolled in some dirt, crap, got it all over herself.

They all had to get showered.

And I understand the not wanting to shower.

I mean I've been showering less.

You know we're just stuck in one place, what's the point?

So after the tensions from the day before,

Lucy and Jack decided to resolve their fight and make up.

It might look like Lucy's bullying Jack

but I think that's just how they play.

And even big Shandy joined in

so everyone was having fun then.

So after two days of spying, what did I learn?

I learned that dogs can get depressed anxiety

just like humans.

So while we're all cramped up at home,

remember to check on them.

I also learned that they eat a lot of bugs

and grass when you're not looking.

It was gross.

It was way more than I thought.

The biggest thing I learned was that companionship

is so important during tough times like this

and I'm lucky that I have Lucy.

And I think she feels the same way, right Lu?

Or maybe not.

Lucy, Lucy, Lucy.