Dogs in the office

Oh totally. I’ve lost count of the number who claim they have allergies. In fact the last one who did I asked if he had an exemption certificate and he said no. I advised that he is legally obliged to carry one or he is breaking the law by refusing to carry a guide dog. He then told me that he’s above the law. Okayyy.

This would drive me absolutely mad OP!

Employees’ health and well-being is probably improved by having the dog there, at least for the majority by the sound of it.

I’m curious, if they told you about the dog at interview - what would you have done?

I’m also quite surprised you told the owner their dog is not hypoallergenic. My OH is allergic and we researched very carefully hypoallergenic dogs (dander, fur, saliva) until we decided on the breed of ours. OH never needs antihistamines at home, but always needs them when we stay in dog friendly holiday properties. So our dog definitely does not trigger his allergy.

This.

You have protection under employment laws. The dog doesn't. Your employer/the owner have to find a suitable compromise.

They've all got "allergies" haven't they 🙄!

Having said that, I also think that people should be told if there are assistance dogs in the office, because some people have severe allergies and wouldn't cope with a golden retriever/ lab.
It baffles me the amount of people who bang on about allergies. It’s a common ploy which taxi drivers use to refuse to carry guide dogs, something which is illegal. And as a result there is a scheme in force where a taxi driver who has severe allergies to dogs is required to have an allergy exemption certificate which they are required by law to present.

Want to guess how many taxi drivers in London hold an allergy exemption certificate? 7.
Want to know how many guide dog owners have been refused by a taxi driver? Many because of allergies? 75%.
J

I have never encountered this anti dog sentiment anywhere other than on MN. And judging by the amount of people I am constantly having to ask not to stroke/distract/feed my guide dog it just doesn’t ring true that the world is full of allergic dog-phobes.

Not seeking to establish if anyone has an allergy or objection opens the company to someone being awkward, seeking to cause trouble for their manager if they don't like them, or getting some unwarranted special treatment. Say working from home all the time.

Until I was in my thirties I would never have been able to work or be near a dog that was not on a lead, after I had one jump in my pram as a child.

Our current office doesn’t allow dogs but the last one I worked in did, it wasn’t specifically “asked” about it was more just mentioned that yes btw dogs can come in. They wouldn’t have changed that for any new starters, it was already established and so it was more for new starters to decide if they were okay with that or not, and if the answer is not then it wasn’t the job for them.

I do think it should have been mentioned at some point though so you could make that decision, although by the sounds of it you would still have taken the job anyway so it makes no material difference.

@banjocat, think the management are shit? Then leave?

Simple

We had dogs in our office. I wouldn't have chosen it but the boss did. He brought his 2 in and then announced every one else could too. At that point only one did and it was under control.

In the end, in a small office, we had 7! On a daily basis. It was ridiculous. Then occasionally he would look after a mates and we'd have 2 more. Because of staff holiday and one member of staff appreciating this was madness and so leaving her dogs home when he was "babysitting" I don't think we ever went above 8 but believe me I started thinking I worked at a kennels! I used to hide in my office and shut the door!

Whilst I think dogs in the office can be a good thing.for many reasons.....it has to not get out of hand and, of everyone does it, it easily can!

I can imagine going into the office proper riled up and angry tomorrow and it'll be her biting people, not the dog! What happens with insurance then?

I really don’t understand the point in this thread. Everyone who disagrees and tells you they believe you to be unreasonable gets told they’re wrong by you. If you were only accepting comments agreeing with your stance then you should have made that clear.

I think this situation is going to increasingly piss you off and you should look for another job. We’re a dog friendly office and I would ensure that everyone was happy/had full knowledge at the interview stage.

What is the law around assistance dogs? does one colleague's need for an assistance dog have to be balanced by another colleague's allergy? or assistance dogs non-negotiable from a legal pov?

@banjocat I understand in this instance it's not an assistance dog, but neither is it a serious allergy. It's mild and manageable

OP, ask them to paws any meetings than the dog comes into, so you can move away?

Don’t come and work for the NHS OP. We have dogs EVERYWHERE!!!

Offices are full of dogs who are assistance dogs or owned by a manager. Hospitals have dogs roaming around wards every day because patients bloody love it.

Is it a poodle? they are said to have fur that is more like human hair and people with allergies are less likely to be allergic to them.

But I'm another wondering how the convo with dog owner went. Because if you really want the dog to be kept away, you have to use the actual words.

And if it’s an assistance dog?

Ultimately it’s the employer who chooses whether dogs are allowed and I suspect most who do allow dogs are likely to come down on that side of the argument, don’t you?

If someone has allergies that medication can’t mitigate, then they would struggle to sit with anyone who even owned a dog, given the amount of dander they would be carrying on their clothes.

Anyway, I am off to walk the dogs!!

What’s the insurance position on taking your dog into the workplace? For example if it bites an employee or a client? I don’t have a dog and I also like dogs but I’m interested to know the answer to this.

Oh I miss my last job, where the dogs were more welcome than the humans! In an office set up only just big enough for 5 desks and a couple of arm chairs, we had up to 8 dogs every day. With another 2 in an adjoining office, and further 4 in another building. We would 'pack' walk them every lunchtime - what a sight, 14-16 dogs all running around having doggy fun.

(we also had at different times a kitten, a tortoise and a giant rabbit wandering around with the dogs)

We had visitors/customers every day, and you know what, in the 5 years I worked there, not one complaint.

We definitely would have told any new employees what to expect, but tbf, they would have seen the madness for themselves when they came for interview - it wasn't like we could hide them!

This is one of those topics where most of the posters think OP is totally unreasonable ( and horrid to boot) but the poll,p shows the majority agree with her.

I know quite a few people who take their dogs to work with them nowadays. It’s definitely becoming the norm.

It is also more common to see dogs in shops, cafes and restaurants.

Anyone voting otherwise must walk around with their eyes shut!

If you didn’t declare your allergies when you started it’s tough shit really.