Dogs in the office

@banjocat “IMO if a staff member with a dog allergy starts in a workplace, then a person who is using the office as free doggy daycare should be told (with notice obviously) that they'll need to find alternative arrangements.”

well if that’s you opinion then 100% bring it up with HR then. 🤷🏻‍♀️ not sure what you are doing here asking other’s opinions on whether it is the norm, or ok.

you know your opinion, your colleague should be asked to leave the dog at home. Go to HR and push for this. I’d be prepared to end up being a bit unpopular though

I occassionally take my dog into work. However, I realised last week that new start doesn't like dogs, because she politely said so. I will simply not take the dog into the office again, it's really not a big deal and if someone had allergies or a phobia etc I'd really want to know that rather than them be uncomfortable. It doesn't need to be a big drama, OP. Just discuss it.

But there could be a dog in any workplace at any time if you consider assistance dogs, so if it was a big deal you would have mentioned it on health questionnaires etc surely?

Colleagues bring dogs into my office I bloody love it. I know several other people whose workplaces are dog friendly now. I guess if you really don’t like it you would have to apply for a job elsewhere.

My boss wouldn't employ somebody who minded his dogs. You should have been told before you accepted the job though which my boss did.

Great idea! It's the best environment for them, get them working as well to eat their keep.

I just warn you, dogs are much cuter than 3 year olds!

if your employer is fine with that, why not? i had to do it a time or two when my DC were small and i had no childcare.

It's not unrealistic. A lot of employers, especially med to large ones, want new employees to do an occupational health pre-employment questionnaire. These often ask about allergies.

I'm going to start bringing my 3 year-old child to work with me

OP please tell them you have an allergy! It's perfectly possible to frame it pleasantly and politely - and yes, if someone in an office had a nut allergy etc then one would surely expect other staff to not bring nuts in. Don't suffer in silence!

He also has hyper times when he runs around a lot.

That would annoy me. I've never minded office dogs but the only ones I've come across were perfectly behaved and placid. They spent all day quietly curled up by their owners. I haven't been in an office since Covid, and I bet it's a very different story now.

OP, you simply have to mention to HR, your manager or the dog owner that yu have an allergy and ask them to work with you to mitigate your exposure. You are a grown up with a job, this cannot be beyond you?

FWIW - i have a massive, MASSIVE, allergy to guinea pigs. Really badly allergic. In a previous, hot desking, job, a colleague who had 4 of them, who used to play with them before work, sat on my chair, once, during a meeting. And i had such an attack (completely unexpected) of asthma, so much so that an ambulance was called.

After that. I got a new chair. It had my name on it. Nobody who owned small furry animals sat on it because a company wide memo to that effect was sent out. And it was fine.

Ah I would love love love it

id tie a balloon to her collar to see where she is like the office corgi on insta 😂

What happens if the pet bites someone ?

Does the employer get sued for not having a safe working environment and does their insurance cover that ? Or is it the owners responsibility ?

Sadly this is just one of many cases where people with allergies in the workplace get turned into pariahs for speaking up. You really don’t have a choice though. You are entitled to employment without getting sick every day. You need to speak to hr. Make it their problem to provide you with a safe workspace. Depending on the severity of your allergy that could range from dog-free zones and increased cleaning to banning dogs.

Seems a bit crazy to me. If you are going to allow one pet, why not allow others ?

Then you'd get an office overrun with snakes, squawking parrots, dogs, cats and guinea pigs.

Or if you only allow dogs then surely you get accused of favouritism ?

Would they allow me to bring in my Tarantula ? It likes to roam.

They are entitled to bring their dog to work if it's agreed, that's not entitled.

They should've told you though, you could've chosen not to take the job.

So wait for an instance when you start having a sniffly nose and start sneezing and then kindly go to the owner of the dog with a Kleenex in your hand and asked if she'd mind seeing that dog doesn't close to you due to allergies, but that it's ok as long as it doesn't come close to you.

Matter resolved.

You are not being unreasonable! My son has a dog allergy and so I understand. They should advise of this when advertising the job so as not to waste people’s time.

What position did he play?

I love an office dog!

When i had my dog he always went to work with me. I owned the company though.
Any potential employees were told about him though and they would have seen him at interview so it was their choice to take the job if offered.
His favourite time of day was lunchtime when he was allowed to go out into the yard to play football with all the guys from the shopfloor and loading bays

I didn't know this was now commonplace and would never think to ask at interview if dogs came into the office. This should be made clear from the outset so people can make an informed choice whether to apply for the role.