Dogs in the office

Would you have turned down the job if you'd known beforehand? If so, inform HR. Otherwise - suck it up I'm afraid. Whether you personally like it or not, it's a dog friendly workplace and the only way to bring it up without, as someone up thread pointed out, looking like a dick is in a FYI sort of way so that future interviewees are made aware.

PS - I work in an extremely dog friendly environment and very thankful for it! On any given day there can be up to 4 dogs here.

I bet there are other people who are not keen on the dog, but it's too awkward to say it.

I am a dog owner, but I don't think the office is the place for dogs. It actively disadvantages people who are allergic, people who are scared of dogs or people with religious beliefs that dogs are impure. Plus dogs smell, fart, scratch and lick their bums, none of whilch I would want to inflict on a co-worker.

"but if the dog came and sat near me" suggests that it doesn't.

"(which he sometimes does)" says he does, but not often.

I think you should let the owner know that you have a slight allergy and see if they can keep the dog away from you, maybe with a lead so he still say hello to people and stretch his legs.

to be fair to my employer, the dogs are in our office videos on linked in, and the landing page on our company website has photos of all employes and you get a random collection of about 15 of them every time you visit the page. Including the 5 dogs. We don't keep it secret that our place is dog friendly.

But if we really wanted someone and they weren't keen on the dogs, or allergic we'd work something out. But the dogs are part of the "family"

I don't understand OP. Either you are going to suffer from allergy symptoms, in which case, your employer has a duty to make arrangements for you, or your allergies are not triggered or only very mildly so doesn't affect you, in which case, what's the problem?

I’d love it, but then I’m not allergic.
When working in the Middle East I once shared an office with a Brit, whose German shepherd called Simba always came to work with him.

He soon got to know that I kept biscuits in my desk drawer and would know at once if I was raiding them - would sit close by looking the picture of good manners and hope! He was a lovely dog.

Yeah - it's worth the feedback to HR to say you think it should be mentioned in future interviews so that prospective new staff can make an informed choice about whether or not this job (inc dog presence) is for them or not.

If you'd have turned the job down at that stage, with this information, it is also worth highlighting this.

Second dog post if the day.

No dogs should stay at home and I've got 2 dogs myself. Wouldn't in flick people with them either.

I work in a dog friendly office. It's a bit manic when the 3 big dogs and one tiny dog are having a bit of a mad half hour, but that only happens very very very occasionally and is stopped very quickly.

There is one person who is very afraid of dogs, so out of everyone (hybrid working, hot-desking with online reservation system) she is the only one with a dedicated desk, and the dogs are not allowed there. Everyone keeps an eye out that this is enforced and she is happy with it. But the dogs are part of the deal, and so if you don't want the possibility of meeting a dog - you either WFH, coordinate with the dog owners or don't work at our place. I've only heard of one person who turned a job down based on the dogs presence.

Up to now nobody has had issues around allergies.

@banjocat yes

I find it bizarre that people take their dogs to the office. Someone in our team asked if they could bring theirs in and I said it would need to be discussed, but two members of the team spoke with us quietly to say they wouldn't be happy with it. So that was that. If you're not home enough to look after a dog, then don't get a dog. Can you ask to work in a different part of the building? Or speak with the owner of the dog and ask them not to let the dog near you?

*achieves

It’s not ‘entitled’ or ‘rude’ as your employer clearly allows dogs.

You could suggest that potential future employees are told that there will be dogs in the office.

This is the third post I’ve seen today that is anti dog but pretending to not be anti dog. At least you’re dedicated to the cause. 🤣 I do wonder where/what it archives though.

I think it is fairly common to have dog friendly offices, and tbh I'm not sure how different it is from sitting in a dog friendly cafe or something like that. Obviously a dog should be well trained enough not to approach people who don't want to interact (or are allergic).

If the dog is causing a genuine problem for you then obviously you should talk to your line manager, but it doesn't sound like it is, just that you don't think it should be there?

I think that this is something people probably should check when getting a new job, if they have a strong preference.

I like dogs, but they aren't more important than people, and any persons needs should be put above a dogs needs. Also an office is not a place for dogs in the same way it's not a place for kids. People would likely complain about someone bring their kid in but darent do the same about a dog. YANBU OP, but people in this country have always been nuts about dogs and post COVID they're even more insane.

My boss also asked me at the interview if I minded dogs. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have got the job if I said I did. He did ask though.

How ridiculous. They should absolutely have told you when you were offered the job. Loads of people have dog allergies, in some cases very severe, it's disgusting to let a dog roam around a shared office.

The way I see it is you complain about this persons long standing arrangement and:

1. HR tell you that they are a dog friendly environment and you have just marked yourself out as a troublemaker for no benefit
2. HR ban dogs from the office. The dog is banned from the office. The owner has to pay for a walker and is pissed off and tells people their loved dog is banned.Everyone knows you made the complaint and thinks you are a dick
3. HR bans dogs from the office, the owner decides they can’t leave their dog at home so looks for a new job. They tell people the reason why they are leaving… everyone thinks you are a dick

She presumably checked with her manager and it was agreed it was ok to bring the dog in. I agree it’s odd they don’t inform new staff of this situation and in my view they should. It’s not great to spend time and money recruiting a new team member for them to immediately resign if they are scared of dogs, for example.. If it’s a dog friendly workplace they should be clear and open about this so people have knowledge of this and can choose whether or not to work there. Given it’s a bit late in your case, you need to decide how bad the allergy is and whether you can manage it, as the dog was there before you..

My boss (who I share an office with) brings his in all of the time. Mine is here at the moment (it's a one off and wasn't planned). I've met quite a few of my colleagues dogs. Apart from the boss none of us bring them in regulary but in an emergency they are welcome.

There's a large Vets HQ that encourages dogs in the office, my last job had dogs allowed.

Not entitled at all, never met anyone that doesn't like it in real life, only on mumsnet.

Yes they should have told you absolutely.

Of course you can raise it. The question though is have you found your allergy being triggered so far?

If yes, raise it to your manager. They can move you or at least ask the owner to ensure the dog doesn't come near you.

If no, what are the chances it suddenly will?