Dogs in the office

No one needs to bring their dog to the office. It’s ridiculous. This wouldn’t be accepted in my workplace anyway, we wouldn’t be allowed, but I wouldn’t be too impressed.

I have a dog and love dogs but I don’t think they should be allowed in the office because some people don’t like them or are allergic, everyone should be comfortable at work

It depends... I used to own THE office dog but he was very well trained and behaved! He also knew who was friendly and who wasn't- he had his 10 o'clock treat with one person, knew when it was time for lunchtime walk and used to bring the post up to us, something I trained him to do for a bit of fun (he had a basket to carry... our office was 1st floor and postman just put the post in the basket... obviously had to pay the dog tax as well.)
But mostly he just snoozed in his bed beside my desk.

We had others try and bring their dogs in but mostly failed because of barking or restlessness... I think that's what would concern me the most. 8f it's a job where you deal with phone calls or have to concentrate, you don't want a dog rummaging around.

Dogs do pick up if you don't like them so wouldn't be worried about to much interaction past the first few days.

I worked at a number of places that allowed this and there were general accepted ways of behaving rather than written rules. My dog ;sadly no longer with us) was a very well behaved Labrador. He did scout bins after lunch and convinced people to take him to the dog treat cupboard, and was generally adored. There were a couple of clients who weren’t keen/scared so we ensured he didn’t bother them, although one of them over time asked him to be in meetings (but only him, not the more jumpy dogs) and another person ended up getting her own dog she said because he was so lovely and all the previous dogs she’d interacted with had been poorly behaved. Everyone said they found him quite calming and people would come over to our office specifically to say hello to him. Whenever we went away there was a stream of volunteers to mind him as they already knew him. And on at least three occasions he was taken away on long weekends and camping trips with colleagues without us!

the second place he and I worked was busier and larger and so we kept him to one building, we had a temp who had an allergy for a time so we kept him away from that floor. Same in that some people weren’t keen but after a while got used to him and liked him. I think a calm, non barky, dog that keeps a distance unless invited is fine. He really wasn’t smelly, did shed though so people avoided him if they were wearing white clothes! He used to go to work with my husband too and they did a whole party invite around him and clients would specially come in on his working days just to see him.

i miss that dog, have borrowed dogs since and of the three I regularly have (same or similar breeds) none of them have the perfect temperament to do both a day in the office or indeed the commute. So I think it really is very dog specific but if well and sensitively managed it is a huge plus as they do reduce stress and encourage people to interact more.

if the company wants the workers in the office then sometimes compromises have to be made. Dogs can suffer from separation anxiety, and some will be fine as long as they have a bit of company.

I’m just pondering whether to bring my dog into the office today.

I work for a construction company so a significant proportion of our workforce are in people’s homes every day, and dealing with whatever animals they have there. If you had a pet allergy you couldn’t work for our company.

The rules are that in the office dogs have to behave, stay out the way, no mess, no one is expected to fuss over them.

Bloody loved the offices I have worked at where dogs were allowed. So nice to have hounds about the place. Very personal thing though. Shame they can’t have a dog and non dog section so everyone can be happy

You could always ask for an office tour and see if there are areas where you could sit in a non doggy area, or if the dogs are well behaved and just sit in a corner not bothering anybody. But you can just move on and find another job if not.

Our office is a massive open plan office for 300-400 people. There can up to 20/30 dogs in at a time. In the 17 years since they started this I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve heard a dog bark - it was one dog that got upset when their owner had to leave their desk extremely suddenly. There has never been a dog running about in the office. No one has been bitten. An office that has a good policy around dogs is different to one that just lets everyone bring any dog in and leave them to it. I work for a company that has a Petcare business so it makes sense that they were determined to get it right.

Dog friendly offices are great imo

I've never met a dog I didn't like- I've met several humans though...

It’s not just for them to judge - a single incident of “bad” behaviour and they are permanently banned. No second chances.

I worked in a WeWork place for a while that people brought their dogs to and I thought it was really naff. Dogs lying in the corridor so you have to go around them, dogs wandering around the kitchen where people are trying to make food safely and eat it without being harassed. Dogs aren’t considered clean for Muslims either, so not a great working environment for all cultures.

I do love dogs, but I’m also allergic to them. So no, dogs in the office is not good for me.

Up to businesses whether they want to have a dog-friendly office, surely? As long as they’re clear that they are dog-friendly then people can choose to apply or not.

I would object to an office suddenly becoming dog-friendly if it hadn’t previously been, as that’s a change to employment conditions, but I don’t see a problem if you know from the outset.

It is awful. They bark. They run about. Sometimes they fight each other. One bit someone on the ankle.
Some piss on the carpet.
The owners think everyone else loves their dog. Owners dont give work their full attention.

But the barking is the worst.
I was going to bring in a mini goat as an emotional support animal and let it run free. Or maybe a boa constrictor. Where do you draw the line?

Dog people should work from home or at least leave the dogs there. I really don’t want them in an office situation.

I think it probably depends on the allergy severity. If it just makes you uncomfortable (running eyes etc) , I assume that doesn’t reach a level that gets any legal protection.
A life threatening allergy is probably something that legally trumps people’s wishes to have their dogs in the office.

I think they’d probably have to provide a dog-free area of the office for them, in the same way it would be managed if someone with allergies worked in a non-dog office and someone with an assistance dog was employed.

There is some case law around competing disabilities. So if someone is allergic or phobic, they automatically lose out to an assistance dog.

So even if you work in a dog free environment now, your employer could employ someone who is, for example, blind and cannot work without their dog. If all reasonable adjustments such as allowing wfh, cleaning regimes, different area’s didn’t resolve the issue, you wouldn’t get anywhere complaining about it. The argument the court made was that the allergic person could distance themselves or take medication, and the phobic person could distance themselves or get therapy.

The blind worker couldn’t get their sight back or work without their dog. It’s an interesting area of employment law.

I’ve worked in a dog friendly office it worked well as there were lots of seperate offices so dog would stay in someone’s room. They were all well behaved and quiet.

I agree it can be done well, and may be worth asking.

But I’d be wary that a dog person’s judgement of “oh yes we make sure they aren’t a bother!” is maybe not the same as mine.

If I didn't like dogs I probably wouldn't choose to work in a place with dogs. It's as simple as that.

I am not a dog person but I have enjoyed working in (some) dog friendly offices. IMO, it is a stupid idea, so many people are allergic to dogs, scared of them, or have religious or cultural objections to dogs inside. That said, I found it quite nice having well behaved dogs at work who were up for a cuddle 🥰

It really depends on how well behaved the dogs and their owners are though.

You’d hope that they wouldn’t suddenly change the rules so that dogs were allowed if there was someone already employed that had an allergy/was completely against it.
and then if there was someone new coming for a potential job they’d be told about the policy and know it wasn’t the job for them. Although how would that work legally - would it be an issue in the case of an allergy?

I don’t expect the world to love or want interaction with dogs, but I do think that people who go to openly dog friendly places and make a fuss are ridiculous.

We used to get police sniffer dogs practising in our building, used to love watching them at work. Apparently one of them found some cannabis that a disgruntled ex employee left behind in a drawer.