About office dog

[onesupplied]

Name changed as it's identifying.

I work in an open plan office. A new manager has recently started bringing her dog to work, which has free roam of the place.

My problem is that I hate dogs; in fact I am scared of them. I got bitten when I was a kid and have always been nervous around them. Aside from the fact that it makes me nervous, it smells, keeps nosing around in people's belongings and my colleagues think it's hilarious that I'm scared and keep mocking me.

It's a reasonably formal office with around 40 employees.

AIBU to think that the office is not a place for a dog?

YANBU

I used to work in a small office where the owner bought in her daughters whacking great big Dalmatian puppy. I get nervous around big dogs as it is and this one was a pain in the arse, going through bins and your bags, clambering all over you when you were on the phone to a client (height of professionalism that, constantly putting the client on hold to get the bloody dog off you and your desk and keyboard)

Apart from service dogs, I don't think dogs belong in an office

YANBU. Tell her you're frightened of it and ask her to keep it shut in her office. It's affecting your ability to concentrate, and causing colleagues to laugh at you.

I'd hate it too, and it would make my time at work unnecessarily stressful.

I like dogs and we have an office dog that everyone likes but if you don't like dogs yanbu.

The manager is very high up and I wouldn't feel comfortable asking her not to bring it. She knows I'm scared and her solution was to 'show me how cute the dog is' before letting it loose?

I literally cannot concentrate with the dog running around as I feel like I have to watch it all the time to make sure it doesn't come near me.

Does the manager own the firm? I only say that because, on the two jobs that dogs came in, they belonged to the owners.

Before then, I was nervous petrified of dogs, and working with them around did actually help with my issues. I now don't mind them, as such. Dbro and Dsis both have dogs, as it happens, although we didnt have them as children.

Sounds a bit random in a normal corporate office assuming you are not in the Cotswolds like I was chairman used to come in with shotguns and everything

The reason doesn't matter.

Dogs are not conducive to an office environment, and it's no fun for them either.

I´m afraid if you want to stop the dog coming to work, the only way to do it is by saying to the manager that you are afraid of dogs and you can´t concentrate and asking her not to bring it. Could you send her an email and explain? That might be easier than saying it to her face.

High up? High up her own ass, you mean.

She's not treating anyone else fairly, least of all the dog.

YANBU

I love dogs and I'd be all for an office dog, provided nobody objected.

Even then it would be stupid to let it roam free, what if it eats something toxic out of someones bag?

I adore dogs but YANBU - she's being incredibly selfish and unprofessional. Your colleagues sound like arseholes as well.

You need to email her to request that the dog is kept controlled because you are frightened of dogs and finding it very difficult to work whilst the dog is roaming about. If the behaviour continues then it boils down to finding another job - unless there is an HR function you can go to?

I love dogs and would thoroughly enjoy having one around at work all day, but still think that this is totally inappropriate. Not fair on staff or the dog itself.

I would email your manager - cc HR - and tell her that you won't be returning to work until the dog has gone. Working with a dog is not part of your contract and your employer would be unreasonable to insist that you do so.

Dogs are not conducive to an office environment, and it's no fun for them either

I've known it work really well, for both dogs and workers. However, that's only if the dog is well trained and everyone agrees to it. It also depends on the office. I live in a very rural area so bringing dogs to work is fairly normal. In a city environment where people wear posh suits I can't see it working as well.

Sorry but bringing your dog into an office is one thing. Letting it 'roam free' is quite another. If I had to bring my dog to work he would be in MY office/at MY desk alone and would be told to lay down and sleep/chew a toy. And he would do it.

I used to work somewhere where the manager brought his two dogs to work every day. The difference was that I was told about them as soon as he offered me the job. He made it clear that if I had a problem with dogs I shouldn't take the job. I love dogs so it wasn't an issue and I really
enjoyed having them around. I think your situation is different because the dog is a new thing. Can you explain to the manager how you feel?

Epically unprofessional.
Also a massive liability issue - not only if the dog bites someone, but what happens when the dog helps itself to chocolate left unattended on someone's desk whilst they are in the loo?

Having a dog roam around an open plan office is incredibly unprofessional. How's she going to react when someone rolls their chair back over Spot's tail?

I don't mind dogs but I would definitely not want one in the office. And I'd be very annoyed that I'd be forced to be in the position to defend that.

It doesn't matter whether you're scared of dogs or not. Unless it's a service dog, dogs have no place in an office. This one roaming around being able to push its nose into people's possessions, maybe stinking the place out, should be unacceptable to anyone. You're being treated unreasonably and have every right to object.

That's before raising the issue of the owner taking time out to take it out to toilet and that in a public place? Yuck. It's completely unreasonable and IMHO, should be banned by law unless it's a service/therapy dog, in which case it will be trained to that kind of situation.

This is the stuff of nightmares. So so unprofessional too.

Thing is, your employers will say the problem is your phobia, not the dog. And you do have a phobia - your objections aren't rational or professional.

A dog isn't standard office equipment admittedly :) but what if other workers suddenly refused to, say, meet clients because they said they were allergic to their scent or aftershave? And that would be a more genuine reason to refuse to work.

I do feel for you OP -- time for some CBT, you'll be much happier.

If it is a guide dog or hearing dog it is fine, though as a courtesy you should have been warned. Otherwise a dog or indeed any other pet is not suitable for an office in my opinion.

Can you put in a request to work from home? Or complain to HR or your manager?

The problem is, everyone will blame you, even if someone else also complains.

But no, this isn't really helping to get work done, is it? Perhaps people should bring toddlers in to free roam as they're so adorable!

If everyone else is happy and she doesn't want to share the office with the dog can you have the office?
Ask her to keep the dog away from you or give you a space to work that it can't come into. That's fair enough.

While as I have said I don't agree with forcing this on you, I don't agree that office dogs are 'unprofessional' and 'should be banned by law'. There are some
Offices where a dog is perfectly
acceptable and can in fact be a bit of a 'boost' for workers. Also I visit
a lot of schools and the number that have dogs is on the increase. The kids love
them!

Oh fuck off lan. Dogs can hurt you, spiders can't - yet people are shit scared of them.