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?

I love dogs and have no objection to one being in the office so long as it is well behaved. However, at the risk of being a boring old fart...a risk assessment should have been done first.

I like dogs but I would hate the situation you're describing. I bet it also bothers others in the office, even if they don't let on.

We also have an office dog, no one is scared of it, it's soft as shit. However, there is a problem in that it stinks. I don't sit in the same office as the dog but one person does and she hates the smell. Quite frankly she shouldn't have to put up with it. It's really selfish in my opinion.

YADNBU i can't see that in a formal office this is at all appropriate. Maybe if the manager kept the dog in their office, if it was the manager's company (so they and the dog were there first), if it was a small , informal place, or a pet store or something, but not in the working environment that you describe.

I'm now picturing what would happen if I was to take my puppy into the open plan office I work in ....... I think chaos is the word to sum it up!

Aww why would you deny someone bringing their wuffle into work?

Time for some cbt - you'll be happier

Is that a joke? I'm perfectly happy - I know I don't like dogs so I usually avoid them - no different to anyone else who doesn't like spiders or snakes!

I've worked in offices where dogs were allowed to roam around, even one in a small courtyard right outside my window where it was left all day and and allowed to crap a few feet away from me.

Dogs in the work environment are a health and safety issue, it's not funny, the safety risks are unacceptable. And it is unprofessional. The dog is the owner's responsibility, it can't just be dumped on 39 other people.

I would absolutely hate that - I did have to share my office with a (working) dog for a while, I can't remember if I was told before I took the job that one of my colleagues needed to bring a dog to work but as it was a charity for the blind I obviously accepted it. That didn't mean I actively had to like it especially when it vomited near me.

Totally inappropriate to bring a dog to work, do you have an HR department that you can discuss this with if you feel you can't raise it with your manager. i really sympathise with you.

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

I think the OP has been put in a very unreasonable situation. If dogs are going to be allowed in offices that should be made absolutely clear at the outset. However outlawing dogs and offices would be a waste of parliamentary time. In rural areas, being able to take your dog with you is often a perk in what may otherwise be a not particularly well paid job. And if you like dogs, knowing there are dogs around for a bit of a hug is ace.

Of course they have to be well behaved and sit with their owners, not wander around other people. Then if you don't like them you can just avoid them.

Tell them you're getting a dog and you want to bring it to work.

Surely a workplace has to have a risk assessment for this?
Do HR actually know what's happening?
What is the organisational liability if someone gets bitten, or the dog steals chocolate from someone's bag and dies?

dogs in offices. Obviously you wouldn't ban dogs and offices

Ugh. Yanbu and I cannot understand why dog people can't accept that some people don't like dogs. And I love dogs.

You have a right to be there- you work there. The dog doesn't. Frankly, if the dog annoys your manager, I'm not sure what it's doing there in the first place. Doesn't sound productive for anyone.

Take it up with the higher ups. This isn't fair to anyone.

My boss brings her dog into work too. I like dogs & don't particularly mind, but my colleague is allergic to them. Her streaming eyes and sneezing don't make any difference, the boss is aware but the dog is still brought to work. It's really unprofessional & inconsiderate.

WTF? Get yourself a pet lion or boa constrictor post haste and bring them in? Alternatively, trip over the dog and report it as a workplace accident. YANBU.

I love dogs but no, an office isn't the place for a dog, because not everyone does love dogs, people can be scared and can also have allergies, not to mention people might just find a dog sniffing around distracting (the problem for me would be no work getting done due to wanting to pet the dog all the time 😂) yanbu 😊

Ugh OP that would be my worst nightmare. Not even that scared of most dogs but very much Do Not Want Them Near Me. It's not acceptable in an office environment.

Garden - that is awful. Is there nothing you're afraid of? Cruel enough to bring a dog to work if a colleague is afraid, but to let the dog "terrorise" him and to leave him alone with the dog is the lowest of the low.

I love dogs and have previously worked in an office where the boss brought in her dog. She was of the view that having the dog in the office reduced stress and actually she was right - I loved it. Even when the occasional unexpected wet nose on my leg nearly gave me a heart attack!

That all said, I was told about the dog BEFORE I took the job and it wasn't a huge office. If the dog at your work is a new introduction to an existing office environment then it is not unreasonable for adjustments to be made/steps to be taken so that the dog is not disruptive and/or causes distress to workers.

I would suggest a word with HR and ask if the dog can either be kept in the manager's office or restricted to a specific area. You have the right to be able to go to work without feeling as you do.

Hmm. In general I think the manager is being unreasonable letting it loose around you when she knows you are scared of dogs. I dunno whether I think you'd be unreasonable to ask her not to bring it at all, but it wouldn't be unreasonable to ask that it was kept away from you I don't think.

One of our directors has a dog. He comes in a lot, but he doesn't roam free in the building he follows his owner round and if I had any objections to the dog being in my office he wouldn't bring it in with him. Also our company has big grounds for the dog to run about so he's not cooped up all day.

Not acceptable. In my last job my dog was the office dog, but only when the office manager wasn't in the office as she didn't like dogs. (So weekends mainly)

My dog didn't roam about though, she spent most of the day snoozing under my desk.

Can you raise it with HR?

Can't you smuggle in some steaming dog poo and surreptitiously plant it under someone's desk, preferably one of his superiors?

YABU leave the poor wuffle alone and get some therapy. Smh.

If the people in the office are all in agreement and the dog is well behaved I think there are benefits to having dogs at work. I work in a reasonably big office building which had a few companies in it and there are a number of dogs that come in to work with owners. I always feel like it brightens up my day a bit to stop and pet one of the dogs and it gets people out and about to walk at lunchtime - I often volunteer to dog walk if colleagues are in meetings or busy.

However if there is anyone that is scared/allergic and/or the dog can't sit still and refrain from bothering people then there is a problem. I worked at a place a couple of years ago where the boss brought his dogs in and a colleague was scared of dogs due to being bitten as a child. The colleague worked upstairs and used to have to ring down to make sure the dogs were shut into the boss' office so he could go out and get his lunch or leave for the day. I didn't feel it was fair on him but he knew the situation when he started work there so I guess it was his choice.

If it's the boss' dog, as in their company, you might have to get a grip or leave.

If it's a big company and the manager doesn't own it, you can probably challenge it.

I would love this though. What breed? Sounds such a great office.