Dogs in offices

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RANT: I do not understand how or why it became acceptable for people in office jobs to take dogs to work. A workplace is no place for pets. Get a dogsitter or don't have a pet or change job. I don't want their hounds near me i don't want their hairs on my office chair. Am I being unreasonable to think the starting position should be no animals in offices? Rant over.

More calmly, I have 2 reasons that I want to avoid dogs - a severe allergy plus a previous dog attack leaving me generally nervous and stressed around dogs. Work is aware of my allergy and now office returns are being discussed, some measures are in place to minimise my exposure.

But what if that weren't the case though and I just didn't like them? Is it for the individual to check if there are animals in the office before they accept the job? Or should employers disclose in job ads?

Of course I exclude guide dogs/hearing dogs or similar.

AIBU to think the default position should be no dogs in offices?

@Stompythedinosaur

I see lots of posts being critical of "young" offices that allow dogs, but I suspect this is really a part of a change away from traditional styles of working. I really don't think it is a bad thing. My dp's dog friendly office is also child friendly and staff can bring their dc in if they feel they can work OK with them there. It's mainly older dc who come in.

There's also no dress code, no limits around time off for sickness and childcare, no limits around working from home. A more relaxed style of office suits some people. There's nothing wrong with it.

I wouldn't like working in an office full of kids either!

I still think the choice to avoid them should be allowed to all

It is. Dog friendly offices are still in a minority and there’s no compulsion to work for organisations that have them. If people don’t like dogs in their office other employers are available.

@Blossomtoes

I still think the choice to avoid them should be allowed to all

It is. Dog friendly offices are still in a minority and there’s no compulsion to work for organisations that have them. If people don’t like dogs in their office other employers are available.

Yeah, that's not quite the same thing, as you probably know...

It’s exactly the same thing.

Meh. I like more relaxed offices. I worked in a very formal one for years, and I'd take a dog and a ping pong table type modern one any day!

I actually love dogs, but I still think the choice to avoid them should be allowed to all.

But no one is being forced to work in a dog friendly office. We can all chose where to apply to work, and choose somewhere that suits us.

@Blossomtoes

I still think the choice to avoid them should be allowed to all

It is. Dog friendly offices are still in a minority and there’s no compulsion to work for organisations that have them. If people don’t like dogs in their office other employers are available.

Agreed. And I say this as someone with a severe allergy to some animals - so I'm not unaware of the possibilities. But I don't go to petting zoos or pet shops or to certain people's houses and I don't expect them to accommodate me.

If every business in the UK had an office dog then yes, it would be discriminatory. But they don't and it's not. If you don't like/hate/are allergic to a dog, don't go and work somewhere they have a dog, surely?

What is this obsession with dogs please? Must be the owners. Daft to have hairy beasts farting and drooling in an office environment. I'd be having words!
Or I would have to insist on bringing in my well behaved, wouldn't hurt a fly, gorgeous little peeing and pooing baby in too. Not to mention the pet snake, spider, alligator etc. Equality for all I say.

if it doesn't suit you then work somewhere that suits you better.

That's a really poor attitude to take towards any aspect of the work environment imo. Employers have a duty to employees to ensure that their work environment does not impact adversely on them.

Some of that is expressed in statutory provision but the overarching rationale behind statutory provision is that workplace set up does not operate to the detriment of staff or potential staff. In addition in the case of allergies which are severe to the extent of being a disability employers are under a particular duty to not expose staff to allergens except in the case of necessary business reasons eg employees at a fruit farm will necessarily come into contact with strawberries.

Saying "I'm the boss and if you don't like it you can fuck off" doesn't really cut it.

I'm a dog owner and lover, and while I'd love to bring her into my work, I agree it's only appropriate in certain workplaces eg pet shops, animal charities, dog groomers etc.

I'm a mental health nurse and there is a Pets as Therapy scheme in healthcare, social care, education etc and that's OK as the pets are vetted and/or trained.

My company do bring a dog to work day, normally a couple of times a year. It means anyone who isn't comfortable around dogs doesn't have to be in, they also make sure the dog is very well behaved. I love the day, I now have a dog but I'm not sure I will take her in as it will be hard for her to relax.

@Blossomtoes

I still think the choice to avoid them should be allowed to all

It is. Dog friendly offices are still in a minority and there’s no compulsion to work for organisations that have them. If people don’t like dogs in their office other employers are available.

Ok, so if I have a dog allergy, I cannot choose to work in your dog friendly office. It might be dog friendly, but its not allergic person friendly. I am barred from working in that office, and any other with a dog. It's like saying, well, we can choose to have an office with strobe lights all day, we like it. If you have photo sensitive epilepsy, just choose to work somewhere else, you picky twat.

FFS.

Wow, lots of votes and the proportions have been largely constant so far. It is clearly emotive. And ouch at some of the comments! But i expected no less from AIBU . It is something that can be managed in my case I think with the adaptations that are being put in place. It is an additional stress that I didn't expect though. That the office is dog-friendly only came to light a few months after I accepted the job (I joined during lockdown). I agree with the comments about the difficulty in being 'that person' who raises a complaint or a concern and how that might be difficult in practice. I don't hate animals but I hate the reactions they cause in me. Experiencing a full blown asthma attack or anaphylaxis is very scary indeed. Carrying an epi-pen, using inhalers or taking anti-histamines can be done but far better to limit exposure as far as is reasonable. I thought it would be a reasonable expectation that offices are, generally, dog-free.

I thought it would be a reasonable expectation that offices are, generally, dog-free.
It is.

Regardless of how many posters try to tell you that the norm is to have an entire pack under every desk.

YANBU! I don’t like it when dogs come up and sniff and put their wet noses all over me. I know people love their dogs and that’s simply great but I don’t love your dog and I don’t want it’s snot on my clothes/hands!

I’m happy to admire them from afar and think they’re cute but not too close!

I agree with you OP that I would generally not expect to have to take steps to manage a pet allergy in the circumstance of signing a contract for an office job. Do you have staff reps at all? Any communication you have with them should be confidential and you could consider raising it there.

You are likely far from alone in not being happy with the situation: as you say, people are often reluctant to speak out, particularly given that everyone knows that the decision has obviously been either made or endorsed by the boss.

absolutely love dogs in our offices. one of the things I've missed when working from home.

@purplefoxglove

We’ve taken our dog into offices - we were on holiday but needed to do a day’s work and the office was happy to have our dog join us - not exactly his favourite way to spend a day but for him better than kennels or a dog sitter - I don’t think YABU but we were glad we had an option - and our dog is not a proper dog - he’s a whippet.

YABU, @purplefoxglove! Whippets emphatically are proper dogs, they just like to pretend they're cats for a while now and again, for a bit of a laugh and a good long sleep on the sofa.

I really want a whippet (or a Bedlington x whippet, or a Bedlington)

@PaperbackRider

I can't believe there are many people who are so allergic to dogs that they can't be in the same building as them, even when 10s of metres away.

I'm really allergic to cats and can't visit houses with cats in them, but my local pub has a pub cat who wanders around, which doesn't set my allergies off. I wouldn't ever sit next to it's chair but I'm completely fine at the other side of the room.

Surely it would be the same with dogs? A big office with a dog asleep under a desk at one side isn't going to set someone off at the other side, or on another floor.
Plus, if a colleague needed an assistance dog at any point, then what?
Guide dogs set off the same allergies as pet ones...

[quote GappyValley]@PaperbackRider

I can't believe there are many people who are so allergic to dogs that they can't be in the same building as them, even when 10s of metres away.

I'm really allergic to cats and can't visit houses with cats in them, but my local pub has a pub cat who wanders around, which doesn't set my allergies off. I wouldn't ever sit next to it's chair but I'm completely fine at the other side of the room.

Surely it would be the same with dogs? A big office with a dog asleep under a desk at one side isn't going to set someone off at the other side, or on another floor.
Plus, if a colleague needed an assistance dog at any point, then what?
Guide dogs set off the same allergies as pet ones...[/quote]
The difference is, in one situation it is a necessity, the other situation it’s not!

Ok, so if I have a dog allergy, I cannot choose to work in your dog friendly office. It might be dog friendly, but its not allergic person friendly. I am barred from working in that office, and any other with a dog.

All offices are (guide) dog friendly by law . You'd be just as allergic to a guide dog as you would be to almost any other dog.

Allergies are not a protected characteristic as far as I am aware. Being disabled through blindness or deafness is.

I'm fairly sure this whole thread is a mountain out of a molehill however, given how few offices actually allow dogs. In all my career, I've worked in one. And that wasn't really an office but an old Victorian fort with only three members of staff.

I would have loved this when my elderly labrador was still alive. He would have trotted in, sniffed around and then went to sleep. It would have been a pain trying to get him to stop begging for food at lunch though.
I go to a dog-friendly pub and most dogs are either quietly under tables or having a trot round to find someone friendly who will pet them.

@GreyhoundG1rl

I thought it would be a reasonable expectation that offices are, generally, dog-free. It is. Regardless of how many posters try to tell you that the norm is to have an entire pack under every desk.

Except no poster has said that. Dog friendly offices are a tiny minority. If you’ve got an allergy, don’t apply for a job in one. It’s not difficult, is it?

All offices are (guide) dog friendly by law . You'd be just as allergic to a guide dog as you would be to almost any other dog

Yes, and if a guide dog were needed, accomodations could be made to both parties to assure no problems. That's not the same as "fuck off, we like dogs more than people and we don't care if you can't breathe in our office, go work somewhere else".

Dog friendly offices are a tiny minority. If you’ve got an allergy, don’t apply for a job in one. It’s not difficult, is it?

It might be. It's unfair, even if it isn't. Dogs have no place is the workplace.

If you’ve got an allergy, don’t apply for a job in one. It’s not difficult, is it?
Op asked was she unreasonable to expect offices to be dog free.
My opinion is that it's not unreasonable not to have to choose your workplace on the basis of whether there's a resident dog, or not.
That's my opinion.
Nobody claimed it was "difficult" to understand, except you.