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?

@MooseBeTimeForSummer

Former Solicitor here. I once had a family case at Leeds County Court where the District Judge had her dog in the chamber.

I know a cafe with a resident dog, who acts as something of a selling point (lots of dog loving dog starved young professionals locally)

A relative has carers coming in and one turned up with her dog in tow. I'm sure it was against about 6 different rules but relative was THRILLED and the carer had already handed in her notice so clearly didn't give a shit about the rules

I can't press reply to Saskia for some reason. Who obviously couldn't be bothered to read my post properly.

In a high rise office a blind person with a guide dog would NOT be expected to go down the stairs.

They would go in the fire lift. FIRE lift. Not normal lift.

The tall buildings I've worked in have all had them.

My son lives in Canada and works in a very trendy office/converted warehouse ( think Google-ish), and has been taking his dog into work every day for over 5 years. Others can bring their dogs in too and generally it is felt they are a good thing for general well being, his dog will do his 'rounds' in the morning to greet his favourites, then lay on the floor snoozing under my son's desk most of the day. He is gentle and all the other staff love him, if they need a bit of time out, they come over for a stroke and cuddle. There was a pug that was banned for snuffling out peoples lunches...but having dogs there generally does work. However, he works in a huge, huge open plan area, he has sofas around his desk/working area, all the staff have huge workstation/areas and mainly work with earphones on (no not a call centre!) Dog is excercised every 4 hours and he has never pooed or wee'd - he is very popular! so it can work in some places (and he is a very lucky dog)

Allowing dogs is the office is simply part of the benefits package for companies that are competing to recruit young people, often with degrees in software engineering or similar. A large chunk of these young recruits will be single and, especially if they are applying for jobs in a place that has lots of hiking, kayaking, and other similar pursuits available, outdoorsy. Many people with this lifestyle will want a dog as a companion! Meanwhile, the company will want them to be able to work long hours that would make dog ownership irresponsible. One way to solve this is to allow well-behaved dogs in the office.
In certain tech hubs, many employers allow dogs, as do almost all of the high-end apartment buildings. What’s wrong with an employer or landlord doing some research and concluding that allowing dogs will make it easier to attract the right people?

I always remember being pestered to bring my (then) puppy to work at law client. Despite my reasons given to not do it, they insisted and I gave in and brought her eventually. They went predictably daft over her and she laid on my knee and slept during the meeting, all good. At the end she suddenly jumped down and did a massive 'Mr Whippy' style poo on the posh boardroom carpet I did actually say "I told you so" and she stayed at home with WFH DH after that.

I'm allowed to take her to work at Uni but I have enough to carry about, lap top and folders and stuff, so I don't. Plus we'd never get any work done as everyone would be feeding her bits of sandwiches and cradling her like a baby (she's an attention whore).

I've met some great work dogs though, labradors seem especially cut out for this. Our builders bring a malamute sometimes and I love seeing him and having a quick cuddle.

Allowing dogs is the office is simply part of the benefits package for companies that are competing to recruit young people, often with degrees in software engineering or similar

It's a pretty stupid one, as they are actively discouraging a lot of people from applying. And possibly discriminating against some of them as well.

@colderandeatsmincepiesalot

My son lives in Canada and works in a very trendy office/converted warehouse ( think Google-ish), and has been taking his dog into work every day for over 5 years. Others can bring their dogs in too and generally it is felt they are a good thing for general well being, his dog will do his 'rounds' in the morning to greet his favourites, then lay on the floor snoozing under my son's desk most of the day. He is gentle and all the other staff love him, if they need a bit of time out, they come over for a stroke and cuddle. There was a pug that was banned for snuffling out peoples lunches...but having dogs there generally does work. However, he works in a huge, huge open plan area, he has sofas around his desk/working area, all the staff have huge workstation/areas and mainly work with earphones on (no not a call centre!) Dog is excercised every 4 hours and he has never pooed or wee'd - he is very popular! so it can work in some places (and he is a very lucky dog)

This! Our setup was similar. A techie place where it was important that staff were content and could relax to achieve results. Job adverts were very upfront about it being a dog-friendly place and it actually was quite a 'selling point' for many applicants. Several years later, long after I left, a new CEO and some new senior managers completely changed the entire nature of the place, removed most sofas where people could work on their laptops, banned dogs, took away various perks and enforced a strict dress code. Programmers and other web staff left in droves. It was a massive exodus. The company is now in massive trouble, as they introduced all of these corporative bods, sales directors etc but they cannot deliver the actual core product, i.e. tech-based services. In certain creative and tech-based companies, which are not public-facing, it can be a really big plus. The company actually offered WFH days long before the pandemic and many came in because they liked the office atmosphere.

It’s about people being reasonable, surely? I can’t see it’s ‘unprofessional’ given it’s probably professionals who might be very likely to have dogs at work.

Places where dogs might go into ‘the office’ include;
Restaurants
Cafes
Pubs
Police stations
Fire stations
Hospitals
Hospices
Children’s homes
Care homes
Hotels
Coaches
Stately homes and visitor attractions
Armed forces
HGVs
Blacksmiths and carpentry workshops
Art galleries
Shops
Nurseries (plants and schools)
Farms
Riding establishments
Watersports centres
Universities and colleges

I’m sure many more too. Not sure what makes ‘an office’ so specifically unsuitable. Obviously, a dozen badly trained dogs, weeing, fighting, stealing biscuits and barking are not conducive to high performance. One dog curled up at an accountants feet with reception staff vying to take him to the park at lunchtime is less problematic. A pack of beagles wouldn’t work in a Hospice but a PAT Cockerpoo is fine. A Jack Russell sitting flipped on beside the coach driver is probably fine but a pack of huskies in an airport isn’t fine.

It’s one of those things that are situation specific. There don’t seem to be many serious incidents of anaphylaxis being reported as due to workplace dogs. If someone has an allergy, it might be an antihistamine does the trick or they can avoid the office where the dog curls up. I rather suspect cultural advantages are with dogs in workplaces and the benefits probably outweigh the risks.

The OP's username references a very bizarre little tune which gets stuck in your head. My nine year old introduced me to it. Yay...

@PaperbackRider

Allowing dogs is the office is simply part of the benefits package for companies that are competing to recruit young people, often with degrees in software engineering or similar

It's a pretty stupid one, as they are actively discouraging a lot of people from applying. And possibly discriminating against some of them as well.

They will equally attract some other applicants who will choose them over their competitors because of the dog friendly policy.

For many people, it's a perk even more attractive than private medical care or a company car.

I can respect a company that doesn't try to be all things to all people.

@FrangipaniDeLaSqueegeeMop makes me feel ill when dogs watch people eat. Why do owners allow this?! It's not cute, it's gross.

that's the most ridiculous thing I have every heard! Get a grip

No thank you to dogs in the office. Sorry but many of them smell, and are rarely as well behaved as their owners think.

We had a dog in one of the offices I worked in, it never bothered anyone as far as I could tell but for some people it definitely added an element of stress. Some were afraid of dogs and it was distracting for them to have this large lab in close proximity. I’m not generally afraid of dogs so I didn’t mind too much but I felt sorry for those who did.

It’s almost impossible to speak up against this, unless you have an allergy. Those who were afraid were not taken seriously, as the owner reassured us all that the dog was friendly - a bit insensitive

@NiceGerbil
we also have restrictions on food we can bring into the office due to colleagues with allergies. I would have thought this was standard but judging by a pp's message apparently it isn't.

I am unsurprised that trendy tech businesses have dogs running around - ime these types of organisations are very much all surface no substance in terms of responsibility towards employees. They make a lot of noise about being fun and inclusive but rarely have the kind of embedded commitment to real equality and employee care that you get from an employer with coherent and robust policies.

I work for what was a tech startup and is now established. It's in central London. We do very little kayaking in our lunch hour

We do do a lot of drinking though.

I am a bit lol at this thread tbh!

Software engineers oooohhhh! What would us women know about that world eh

My friend who works for Xbox in the USA isn't exactly the action adventure type. Most of my uni mates were more on the ooh look a screen I think I'll do something related to that for hours and then have a drink. The outdoor pursuits lifestyle was not much in demand...!

@Stompythedinosaur

As opposed to imposing your dog on a workplace when it doesn't belong their, which is the height of consideration

But why do some people think they are in charge of deciding where a dog does or doesn't belong? The law doesn't prohibit dog friendly offices. Being able to have different working practices is a big reason for setting up your own business. It is like any other legal working practice - if it doesn't suit you then work somewhere that suits you better.

Because unless dogs are actual employees, offices are first and foremost for humans. Who actually have employment rights. so their feelings, rights and considerations should be out before animals.

Are any of the dog friendly offices being discussed at large software houses in the USA where there's lots of kayaking , just out of interest

@Stompythedinosaur

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.

What about when suddenly someone starts bringing their dog into the office and everyone follows suit?

And call me old fashioned but I personally think employers should be happy to accept the right person for the job, and not regard "doesn't want to spend 40 hours a week int he company of someone else's smelly and annoying animal" as a reason not to employ an otherwise good candidate

I love dogs but unless it's a service animal, it shouldn't be in a workplace. For all the reasons outlined - allergies, people who dog phobias, peeing, chewing, barking etc.

It’s becoming quite normal. I love dogs and my dc have actually been taught with a teacher’s dog in the classroom (not for a visit - the dog comes very often). I also had a guy cut my hedge and his dog played in my garden. That said, it is totally inappropriate in offices where there are other people who a) don’t love dogs and b) have allergies or are frightened. Some dogs do bite and many have shitty arses. I’m always astonished when people don’t either trim the shitty hairs off or give the dog’s arse a good shampoo.

I love and have dogs and from a purely personal perspective would be delighted to work somewhere that had a well-behaved office dog, but in 99% of workplaces it would be a bad idea and not very considerate to those who don't like or are allergic to dogs, so I agree they should be kept out of the office unless it's an assistance dog.

The outdoor pursuits crowd is a decent contingent but obviously not the only one. That’s why I said that allowing dogs in the office would be part of a benefits package along with things such as a health, dental, vision plan, which is very interesting to some but much less compelling to young, healthy, single people. Having single offices with closing doors might be very interesting to others and help differentiate the company from others with more open plan working conditions. When I started working, being able to have my dog with me was the only benefit I even used, other than free coffee and soft drinks.
My personal experience, which includes plenty of kayaking, mountain-climbing, dog-owning, female software engineers, is from a place with mountains, right on the water, and certainly not in London.

What about when suddenly someone starts bringing their dog into the office and everyone follows suit?

I've only ever worked in one dog friendly office and there were policies covering everything from how many dogs were allowed per office (with a waiting list) to behaviour.

Dogs allowed ≠ a free for all.

Places where dogs might go into ‘the office’ include; Restaurants Cafes Pubs

You think people can or should have dogs when they are at work in restaurants, cafes and pubs? So your waiter has a poodle trotting along side while bringing your food, and the chef has a great dane on the countertop?

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.

Honestly the "get over your allergy" "that workplace isn't for you" crowd, who are suspicious of people who don't adore their dog, are the biggest cunts going. Quite happy for a human to suffer and be in serious danger and pain then take their dog hone