Dogs in offices

[ApplePenPineapplePen]

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?

@TofuQuinoaKale

I'm about to put my phone down and so to sleep but I have a pen, I have an apple, uh! Apple pen, I have a pen, I have pineapple, uh! Pineapple pen, apple pen, pineapple pen, uh! Pen pineapple apple pen.

I'll have to chuck some whalesong on Alexa to get that out of my head, OP

I'm sorry what?!

I wouldn't want to spend 8-plus hours a day in a room with one or more dogs, coming into an office every morning which smells of dog, looking down behind me before I wheel my chair back from the desk, making sure I don't trip over a dog on my way back from making a coffee, having to keep my bag off the floor to make sure they don't rifle through it and snack on the contents, arranging meetings around the dogs' routines, talking about the dogs, etc etc etc. And I would agree that many dog owners think that their pets are better behaved than they actually are, like how when their greyhound jumps up on you it's "cute" rather than fucking annoying. Unless we're talking about a therapy or assistance dog (both trained within an inch of their lives) they're no more appropriate to have in a workplace than a young child.

It should be discussed at the point of recruitment - normally it's a selling point for most people.

If you don't like dogs / are allergic then it's not the right workplace for you - just like people who don't like small children wouldn't work in a toy shop, someone with a severe peanut allergy wouldn't work in a restaurant that served peanuts, and a devoutly Muslim wouldn't work in a pub.

I invariably find that actively disliking dogs is a sign of some much deeper character flaws, and such people usually turn out to be people I wouldn't want to spend much time with for other reasons, so if it put such people off applying for a position I'd be perfectly happy with that.

If you don't like dogs / are allergic then it's not the right workplace for you

The right workplace for you is somewhere you'd be a good employee and good at the job - not based on if you can tolerate another person's annoying pet

I invariably find that actively disliking dogs is a sign of some much deeper character flaws

Eh? You what??

I invariably find that actively disliking dogs is a sign of some much deeper character flaws, and such people usually turn out to be people I wouldn't want to spend much time with for other reasons

See I feel the same about dog obsessed people, the kind who claim to like dogs more than humans. I just find it very telling when someone prefers the company of something that is compliant, does as it's told and doesn't answer back.

I get that some smaller offices/ or shops it might be fine.

But on this thread

One poster has said a new employee left as they didn't know. Possibly having given up another job for it. And also not having been advised in the job ad/ interviews etc.

That's shit.

Another poster indicated they would sack an employee who was not comfortable. Presumably they would also not have known that the office had dog/s.

Again. That's shit.

The practicalities I have raised have not been answered. Well answered but erm. The idea that a person who needed a guide dog would be expected to evacuate a high rise building via the stairs with their dog and 'hope no one tripped over it' and so other dog owners could do that too... Why not the fire lift? Expecting a blind or partially sighted person to do that is.. why? What's wrong with the fire lift?

My dogs simply would not behave in an office. One would jump up, beg for food, demand attention especially from strangers. The other would probably just curl up under my desk but they would be a huge distraction.

'I invariably find that actively disliking dogs is a sign of some much deeper character flaws, and such people usually turn out to be people I wouldn't want to spend much time with for other reasons'

Yes so put it in the job ad FGS.

Rather than as other posters have experienced/ suggested. Sacking them or having them leave when they start and realise there are dogs in the office. Very possibly having given up their previous job. And have children etc to provide for.

@LadyWhistledownsQuill I’ll explain why some people dislike dogs. Lots of them m slobber, lick you, jump up at you, they go a long time between washes, bark and often smell.

So basically the complete opposite of cats.

I’m not talking about well trained animal assistance dogs, I’m talking about the majority of dogs I come across. I am not rude to dogs and their owners, but I prefer them to stay out of my personal space.

I can appreciate why lots of people love their dogs and I’m happy for them. But I choose not to have them in my personal space if I can help it.

Mine has 2. Sometimes they completely lose the plot with barking which can be unsettling. Other times it is really nice to have them around.

The right workplace for you is somewhere you'd be a good employee and good at the job - not based on if you can tolerate another person's annoying pet

Fitting in with workplace culture is also important. In some workplaces, dogs are part of that culture.

Likewise, some people like the culture of tech start ups, while others would be much more comfortable in a more traditional tech firm, even where the job description is the same. Different strokes for different folks.

See I feel the same about dog obsessed people, the kind who claim to like dogs more than humans. I just find it very telling when someone prefers the company of something that is compliant, does as it's told and doesn't answer back.

You've clearly never lived with a dog if you think they're always compliant, do as they're told or can't answer back. They definitely can answer back!

If you're consistent, you'd also think that anyone who loves babies is weird, because they're compliant, do as they're told (or can be manhandled into it) and can't answer back.

Most dog people also have fully functioning interpersonal relationships, by the way.

I've worked in dog friendly offices and I absolutely love it, even though I'm a cat person. I used to work with the office dog curled up on my knee.

But YANBU. So many people are allergic to dogs or scared of them or just don't like them.

'Fitting in with workplace culture is also important. In some workplaces, dogs are part of that culture.'

And many workplace cultures are mainly male, white, certain background etc...

I would hate this precisely because dog-loving colleagues might decide I have much deeper character flaws and shun me for not embracing their slobbery smelly pet, rather than understanding that I was bitten twice by different dogs as a child and now I'm very nervous around them. And my productivity would nosedive as I'd be on edge the whole time.

It's happening more and more. More of my friends are seeing it. It was in the last 3 jobs I've been to, including one of my current ones. It seems to be being more normalised and I just don't get it.

It's bullshit. Usually introduced by someone senior enough that nobody argues who is either a pet fetishist or too tight to pay a walker. Hobbies - especially smelly tedious ones - should be kept out of the workplace.

No one has said what happens in a high rise in an evacuation. Apart from an idea that it would be the same as someone with a guide dog who would put the dog on a lead and use the stairs. And hope no one tripped over the dog

Or responded to the fact that posters have suggested

That it's no problem for people to leave after a week because they didn't know there were dogs in the office (possibly having packed in a stable job and needing an income)

That anyone who was not comfy would be sacked

That essentially friendly chats would be available to dog lovers with the boss (the same old in group out group stuff)

That's all fine apparently.

Hobbies

They are often members of people’s families, not just ‘hobbies’. Sometimes they’re a person’s only family member.

So what happens if there's a fire in a high rise building?

If my only family is my gran or my child can I bring them?

What if I love my snake,? Or rat? The same rule applies i assume?

My only family is my set of bagpipes.

Might suggest it actually. At least they don't watch you eat.

@SuziQuatrosFatNan

My only family is my set of bagpipes.

Might suggest it actually. At least they don't watch you eat.

Bagpipes scare me. They're always watching.....

The headmaster of my primary school had a golden retriever in his classroom. She used to come and sit by me and lick my knee if I didn't stroke her ears.

Very long time ago. We used to have a Latin grammar test every Friday morning after break.

.