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?

For those who have severe allergies, do you also think that guide dogs shouldn’t be permitted in the office?

I answered above.
assistance dogs I tolerate. a good employer would find a solution that works for both.

if a dog is well behaved, comes into the office, sleeps on its bed and doesn’t get under anyone’s feet then what is the problem

it's like kids though isn't it. Every parent says their child is a little angel and then they scream/listen to Peppa Pig at top volume in a restaurant.

People will say their dogs are well behaved, but they won't all be. And there is the extra issue of the travel to work. Also, hearing dogs are nothing like as well trained as guide dogs, I've twice had a hearing dog hassle me on a train and had to move carriages whereas guide dogs do what they are supposed to do and look after their owner and nothing else.

I thought the UK in general is reasonably dog-friendly and dog were allowed in pubs

Some pubs. And pubs are not offices.

@Brokensharted

I’d definitely rather work in an office that had a dog in it than had the OP in it.

Ha ha or me in it.

It's strange how some dog owners think you're somehow a nasty person if you don't like dogs. I'd like to see more dog owners training their dogs properly, but that's too much like hard work for many.

@sillysmiles

Dogs in offices

Are brilliant. That's an office I wan to work in.

I thought the UK in general is reasonably dog-friendly and dog were allowed in pubs?

This is true in rural/touristy areas, but less so in cities, I have found.

@BashfulClam

Bloody love our office dog. She’s the best friend of our Director and business owner. She’s really well behaved and just has a mooch and then lies in her ‘spot’ then stares at everyone at lunchtime. She cheers up my day with her daft wee furry face.

Can I come and work in your office

@Brokensharted

I’d definitely rather work in an office that had a dog in it than had the OP in it.

Same

You can’t really compare the issue of guide dogs with everyday dogs.
There are less than 5,000 guide dogs in the uk.
The one or two occasions a guide dog came in, my first Manager who seemed able to understand the issue, put the dog and his owner in a downstairs room to be seen, and the room was ventilated and cleaned afterwards. I was fine, because the situation was managed.

@Horsemad

Extremely common in the forces to have dogs in the office.

It is. One the base I worled at, the Station Commander made it policy that dog owners had to have adequate 3rd party insurance befoe the dog went outside their home.

I hated the dogs being around. I'd be working away and this random dog might come up and start sniffing around you.

I work in an industry (agricultural) where it is more unusual not to bring your dog to work, my last office had a lab, St. Bernard, a collie, a spaniel and three terriers between the five people that worked there

You'd hate my workplace! (Agricultural sector). ALL the partners bring their dogs in and the place is awash with labradors, retrievers and spaniels.

Absolutely bloody love it! .

@Stompythedinosaur

I think that if people don't like the dog policy of their workplace they are free to work somewhere else, just like if they didn't like the dress policy, annual leave policy, or anything else.

The attitude of "I don't like this so no one should be allowed to do it" is shitty and selfish.

The issue is if you are already working there and the boss decides to start bringing his (apparently not very well behaved) dog in and then so do other people.

It's obviously a different issue if you are told at the application stage and can choose to opt out.

But even if your own workplace is dog-free, it sounds like the trains are going to be full of dogs after 21 June. And at least one of them is going to poo on the train at some point not envy

I think it depends on the office. I don’t think a company should randomly just change the rules to allow dogs in one day without consulting staff. But if a job is advertised in a dog friendly office it should state so clearly to make those with allergies and phobias aware the environment isn’t suitable for them.

My old manager would randomly bring her dog in every now and again, and while I love dogs and have dogs the thing would sit under her desk (next to mine) and fart all day. It was grim.

I could never take my dog to an office, he’s reactive around other dogs and would just cause utter havoc and / or whine because he’s not allowed to cause havoc.

@BrownEyedGirl80

Much rather have a dog at work than a baby.My old manager couldn't bear to put her child in childcare so brought her in with her every day until she was around 18 months,we were all expected to help look after her.

That's even worse. I hate babies in offices too. Everyone crowds around and coos over them. Also yuck. I liked my own baby, I don't like anyone else's.

@NiceGerbil

'All the dogs sit quietly by their owners chair or under their desk.'

That can't be much fun for the dogs, day in day out...

It’s what they do at home. Day in, day out.

We have an office dog (one of the other directors' dogs). Everyone loves her and she gets walked loads by us all, goes to stay at various people's houses instead of going to a kennels when needed, spends the afternoon asleep on various people's laps, joins in meetings... I'm currently on a Zoom with her asleep at my feet.

It's made very clear at on our website and at interview that there's a dog in the office, nobody's ever had a problem. She does bark at the postman occasionally but she's generally very well behaved and a big part of the team and good atmosphere in the office!

(I don't own a dog myself and I wouldn't - I don't have the time for one - so I'm not a mega dog person per se, but she's a tiny joy every day, especially on night shifts.)

@Rewis

This is one thing that can happen if you are allergic in dog friendly office.

www.askamanager.org/2015/07/my-new-office-is-full-of-dogs-and-im-allergic.html

www.askamanager.org/2015/12/update-my-new-office-is-full-of-dogs-and-im-allergic.html

I liked dogs and I don't mind if a dog is occasionally in the office due to some reason. Similarly I don't mind a colleague brining a kid on the odd day due to childcare issues. It's a perk that can't be taken away without resentment. I'm guessing the best way to handle it is to make it clear on the listing so people who are not ok with it know not to apply.

That poor woman! This is why I generally dislike people who prefer dogs to humans -it's not normal to be this vile towards other people just because you can't look after your dog properly

I’d love it. I did once work in an office (non British military abroad) where an officer brought his German shepherd every day. He was an extremely well behaved dog who would very politely ask for a biscuit whenever he saw me taking mine out of a drawer.

I take my dog to work, wouldn't have got her if I couldn't. We are a small company, there are only four of us. At one time there was three dogs here, I loved it. Now my pup is the only one, she is no bother at all. I take her out for an hour, maybe a bit longer, and apart from that she either has a little play with her toys or sleeps in her massive bed. Although every time someone goes in the kitchen she does go in there in the hope of getting a treat. I was very conscious though that she has to be a good girl so got a trainer on board the first week I got her. She's a delight, a knob sometimes but then so are my colleagues, and probably me.

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.

And I invariably find that people with this kind of attitude are the same twats who wander up after their dog has rushed over to me and say "he's only being friendly" while their dog is biting hard enough to draw blood through jeans.

I had stitches in my leg from this dog. As soon as the owner realised how bad it was, he'd scooped up the dog and rushed off.

So, you think dog owners are perfect? It's the dog owners who have the flaws, and the blinkers about their dog's behaviour.

There was a guide dog in a last place I worked. She was gorgeous and we all loved her - nobody minded. She was surprisingly naughty though, wanted near constant fuss and absolutely stank the place out.

Unnecessary dogs in offices are just, well, not necessary - either people love them too much or grow to resent them.

@Suzi888

Where is this happening?!

A lot of 'young' firms have an office dog, it's a destressing mechanism.

We have a very well behaved, slightly elderly Heinz 57 at our work, he's only there some days as he needs medication on a regular basis and if no-one else home he comes in, but tbh you'd never know he was there, he's walked to work, and has a cage under the desks and he just lies in there on his cushion and gently snores from time to time. So he's not bounding about demanding attention, no more trouble than the waste bin, you just take it out every now and then to empty it after all.
Would never take our dog, not a calm office sort of dog.

@therocinante

We have an office dog (one of the other directors' dogs). Everyone loves her and she gets walked loads by us all, goes to stay at various people's houses instead of going to a kennels when needed, spends the afternoon asleep on various people's laps, joins in meetings... I'm currently on a Zoom with her asleep at my feet.

It's made very clear at on our website and at interview that there's a dog in the office, nobody's ever had a problem. She does bark at the postman occasionally but she's generally very well behaved and a big part of the team and good atmosphere in the office!

(I don't own a dog myself and I wouldn't - I don't have the time for one - so I'm not a mega dog person per se, but she's a tiny joy every day, especially on night shifts.)

Every office I've worked in with pets has made it clear to new recruits they have the animal there.

If you are an existing worker they mention it to you that the animal is coming in so you can raise objections - well unless it is a cat who decides the office is one of their other homes....