Dogs in the office

[banjocat]

I've recently started at a new workplace.

Someone in the same office but from another team brings her dog in, and has been doing this since before I started.

It's a very large open plan office, around 30 computers in there, and also members of the public come into the front area (where there is a customer facing desk).

I have mild dog allergies. Not to the extent that it really causes a problem, but if the dog came and sat near me (which he sometimes does) I have to move away from him.

Despite my allergies I do like dogs, but I suppose I'm just surprised that no one mentioned or checked with me that there would be a dog in the office. With such a flow of staff and people through the space, there are bound to be people with allergies or other problems wtih dogs - I'm kind of surprised that this is allowed and just seems to be in place every week.

I don't feel I can say anything without it creating bad feeling as it's an established routine now and lots of colleagues love the dog.

Are dogs in the office becoming the norm now?

AIBU to think it's a bit rude not to check with everyone who is working there?

we had a big meeting with our owners in our office and plus guests from other offices .. we were pushed for space and the dog sat on sofa where as I had to stand for 1.5 hours leaning on a desk!

The person in charge of the meeting should never have allowed that to happen.

I woud have picked the dog up and dumped it on the floor.

I would've got the dog to sit on my lap!

Yes. There’s no reason to have one unless it’s a service dog or for work purposes. Otherwise they’re just a smelly nuisance and only there because owners are selfish and/or irresponsible. It also a symptom of the odd way our society treats dogs and expects others to

Well it doesn't matter to me so I'm not worried. I do think that OP should have been told when she was offered the job so she could have declined it. I don't know how a new starter can come in and demand that they change things that have worked in the past without pissing people off.

I knew my boss had dogs at work sometimes as I met them on interview day. So I could easily have said I didn't want to work there. I don't think for one minute I would have been hired if I'd have said I can't be around them and expected him to stop bringing them in.

@kisstheblarney you keep missing my point, maybe the dog is distracting you, as I have said, I don't believe either have any place in the office but if people want their fur babies there as we are constantly told on MN how they are just like children then why not children, you may not like children, but plenty don't want dogs in the workplace either.
You don't need to concern yourself with my dcs welfare thanks, perhaps you should consider your colleagues welfare and how they have their needs in a work environment placed below what you perceive as your dogs need or your lack of budgeting for doggy daycare.

I'm not missing any point at all! You said kids should be allowed in an office as well as dogs, that they were no more distracting.... not true!

You also think that kids should not be stimulated etc, they should!

Just because @KarenNotAKaren child would sit counting for hours, doesn't mean it's a good idea all day long, dog in an office sleeping all day long isn't going to be detrimental to their well being.

Also in OPs case the dog is already in the office, so it would seem the consensus is that people are happy with it!

I find that people saying “You don’t like dogs do you?” Are saying it with the same accusatory astonishment than if they’d said “You don’t agree with women being in the workplace do you?”

Disliking dogs is absolutely fine and very understandable. It’s not some human rights violation, it’s about preference and people are allowed to not love dogs and even find them irritating. As they are with any animal. How can you not understand that?

I’m sure it was the Trafford Centre that recently tried allowing dogs in the premises and then they reneged because they found that poor behaviour from dogs and their owners was too much. They found piles of shit laying around 🤮

Oh yay, comparing dogs and children.

Children are humans and cannot be left at home. The end.

I find it hilarious that you think a child in an office is more acceptable than a dog.....

Well you’re easily tickled then! Like I said it depends on the child ms the dog. I’d much rather have a well behaved child than a yappy disruptive dog. In fact I’d rather have neither on the office - neither belong in the workplace.

Quite common now to have an office dog. I'm not a fan of it but do like dogs usually, just not in the workplace

But if that's how you treat your children..... like a dog.... says more about you than me!

WTF. Did you touch the moon with that massive reach?

What a weird thing to say.

Im not the one treating some mutt like a baby.

Assistance dogs are an extension of employees so it would be equal, actually. And adjustments would have to be made for both

Gross! What a horrible way to treat a colleague.

I stopped going to SILs because she once expected me to sit on the floor when the dog was on the sofa.

FGS @kisstheblarney literally no one is advocating for kids to be in offices 🤣 they are saying a kid wouldn’t be accepted so why should a dog be

I wouldn't like it (and we have a dog!).

I don't know how a new starter can come in and demand that they change things that have worked in the past without pissing people off.

Because the workplace has an obligation to make reasonable adjustments for disability and health conditions!

It’s not rocket science.

A woman in my work has loads of reasonable adjustment due to PTSD from having a very prolonged and torturous attack by an ex. To others (twats) she has a cushy little number because she gets to WFH loads, she gets more regular breaks and her desk takes up a larger space where she can see everyone else (because she scares easily when approached from the back so has to have her back to the wall). People don’t like it but Anyone who isn’t a twat sees it’s perfectly reasonable for a woman suffering from an acute condition.

It doesn’t matter - OP isn’t happy with it and she’s ‘people’

It is mad that so many people think a dog should take precedence over an employee🤯

@KarenNotAKaren my boss wouldn't employ them. He would make another excuse why they didn't get the job.

You are very passionate about this debate.

Please can I take my doberman to work with me. I am sure he would sit quietly in my classroom😂

@KarenNotAKaren made even worse by the fact the owner had a seat! And the dog has a dog bed in the office that he could have been shifter to! Yes your Sil sounds out of order too really … not a way to treat a guest no matter how close you maybe. It’s the same if we have guests and not enough room .. tell the kids to shift or sit on the rug or grab a cushion to sit on.. all a bout a bit of respect

I don’t think everybody is allergic or phobic in that sense. I don’t like dogs because I find them dirty and don’t like them nuzzling my feet, property and clothes. There are many reasons that people dislike dogs. I imagine allergies are the minority.

having said that, it is ok being around well-trained dogs, including assistance dogs. But I don’t think dogs in an office should be running around. I occasionally work at a GP practice and they have a therapy dog in the meeting that runs up and jumps up at you as you enter the room. I don’t think that is appropriate as not everybody is ok with this.

My friend has a retired sniffer dog. He is a gorgeous dog but does have a habit of sniffing bags of strangers and barking to alert his owner. It makes you see people in a new light!