Dogs in the office

[Merryoldgoat]

I’m not a dog person. I don’t really like them but can bear them for a short amount of time.

I have been asked to interview for a job and the website talks about having dogs in the office as a plus point.

This isn’t a plus for me.

I imagine dogs in the office are overly intrusive and I think it changes the dynamic.

I’d like to hear from people who work in offices where dogs are allowed and how it is day to day, especially if you aren’t a big dog fan.

I have a colleagues dog in our office sometimes. It' well behaved so I don't really think about it. I've had to bring mine in twice. I love dogs though.

I've worked in 2 offices with dogs.

First had an old half blind/ half deaf terrier that mostly stayed under his Owners desk but did get up and potter about occasionally. It was a small office but he was pretty easy to not notice. No smell, tiny kitchen that he never went in.

Second one had upto 3 dogs a day incl. A puppy, it had a garden so they were outside a lot. Dogs were more active but it worked well.

I think if you ignore them from day 1 they wouldn't bother with you mostly.

What's this job? I would love to work in an office with dogs!!!

What happens if someone is allergic to dogs? Doesn't it raise all sorts of issues around reasonable adjustments and so on? Not being snarky, genuinely interested how that's managed!

I volunteer at an office which allows dogs. There are two there regularly and they are 99% of the time asleep in their baskets. If people want to give them a fuss that's fine, if you don't you ignore them. I imagine we wouldn't tolerate a dog that was a nuisance.

I used to work in an office where dogs were allowed but all the dogs were well trained and mostly just lay down under desks until their owners took them out for a walk.

We used to get police sniffer dogs practising in our building, used to love watching them at work. Apparently one of them found some cannabis that a disgruntled ex employee left behind in a drawer.

You’d hope that they wouldn’t suddenly change the rules so that dogs were allowed if there was someone already employed that had an allergy/was completely against it.
and then if there was someone new coming for a potential job they’d be told about the policy and know it wasn’t the job for them. Although how would that work legally - would it be an issue in the case of an allergy?

I don’t expect the world to love or want interaction with dogs, but I do think that people who go to openly dog friendly places and make a fuss are ridiculous.

I am not a dog person but I have enjoyed working in (some) dog friendly offices. IMO, it is a stupid idea, so many people are allergic to dogs, scared of them, or have religious or cultural objections to dogs inside. That said, I found it quite nice having well behaved dogs at work who were up for a cuddle 🥰

It really depends on how well behaved the dogs and their owners are though.

If I didn't like dogs I probably wouldn't choose to work in a place with dogs. It's as simple as that.

I agree it can be done well, and may be worth asking.

But I’d be wary that a dog person’s judgement of “oh yes we make sure they aren’t a bother!” is maybe not the same as mine.

I’ve worked in a dog friendly office it worked well as there were lots of seperate offices so dog would stay in someone’s room. They were all well behaved and quiet.

There is some case law around competing disabilities. So if someone is allergic or phobic, they automatically lose out to an assistance dog.

So even if you work in a dog free environment now, your employer could employ someone who is, for example, blind and cannot work without their dog. If all reasonable adjustments such as allowing wfh, cleaning regimes, different area’s didn’t resolve the issue, you wouldn’t get anywhere complaining about it. The argument the court made was that the allergic person could distance themselves or take medication, and the phobic person could distance themselves or get therapy.

The blind worker couldn’t get their sight back or work without their dog. It’s an interesting area of employment law.

I think they’d probably have to provide a dog-free area of the office for them, in the same way it would be managed if someone with allergies worked in a non-dog office and someone with an assistance dog was employed.

I think it probably depends on the allergy severity. If it just makes you uncomfortable (running eyes etc) , I assume that doesn’t reach a level that gets any legal protection.
A life threatening allergy is probably something that legally trumps people’s wishes to have their dogs in the office.

Dog people should work from home or at least leave the dogs there. I really don’t want them in an office situation.

It is awful. They bark. They run about. Sometimes they fight each other. One bit someone on the ankle.
Some piss on the carpet.
The owners think everyone else loves their dog. Owners dont give work their full attention.

But the barking is the worst.
I was going to bring in a mini goat as an emotional support animal and let it run free. Or maybe a boa constrictor. Where do you draw the line?

Up to businesses whether they want to have a dog-friendly office, surely? As long as they’re clear that they are dog-friendly then people can choose to apply or not.

I would object to an office suddenly becoming dog-friendly if it hadn’t previously been, as that’s a change to employment conditions, but I don’t see a problem if you know from the outset.

I do love dogs, but I’m also allergic to them. So no, dogs in the office is not good for me.

I worked in a WeWork place for a while that people brought their dogs to and I thought it was really naff. Dogs lying in the corridor so you have to go around them, dogs wandering around the kitchen where people are trying to make food safely and eat it without being harassed. Dogs aren’t considered clean for Muslims either, so not a great working environment for all cultures.

It’s not just for them to judge - a single incident of “bad” behaviour and they are permanently banned. No second chances.

Dog friendly offices are great imo

I've never met a dog I didn't like- I've met several humans though...

Our office is a massive open plan office for 300-400 people. There can up to 20/30 dogs in at a time. In the 17 years since they started this I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve heard a dog bark - it was one dog that got upset when their owner had to leave their desk extremely suddenly. There has never been a dog running about in the office. No one has been bitten. An office that has a good policy around dogs is different to one that just lets everyone bring any dog in and leave them to it. I work for a company that has a Petcare business so it makes sense that they were determined to get it right.

You could always ask for an office tour and see if there are areas where you could sit in a non doggy area, or if the dogs are well behaved and just sit in a corner not bothering anybody. But you can just move on and find another job if not.

Bloody loved the offices I have worked at where dogs were allowed. So nice to have hounds about the place. Very personal thing though. Shame they can’t have a dog and non dog section so everyone can be happy