To love it when colleagues bring their dogs to work and want them to do it more often?

[Natsku]

I work in a factory and people sometimes bring their dogs in (not on the factory floor of course but in the office side or other rooms where they can safely be - today there's two in the women's shower room) and I love it so much as do many others. But I suppose there's a chance there's some people in the building that don't like dogs/scared of them/are allergic so don't like it, though no one has complained yet.

Most of the factory is on holiday this month so I am strongly encouraging people to bring dogs in while its quiet and less people to potentially be bothered, so I can get some canine cuddles when I need a break from work.

Another allergy sufferer here. Unfortunately if this happened at my office, I’d need to work at home on the days the dogs were brought in. So long as that’s accommodated I wouldn’t object, but I’d start looking for a new dog-free job as it would prevent me from fully engaging with the workplace.

In an extremely strong field, this is probably the most unreasonable suggestion that has ever appeared on this site. Keep your flipping dogs at home!

@tben But the dog hair was left there even when the dogs themselves weren’t. And we had carpets in my workplace which weren’t cleaned that well.
so a dog didn’t need to be physically there for me to become unwell. I found out that some days there would be 2 or 3 dogs running around .
I got legal advice but decided I couldnt work somewhere where colleagues were ok with me being ill as long as they could bring dogs in.

Fair point actually, I hadn’t considered the hair

Yeah, nothing against dogs, I used to have one, but they don't belong in the workplace (outside of a guide dog).

I love dogs in the office but a lot of people don’t so it’s a tricky one. Plus it’s very hard to say you can only bring your dog in if it’s a well behaved placid type

Well you raise another good point there. There was a thread recently (ish) about someone who dog-sat for a friend and the friend hadn't had tick treatment for her dog.

So not only do we have the hassle of dogs bothering us when we are trying to work (or shop, or eat or whatever) but we might get fleas and/or ticks too!

On your other point, I want a giant rabbit to take to work. But I'd be worried about someone's dog attacking it (not in work but when out and about). I did see a Facebook post a few weeks ago about someone who takes their cat to parkrun.

And I have found the opposite, to the extent I feel stressed seeing a dog in a hospital. How utterly unsanitary. Still, at least you're on site to be treated quickly should it bite you.
Get your own dog, stop expecting to be pandered to in a hospital where other people do not want to encounter dirty fleabags (or tick-bags).

I spoke to the manager directly about it and he agrees bringing a dog is inappropriate. He’s going to tell her she can’t bring it.

Splendid! Everyone knows what's what all round.

Well done!

Well, let’s see. 😂 He hasn’t told her yet because she asked him directly on Friday afternoon in our WhatsApp chat. He’s said it’s a Monday problem to deal with. He’s a good manager though so I trust he’ll be clear on the expectations.

Oh yes please - great idea.

Talking offices, I suppose it depends on how small the office is. In small office companies where they're impossible to avoid then it is not ideal and quite possibly not fair.

I know some people can work in bigger offices where can be a dog floor and a dogs-not-allowed floor. That could work.

I'm so curious to lnow how google does it! And other companies . And practically how it works.

• do they have to stay tethered to a desk all day? (So sad)
• do you have dog zones/dogfree zones? Are they cordoned off somehow?
• or do they wander (inside the dog zone/floor)
• do you worry about it following someone out a door/into a lift/stairwell etc
• If they have to stay near you but dont have to be therered, have they got more confident/comfortable in their surroundings over time prompting them to explore further from your desk...meaning you are bringing them back all the time
• what happens when you go into a meeting room?
• do you know "Oh that's Cola, Robert's dog" when/if they're wandering

I've never worked in a dog friendly office before, but I think I would like to ... so many questions!

I'm a dog lover, and would be delighted to see a dog in work, however I recognise that there are going to be a minority of people who don't feel the same for various reasons including allergies and being very frightened of dogs, and so overall, I don't think that it should be a default to bring dogs to work. I do feel that if the workplace is dog friendly, then there should be clearly separated areas for those who want or don't want to be close to dogs e.g. office with door.

If you are a manager OP, I'd be a little cautious about encouraging dogs into work, as this is potentially exposing you to liability for any injury or damage (does your work insurance cover dogs being on the premises, do the owners have appropriate insurance etc) as well as risk of complaints form someone who is allergic.

I'm not a manager, just a worker, so I don't need to worry, though I will stop encouraging (its not like anyone needs encouraging anyway).

I’d hate this. The smell, the barking, the neediness, the slobber, the jumping up.

Agreed. For me, dog 'energy' is just off. I despise it. They bring a stench with them, and I am constantly on edge around things with sharp teeth.

I’d love it, and so would dds and the Gdcs.

Many years ago when working in the Gulf, I shared an office with a seconded British serviceman, who always brought his extremely well behaved German Shepherd, Simba (meaning lion) to work.

Simba soon got to know that I kept biscuits in one of my desk drawers, and would very politely come and ask for one.

The locals were very wary of him, though - I don’t think they’d ever seen such a big dog, and they weren’t keen on dogs anyway.

I quite like Taylor Swift and so do loads of people so I propose we play her music all day and every day in the office - and if you don't like TS or her music and show your displeasure, then you are a misogynist hater.
I don't actually like her that much, but you get the point.

You clearly do not know what a PaT dog is. Their job is to visit people in places like care homes and hospitals.

Not a chance .
I fucking hate dogs
I have one in the house ( I was outvoted in case people ask , ive mentioned it numerous times on here )
I fucking hate the thing
Id complain
Not everyone likes dogs and they shouldn't be at my place of work
Its not show and tell
Not everyone gives a fuck about your/ anyone elses dog

Yay! The more dogs the better imo! 🐶🐾🐕

Is this from another thread? 🤔

My dog does none of these things.

No lovely, it's an analogy. Just because i love dogs (or TS) along with so many others , doesn't mean I get to inflict it on other people who don't.