Dogs (pets) in the office...

Poll: Dogs (pets) in the office...

Total Members Polled: 179

Not under any circumstances: 52%
Only if its the bosses: 7%
More the merrier: 41%
Author
Discussion

21TonyK

Original Poster:

12,858 posts

231 months

Monday 19th January
quotequote all
Back in the day when I was office based back in the day the idea of a dog in the office would be unheard of.

I don't mean like a site dog or a manual outdoor location. I mean an accountants or a solicitors etc

Seems to be becoming almost normal. Both 21Jrs, one an accountant and one an office manager have pets in their offices and Mrs21 had a therapy dog (until he got sacked!) based in her office in a school.

Trend or normal (but like not waering suits anymore)

What say PH?


NuckyThompson

2,174 posts

190 months

Monday 19th January
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Self employed and the dog comes to work with me some days.

One staff member and wouldn't complain if he wanted to a take dog to work with him as long as it was well behaved.

My dog actually sits under his desk all day so maybe we're the issue haha

Mr Penguin

4,016 posts

61 months

Monday 19th January
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I like it, as long as the dog is well behaved. However I would feel uncomfortable moving into an office with dogs and saying I was allergic or scared and I don't think it should be done in most cases.

MitchT

17,089 posts

231 months

Monday 19th January
quotequote all
Not a fan of dogs. Can't stand them jumping up at me, trying to lick my face with the same tongue that they've just used to clean their bumhole. The relentless, frenetic and unpredictable energy. The noise. Makes me feel constantly on edge. Had this at the last place I worked. Someone took to bringing their dog in. It was a bloody nuisance and I couldn't get anything done as I was constantly on high alert keeping an eye on it, bracing myself for the next onslaught. It was far more exhausting than actually working. I guess being an introvert who's probably on the autistic spectrum (but good luck getting anyone to give a toss about that if you're not a child) doesn't help.

Edited by MitchT on Monday 19th January 19:48

Moos3h

183 posts

204 months

Monday 19th January
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It's annoying AF. Absolutely not!

zbc

976 posts

173 months

Monday 19th January
quotequote all
I work for a big corporate and if we own the office building then we allow dogs. Most leased offices don't. I quite like it and it must be better for the dogs instead of being stuck at home.

PushedDover

6,962 posts

75 months

Monday 19th January
quotequote all
MitchT said:
Not a fan of dogs. Can't stand them jumping up at me, trying to lick my face with the same tongue that they've just used to clean their bumhole. The relentless, frenetic and unpredictable energy. The noise.
But if it was not that, and just a lab or a retriever that had its exercise done for the day and lay there on the floor snoozing all day -?
Still "Makes me feel constantly on edge. " ?


Bad dogs are like bad children. Not acceptable.

Olivera

8,400 posts

261 months

Monday 19th January
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No.

Jakg

3,927 posts

190 months

Monday 19th January
quotequote all
More the merrier terrier

Paulsd

356 posts

116 months

Monday 19th January
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Mrs D owns a company that trains staff to take their dog to work with them - primarily schools but she also has children’s homes, colleges, etc too. She has around 700 schools and well over 800 dogs all over the UK.

The benefits are proven BUT it needs to be done in the right way - training (mainly for the humans biggrin), risk management, insurance, support, etc. all need to be in place which her and her team provide.

She s never taken longer than two weeks to completely fix a fear of dogs in students or staff.

I m definitely in the more the merrier camp with the caveat that it s done properly smile


Edited by Paulsd on Monday 19th January 23:31

vaud

57,705 posts

177 months

Monday 19th January
quotequote all
MitchT said:
Not a fan of dogs. Can't stand them jumping up at me, trying to lick my face with the same tongue that they've just used to clean their bumhole. The relentless, frenetic and unpredictable energy. The noise. Makes me feel constantly on edge. Had this at the last place I worked. Someone took to bringing their dog in. It was a bloody nuisance and I couldn't get anything done as I was constantly on high alert keeping an eye on it, bracing myself for the next onslaught. It was far more exhausting than actually working. I guess being an introvert who's probably on the autistic spectrum (but good luck getting anyone to give a toss about that if you're not a child) doesn't help.

Edited by MitchT on Monday 19th January 19:48
Me too. I was attacked (unprovoked) by a dog when I was a child. I can just about tolerate Labradors (tend to be daft) and German Shepherd (if well trained)... Not in the office thanks.

The number of dog owners walking their dogs who have absolutely NO awareness that not everyone likes dogs... If I'm stood still frozen and asking you politely to call it back to you, please do so....


vaud

57,705 posts

177 months

Monday 19th January
quotequote all
zbc said:
I work for a big corporate and if we own the office building then we allow dogs. Most leased offices don't. I quite like it and it must be better for the dogs instead of being stuck at home.
Solution...

Dog's are not a right. They are a responsibility for the owner.
Other people in the office have rights to, you know, work without pets. It's an office.
As an aside "Dog friendly" at a café or pub is an easy way for me to walk right by.
Some pubs have a dog friendly section and a dog free section (like some beaches). Thats fine, I'll pick the dog free bit.

hidetheelephants

33,294 posts

215 months

Tuesday 20th January
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If the dog owner has their own office and keeps the dog in there I can't see a problem unless there's a colleague with an allergy, but if it's open plan it just seems like a recipe for someone to feel pressured to accept something they shouldn't have to like Mitch up the thread. Not everyone likes dogs.

LRDefender

388 posts

30 months

Tuesday 20th January
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The health benefits of having a dog are well proven and a well behaved dog in the workplace is a good thing imo. A well behaved dog should bring a calmness to a workplace and petting a dog is known to help with stress.

As a customer I enjoy seeing a dog in an office or public sales area although I know not everyone feels the same way. More the merrier for me.

StevieBee

14,742 posts

277 months

Tuesday 20th January
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I have no issue with Dogs in the workplace. They can bring a bit of brightness.

I'm not so sure when they appear on websites as a 'member of the team' with titles like 'Head of Barkington' or similar.

NDA

24,506 posts

247 months

Tuesday 20th January
quotequote all
I don't want dogs in the office unless you're a gamekeeper.

All of the 'benefits' mentioned by dog owners are rather selfish - if it's good for me, it's good for everyone else.

Mabbs9

1,539 posts

240 months

Tuesday 20th January
quotequote all
NDA said:
I don't want dogs in the office unless you're a gamekeeper.

All of the 'benefits' mentioned by dog owners are rather selfish - if it's good for me, it's good for everyone else.
Agree. There are clear health benefits from taking a run at lunch time too but we shouldn't force everyone to participate.

Pebbles167

4,400 posts

174 months

Tuesday 20th January
quotequote all
I'm generally fond of dogs, and when they're very well behaved it wouldn't be a problem. But I've seen various owners all with different opinions on what a well behaved dog is and they often underestimate the anxiousness and lack of tolerance others may have towards their pet.

Leave those critters at home.

Jasandjules

71,873 posts

251 months

Tuesday 20th January
quotequote all
I WFH most days which means I have dogs here.....

Gargamel

16,010 posts

283 months

Tuesday 20th January
quotequote all

When mine is at home he just sleeps. However in an office he is super social (code for invading your personal space) and generally relentlessly nosy. If someone walks past the office he gets up and follows them etc.

Tried it once, never again with him. My last dog would have been fine.