Dogs (pets) in the office...

[21TonyK]

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]

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]

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]

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]

It's annoying AF. Absolutely not!

[zbc]

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]

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]

No.

[Jakg]

More the merrier terrier

[Paulsd]

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 ), 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

Edited by Paulsd on Monday 19th January 23:31

[vaud]

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]

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]

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.