Dogs and work- yes? no?

by | Wednesday | June 23, 2010 | 21 comments

Friday marks the 11th year of Take Your Dog To Work Day. I am, of course, very fortunate that I can take my dogs to work with me whenever, though as odd as it seems (ha!) a veterinary clinic isn’t always the most fun place for a dog to hang out.

I have lots of clients who take their pets to work, and it always surprises me to hear it- why, I don’t know. Most work in small offices or family businesses. I can’t imagine the logistics of dealing with HR and corporate lawyers if one were to try and bring a non-service animal to work on a regular basis at a large company.

Unless you work in a pet-centric business or one where you know everyone well, it seems like it would be a difficult thing to do unless you had a small pet who was really mellow. Get 10 strangers in a room and it’s likely at least one of them will either be allergic or just pretend to be allergic because they don’t like dogs but don’t want to offend someone who will sooner or later be holding a full poop bag.

Though I don’t understand not liking dogs, I have to respect that others just don’t. I mean, I think about how I would react if someone told me they wanted to bring their kid to work every day and I get it a little better. I like kids all right, but it wouldn’t exactly add any emotional satisfaction to my work day to have one running around being “cute” and all of that jazz.

One day, though- that would be fine.

Is anyone planning to take advantage of Take Your Dog to Work Day? Does anyone already take their pet to work on a regular basis? Was that hard to arrange?

Filed: Daily Life
  • http://www.pet-super-store.com/ Caroline

    Obviously, working for a pet industry business, I can bring my dog into work whenever I want. It is a huge perk! However, I only do it once a week or every other week because I find that he is a little distracting…meaning, I love on him too much because he is there! It really does boost my mood to have him in the office though. I’m not sure how he feels about it because he really just does the same thing he would at home, sleep. I will for sure be bringing puggle in this Friday to celebrate the holiday.

  • Hilda

    I love almost all dogs, especially my own. Work situation would never permit them coming to work with me. There are a few dogs owned by relatives/friends that are very hyper and noisy-working with them around would be a nightmare. How do you tell someone “We are friends and I know you love your dogs, but I can’t stand being around them”?

  • Lisa W

    I wish I could bring them to the office with me – perhaps only one at a time, though. Admittedly Oscar might be a little more “puppy” than most people could handle for a whole day, as 80 pounds of goofy “I love you and I’m really really cute, don’t you want to love me too?!” 11-month-old canine could cause some folks to look less than kindly upon us.

    But since I’m going to be working from home on Friday, then in this case, yes, I will have them at work with me! :-)

  • Sheila

    Would love to be able to bring my four-legged kid to the office … unfortunately for that corporate animal hate thing … and the paranoid security team … never going to happen!

  • http://www.biscuitsbylambchop.com Annette Frey

    My dog does work with me, at least for the “office work” portion of the business so Friday will be no different for us.

    Here’s an example of a very large company that allows their employees to bring their dogs to work and some of their issues. They even built a dog run. Ceser did end up doing an episode there (of course, too good a media op).

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–jqV_3yOAQ

  • Karen

    I soooo wish i could bring my dog to work with me! I actually work for family but my Dad knows that i’d be too distracted so i joke about it, but know it would never fly. I did bring him in once when i had to come in to cover for the office night person (my stipulation for coming in was that i could go get my dog and come back) but it was pretty crazy and i got nothing done, but i was really there to just help customers if need be.

    Also it’s a truck repair shop office i work in, which means it is dirty everywhere you go and Toby has 4 little white paws…..not cool when he gets truck grease all over them!

  • Wanda

    While I do bring my puppies to the family business whenever I adopt a new one for the socialization factor,once they get older I leave them at home. I know they are safe there so I can concentrate fully on work..although I’d rather be home with them-LOL. Once in a while they do get to spend a few hours at work with me on the way to or from the vet. If I worked elsewhere I doubt seriously if I would even consider bringing them to work. Too much stress,excitement & anxiety…not the dogs-ME!

  • Tonya

    I worked at in large (semi-pet-friendly-on-occasion) corporation when I got Lab, Shaq, as a puppy. The person who raised him from birth brought him to work in a picnic basket (at 12 weeks old), and he slept in the basket for most of the day! People would come by and look at him and hold him. We also had several bathroom breaks, but he pretty much slept in that basket all day! This is the same pup who slept through obedience class at 6 months old though. I switched to an ad agency job when he was a about 18 months old, and we were pitching a campaign for a pet food company, so we had a bring your dog to work day for that pitch. He did really well in the office all day then too. I loved having him there, and he didn’t try to roam out of my workspace more than a couple of times. I think he was the exception to the Lab rule though. The Lab I have now would not do so well in the office. He has to be either playing or napping, no in between. Plus, my current job is in a much more structured corporate environment, so it’s not an option!

  • Liz

    I wish! Although, being a cat, Squeaky has a severe aversion to ‘work’ of any kind.

    • Pikachu

      LOLOLOLOL

  • Chile

    We used to be able too but someone made it personal and pulled a bogus allergy so no more dogs at work. I’d much rather deal with dogs and their smell vs the cologne of the person who complained. :( Mine would lay under my desk or visit the coworkers they recognized.

  • Amy

    I’m allergic to most dogs, so I hope the dogs at work trend does not catch on. However, my husband works for a US Senate committee, and, much to our surprise, the Senate is dog friendly. He did bring our bichon to work once during recess. Though it sounds like fun, I don’t think the bichon and I will participate in Take Your Dog to Work Day, since I work from home on Fridays, and he thinks paper is delicious.

  • Carrie

    I am a vet working for a laboratory that doesn’t mind if we bring dogs on occasion (offices only, not in the lab). I’ve brought my 4-year-old Lab a few days in the last 8 months. She’s very friendly and relatively well-behaved in my office. She is a distraction, though, and a distraction for others who drop by to say hello. I’m with some of the other commenters – I’m happier when she’s home. I get more work done, and it’s better for her separation anxiety issues to know that she cannot always be with me. It gives her life a consistency which I think is important. I agree, though, that it improves the mood in the whole laboratory when she’s there. They just have that effect. :-)

  • http://greeneggsandhamlet.wordpress.com Shelley @ Green Eggs & Hamlet

    I’ve worked at my company for about 14 months and it’s a small startup software company (only 7 total employees). I took Hamlet to work a few weeks ago and he was so well behaved that everyone asked if I would bring him back. I don’t want to make it a regular thing because even in our small office where I know and am friendly with everyone, I think a dog is a bit of a distraction. However, every once in a while it’s fun and I plan to bring him in tomorrow for Take Your Dog to Work Day.

  • http://www.teamalix.blogspot.com Team Alix

    I work in large corporate America and there are no pets here. Every once in a while a handfull of people try to do a “bring your PET to work day”. I think they say Pet instead of Dog so that us cat lovers aren’t hurt by it. Guess what? If you love cats, you know they don’t want to go to work with you! My three girls are glad I leave the house Mon-Fri so they can nap because on the weekends they follow me from room to room and whine about how tired they are. Plus, what would I do with three cats in my cube? They won’t wear leashes, they’ll hate that there are dogs in the cubes next to us and either hide or run. And I’d never take them somewhere just to keep them in their travel crates all day!

    I totally get why it would be awesome to have your dog with you all day, but it’s a bit more in a dog’s make-up to enjoy it. A cat most likely would just not appreciate that you brought them somewhere out of their comfort zone and then did not allow them to explore it!

  • http://www.teamalix.blogspot.com Team Alix

    PS- do the people I work with really want me to set up a litter box under my desk? I don’t!

  • Autumnhound

    I’m going to try and bring one of my dogs to work tomorrow….I’m having a very hard time right now because of Brody. =’( I’m so lucky that I have more than one dog, because their love and kisses really help me out.

    Everyone in the office is pretty dog friendly, so I don’t think it will be much of an issue.

  • wikith

    I am actually not allowed to bring Puzzle into work with me, which makes me >:O
    One of the perks, in my mind, has always been that most every vet office I worked at had the vets’ dogs in the back office or chilling in the kennels as long as they were well-behaved. If a staff member’s dog is there, it has to be receiving a legitimate medical service. When things come up unexpectedly and no one can be home to watch him all day, Puzz comes in for an awful lot of all-day nail trims…

    • wikith

      That was disjointed, I realized on reading back over. One of the perks of the industry has always been, in my eyes, bringing dogs to work. This is not allowed at my place of employment for reasons that I think are spurious and it makes me annoyed, especially since my super-long hours and weekend hours make doggie day care difficult to find. Who knew that veterinary medicine would be a lifestyle not conducive to owning a dog?

  • http://www.sarariddle.com/blog Sara

    I bring my dogs with me to work everyday! I suppose that it makes it a lot easier working from a home office. It has been wonderful, my dogs are happier because of it and I am happier because of it – it’s a win/win situation for all of us! :)

  • http://www.howiseelife.com Kari

    Honestly, that was one of the very few perks about my old school–teachers used to occasionally bring their dogs to school, and no one really batted an eye about it. I used to bring Zeus about once a week, but I quit after an all-day bomb threat evacuated the campus–I had enough to worry about with my students without having to worry about a dog as well, unfortunately. :-/