I first posted this article in 2011, but it seems wise to put it out in the universe again. Taking a dog to work can be wonderful, or, not so much…
Friday June 26th has been designated “Take Your Dog to Work Day” by Pet Sitters International. Begun in 1999 with a goal of encouraging adoptions, Pet Sitters Int’l suggests that we all take our dogs to work to emphasize the human/animal bond, and indirectly encourage people to adopt homeless dogs.
This could be a great thing to do; many of us take our dogs to work regularly. If you work in the dog world, it’s almost a gimmee, and one of the perks that I love about my job is that I can take Willie to work whenever I want. However, there’s nothing like being an Applied Animal Behaviorist to stimulate the waving of red flags when we read about something that, in some cases, could also be described as “take your dog into a completely novel and highly distracting environment and where you have no time to work with her if it flips her out.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m in favor of taking some dogs to work, but it’s truly not appropriate for some dogs.
Curious about how Pet Sitter’s Intl handled the potential of trouble, I went to their website and read their articles on “Preparing Your Dog for the Office” and “Introducing Your Dog to New People and Pets.” There was some very good information in them, including being sure your dog has basic manners and being sure your dog has had “practice calming down in a public place.” Yeah for them for making it clear that dogs need experience to be comfortable in new, stimulating places, and that their training needs to be “proofed” in highly distracting environments. They also advise teaching your dog to sit before greeting people or other dogs, and wisely advocate for loose leashes when dogs are greeting one another. All good, especially the statement “practice taking your dog out into the world.”
This is a key comment, but I do worry a bit that they buried the lead. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve worked with who owned “bold, slap-happy” dogs who cowered and shivered and refused food when taken to a new environment.
The fact is, it’s hard to predict how your dog will behave if he or she has never been in a public place. That’s why I love that the website suggests “practice taking your dog out…”. But, their emphasis is on manners, and not on the dog’s comfort level. I’d love it if they added some lines like: “Not all dogs would enjoy leaving the comfort of home into a new and potentially frightening situation, so don’t bring your dog to work unless you have already determined that he or she likes going out and about with you.” The point being it’s not just about manners, but also about your dog’s comfort level.
On a related note, I’m reminded of the time I took Cool Hand Luke to the radio station and was doing a live show with Larry Meiller on Wisconsin Public Radio. Luke was lying quietly under the table while I answered questions from callers about training and behavior. Luke had been the perfect dog up to that point (you know what’s coming here now, don’t you?) but mid-way through the show a workman stopped to look through the large glass window that separated the studio from the reception area. I hadn’t noticed him because I was facing the other way. What I did notice was an eruption of high-pitched barking from Luke as he lept to his feet, slammed into me and the table and sent the show’s producer in a panicked attempt to modulate the amplitude.
For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why Luke had responded as he did (remember, we’re live on radio now), until I observed that the workman had on knee pads–large, black circles that looked exactly like the fixed, hard eyes of a dog about to attack. And right at eye level too. Luke calmed down right away, and we all had a great laugh about it. Not long afterward I was told that the station had created a “no pet in the studio” policy. Go figure.
What about you? Do you take your dog to work? Is it harder for you to get work done when and if you do? (It is for me, but I also love it. Willie hasn’t come to work since his injury in February and probably won’t be able to until August or September. Ouch. Miss it.) Do other people bring their dogs and you’re glad? Wish they didn’t? I’d love to hear any stories you have. . .
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: For me, today and tomorrow are “Take Your Work to Your Dog Day.” Or something like that. Willie, Maggie and I are at a sheepdog clinic, taught by trainer and handler Derek Fisher. I had hoped to enter the dogs in the trial right before the clinic, but I didn’t think either dog was ready. Willie needs practice working at long distances away from my tiny pasture at home. Maggie needs to learn to be happier pushing and dealing with “heavy” sheep (or sheep who didn’t read the books and are happy to push back on a dog), and hasn’t been taught her flank whistles yet. She also needs experience working at more of a distance, so I thought I’d be wise to skip the trials and get the dogs into the good clinics offered within a day’s drive.
Derek was great. I loved how well he reads dogs. He had Maggie and Willie pegged instantly (both very soft, try almost too hard to be good, need to learn it’s okay to push the sheep.) Very kind, lots of reinforcement for the dogs (and the humans too), and good, clear explanations. We’ll be back tomorrow, can’t wait.
I was too engaged to get a photo of Willie or Maggie while working, but here’s Jess, a young dog of a friend working in a small pen with Derek. Lovely little dog.
The ewe in the front turned and challenged Jess, and she turned and gave it right back. The ewe took one look at her and turned away. Very brave for a young dog. Good girl!
Mike Koenig says
In my opinion, I believe that except in a very few isolated settings, bringing your dog(s) to work with you is unfair to both your employer and your dog(s). Your employer and/or your customers rightly expect, and deserve, 100 percent of your attention to the job that you are being paid to do. (Otherwise, why are you there at all?) I don’t believe that is entirely possible with your dog(s) with you in a typical work environment, even with totally obedient and socialized dogs in a ‘dog-friendly’ work environment.
In addition, your dog(s) have the right to expect you to be available for interaction with them when you are with them. That is only fair to them. Life is to be lived in the moment.
This may sound harsh, but if you can’t safely provide for your pet’s needs and relaxation while you are at work, either in your home, with a pet-sitter, or at a doggie-day care , then maybe you should re-think your reason(s) for having a dog in the first place.
For the record, I have two senior ‘adopted’ dogs. I am the fourth owner of each of them. They each needed to find a new “forever home” due to no fault of theirs. We are all so glad we found each other. I am lucky enough to be retired, and to have the time to be part of their family.
However, if I was still ‘working’, my original comments would still apply to me as well.
Kathleen Bullard says
When we got our little ~18 month rescue I still hired a trainer although I had gotten my hands on everything I could read (especially The Other End of the Leash!). His best advice was to socialize the dog as much as possible, especially in public along The Strand, a sidewalk that runs along the beach and is filled with dogs, kids, adults, and skateboarders. This way he would get used to all kinds of animals and people. He also taught us how to read Blake and other dogs. We recently took a long car trip and stayed with friends for their wedding. Blake was in all kinds of new situations and the day of the wedding he stayed with our friends’ pet sitters. When we went to pick him up, the caretakers kidded that they would pay $1,000 on the spot for him because he was so happy and got along so well with the other dogs! We all got a good laugh, but it points up to the benefit of frequent outings and socialization. I have no doubt i could take him to work as he often sits on my lap at home while I work on the computer. But he is so cute (objectively speaking, of course) that I am sure he would be a distraction to others. And as good natured as he is, just like people, there are those dogs he just doesn’t like. So taking him to work? I vote no. Too many unknowns especially if everyone else is bringing their dogs too.
Norbert Kraas says
Yes, we have our dog, Bouvier des Flandres girl, here at work in our ad agency and she is happy. She’s barking when somebody comes, a minute or two, but that is it. I find Kajsa brings a better engery in the office.
Alice says
I work for a animal welfare charity in the UK, it is an office-based role and staff are allowed to bring their dogs to work. My dog Bowie comes to work with me most of the time. I am grateful to be able to take him with me and I think mostly it is a benefit for him. There are great walks around the office so lunchtime is good fun. He also loves people and gets various visits throughout the day from friendly colleagues who play tug with him or just some him some affection – he makes us all smile when things are stressful! However, it did take him a while to settle in and it was both stressful for me and worrying for him when I left him at my desk to go into meetings, he would bark a lot, – we had to build this up slowly over time and nowadays he settles fine and is relaxed. There is also the option to book out ‘dog friendly’ meeting rooms. There are quite a lot of ‘dog politics’, particular dogs who don’t get on with other dogs, dogs which disturb people with their barking, owners who let their dogs wander around off lead into another dogs area of the office. But we do have a dogs at work policy in place which people mostly adhere too. I always enjoy reading your blogs – keep them coming!
Mireille says
We are both working in a hospital, so bringing the dogs to work is not possible. I think they would have liked it though. Shadow likes meeting new people and Spot likes to be with me as often as possible. They have been plenty of new places and generally do quite well. Ok, the time we walked through Oslo on the first spring day & with kids festival spot was a bit overwhelmed (i think the only time in his life he actually walked behind me…)
@mike koenig; I read an article once how dogs actually increased productivity and decreased tensions in an office environment. Nobody works 8-9 hrs non stop fully concentrated. The occasional break is recommended, why not give your dog a cuddle? Good RSI prevention… Hubby an I both work from home occasionally and the dogs lounge while we work and come for attention when they see us getting up / shift focus etc. They are very adept to reading our body language. To the point that Spot also puts his head in my lap when I get frustrated when something doesn’t work out like I want it to. Geeesh, perhaps I should just take him to work now and again.
Nic1 says
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17561272
There is a small study that claims ‘dogs reduce stress at work’. We know amazing effects on increasing oxytocin and/or reduced cortisol levels that dogs can have on us so it makes a lot of sense that in some working environments that may have developed a cultural awareness and understanding of dog behaviour, where dogs could be greatly beneficial. But I absolutely agree that this totally depends on the individual dog’s temperament and how he would adapt to the environment.
My dog goes to work with my partner – we have a business and own a unit with a large office space on the second floor which has no windows and no thoroughfare where she can relax. It took a few months for Lily to get habituated, but she loves going now and I am not stressed knowing she is left at home or at day board, the latter which she really doesn’t enjoy as she is mostly ins solitary confinement, not being the most sociable with her own kind. 🙂
Bruce says
We make a point of exposing our dogs to lots of new and stimulating situations, so I suspect their main problem at work would be boredom. Of course dogs will surprise you from time to time, as with Willie and the knee pads (good band name, by the way). Unfortunately taking dogs to work is not an option for me, but my wife gets to hang out with the dogs when she works from home.
At a previous job, people occasionally brought their dogs to the office for a visit over lunch break. For some reason, more than one visiting dog pooped in the boss’ carpeted office at the end of the hallway. Boss was less than enthralled, needless to say. I made sure that my dogs did not uphold this tradition, but the beagle mix did identify every drawer where one of my co-workers had cached food.
The funniest canine visitor was a Doberman who could not figure out how to stand on the freshly-waxed floor. The poor Dobie’s paws kept s-l-o-w-l-y sliding out from under him in all directions.
Mike, I agree that dogs need a safe and relaxing place to stay while their human companions are at work. On a few occasions, however, I have seen a person bring a well-trained and well-socialized dog to work without negatively affecting their job or the dog.
Donna in VA says
My dog used to come to the office occasionally. He is 14 now and our office has moved yet again, it is not the same one he was used to, so no longer coming to work. At various times we had people whose dogs accompanied them almost daily. The dogs knew who to visit and who not to visit. My office was across from the conference room and it was funny to occasionally hear clients say “Was that a dog?” after a random bark.
It’s always nice to have this as an option when there’s a reason the dog cannot remain at home.
Melissa L. says
I have my own office at work which is fairly isolated from the other offices. Even so, I had trouble when trying to take either of the dogs I’ve owned to work. Shadow was well-socialized when young and perfectly reliable with people coming and going into the office space, and relaxed about the trip through the building to the office. However, she was always a very busy dog and after about 20 minutes of watching me work on the computer she’d get bored and start noodging me. I just couldn’t focus completely on my work with her there. She also hated being left alone while I went to meetings, etc. and would bark.
Cass is completely different. I adopted her as an older adult and she obviously had little experience with strangers and dogs she didn’t know. I took her in one weekend and she was quite uncomfortable going on the elevator or stairs to the office. She settled nicely once in the office, and she didn’t bark when I left her alone. However, if someone came in to see me she’d jump up and bark and act protective. Not exactly a great ambassador for encouraging adoption!
The best work experience I had with my dog was when I would take Shadow to the exam review sessions I held for my classes in the evenings. She’d happily wander through the classroom soliciting pets and the students’ stress just seemed to melt away. She was also a comedian and would sigh loudly while I was explaining something, and I think the laughter also helped.
Gwyn says
I work in a small office of about 20 people, and we are welcome to bring our dogs in whenever, and are encouraged to do so on designated “Fido Fridays”. My lab-mix comes to work with me, but we worked up to it gradually. She started out coming for a couple hours on a quiet Friday afternoon, then half-days, and now she can make it through the whole day. She enjoys the attention from the other employees, and gets along really well with the rest of the “office pack”. If she doesn’t seem to be enjoying herself, I just run her home, as I only live about 10 min from work. Her major struggle is that if she’s off-leash and my office door is open, she tends to go exploring through the building.
My other dog, a GSD, has never come to work with me and probably will never do so. In general, I haven’t done a good job of desensitizing her to new environments (both of my dogs were adopted as adults, so I have no idea what her puppy socialization phase was like), and she especially is stressed out by small dogs. Since the rest of the “office pack” are all small dogs, I don’t think that would be a good mix.
When I do have my dog with me, it is true that some of my time is spent taking her for pee breaks or giving her attention, but it’s still about equivalent to the time spent on smoke breaks for my coworkers that smoke, so that seems fair.
Sarah says
Another awesome post! My senior year of college I brought my family dog, Emma, to school with me. She was around 6 years old, and we had decided to change things up for her partially because I was experiencing a lot of anxiety, and partially because she was understimulated and seemed depressed at home, and we thought some one on one time in a new setting might help perk her up. I was really nervous about bringing her at first, as it was my first time caring for a dog totally on my own, but it was completely worth it (not to mention Emma got way better care than when she was with my parents). She was a complete rockstar–she came with me to classes, to meetings, and to my internship in an office setting. We’d worked on “settle” before hand in public places, and she had no problem sleeping quietly at my feet even in classes with fifteen different people around. She took the diversity of campus, the loud events, the new dogs and settings totally in stride, and by the end of our year there together, she’d learned a dozen more tricks, and was running and playing like a younger dog again. She’d also started out as slightly aloof toward strangers, but after a few months she began demanding attention from everyone around her (and they gave it to her–with her two different colored eyes and wolfish looks, Emma was very quickly queen of the campus). Not only that, but people truly seemed to appreciate having her there–she lightened the atmosphere and gave people that sense of “home” that only a dog can bring. I do have to say it was sometimes distracting to me to have her in class with me–I was always worried about making sure that she was comfortable and happy. But over all, I think when you have a well adjusted, mellow dog, bringing them to work/school can truly benefit both of you.
em says
I’m sorry to hear that Willie’s still sidelined by his injury, (though glad to see so many pictures and stories of him enjoying his recovery, keep up the good work!).
I have mixed feelings about “Bring your dog to Work Day”. On the one hand, I have brought my dog to work with good success (though not on that day), and I know several people who regularly bring their dogs to work with very good outcomes, but on the other, I can see some very legitimate obstacles to bringing dogs to many workplaces. Overall, I’d say that it depends on the dog, the job, and the environment- all three have to be a good fit for it to work out, but when they are, it can be great.
Having dogs at work CAN mean that people are happier, more relaxed, able to come in earlier, stay later and get more done. My dentist, whose office is attached to her home, has her dog in the office, and reports that the presence of the dog has had tons of benefits in the form of more relaxed, comforted, slightly distracted patients. When I brought Otis to work, my dog-deprived college students were MUCH more likely to drop by my office hours- they mostly wanted to pet the dog, but they ended up getting more feedback on their written work and answers to their questions than they otherwise would have. People who work alone or late at night (like my friend running tests in the chem lab at midnight because that’s when the instruments she needed were available) may benefit from the company and security of having their dog with them. People with a lot of downtime (like firefighters) may benefit from the entertainment and occupation that a dog can provide.
And many dogs can benefit from the added exercise, mental stimulation, and relief from loneliness that spending the day at work can provide.
All that said, I don’t especially like the idea of “Bring your dog to Work DAY”. I worry that it will do more harm than good if many people bring not-entirely-suitable dogs into not-entirely-suitable situations all at the same time. Ideally, bringing a dog to work would be the end result of careful thought and planning, sober evaluation of the environment and demands on the dog, and the dog’s own temperament and energy levels.
As to dogs being distracting in the workplace, it depends on the workplace and the dog- a dog asleep in the corner or under a desk isn’t much of a distraction to anyone. Indeed, I generally prefer working from home because I’m much more productive..My sleeping dogs are far less distracting than my highly entertaining co-workers. In my current busy office, though, my peaceful-at-home dogs (especially social butterfly Sandy) might be very distracting, too. Some dogs, however, are highly distracting, or very stressed themselves by the work environment. It all just depends.
Sue Schirmer says
Very interesting post and interesting comments. As with most things, I would say ‘it depends’, i.e. it depend on the dog and the set up.
I do take my dog occasionally to work with my (I work in an office / university environment) and she is behaving impeccably. It helps that she is a greyhound and quite lazy by nature – as long as she’s had a long walk in the morning and I’ve got her bed with me she is quite happy to go to sleep and only wake up for the occasional stretch & cuddle. I’m certainly more relaxed when I have her with me and I also do a proper lunch break, which I don’t normally do but which must be helpful for my productivity…
My only problem is that we don’t have an official ‘dog at work’ policy, so I don’t want to over-do it, for fear of someone suddenly creating a ‘no-dog at work policy’. Also I’m not sure how she would be if I left her in the office to go into meetings (would love to have ‘dog friendly meeting rooms’!), so can really only take her on days when I know I haven’t got any meetings planned. Taking her in on Fridays seems to work quite well as it tends to be more quiet anyway.
Kathy says
A long time ago my school had a less restrictive “animals-at-school” policy, and I had a wonderful, bomb-proof dog named Loki. I took him to work (I’m a high school teacher) on a couple of short days when the kids got out before noon, so not a lot got done anyway. He was beloved by staff and students alike, and I checked (of course) to be sure there were no dog allergies or phobias we needed to worry about. Once I looked up and realized he wasn’t there. I went down the hall, hunting my dog, and found him in the German classroom, lying quietly in the aisle, absorbing the German lesson. He was not disturbing anything; he just appreciated the cool tile floor and the interesting conversation. He also liked to visit the agriculture classroom because of the guinea pigs and gerbils in cages in that room. He never bothered them, just stood and watched them move around their cages. I miss him desperately. Although I love my current dogs, neither of them would do well at work and my current administrator is afraid of dogs, so they wouldn’t be welcome anyway. It was a brief confluence of a welcoming work environment and perfectly wonderful dog–a rare combination and one I don’t expect will ever happen again.
CS says
One of the reasons I adopted my first dog when I did is because I was working somewhere I could take her to work with me. It was a high stress job with long hours and very low office morale. Having the dogs there made it so I could stay as long as I needed without worrying about having to rush home to take her out, and gave my coworkers and I a much needed distraction throughout the day, as we could take little walks around the grounds and watch the dogs play.
That said, the pups were definitely distracting. Lunches disappeared off desks, trash cans were tipped over, dogs freshly rolled in dead animal would sprint around the office and evade capture until they had managed to stink up the whole place. But there was one sweet pup that could sense when people were upset about something, and she’d very quietly come and peek her head around your door to see if you wanted to pet her. She’d put her head in your lap and you could pet her as long as you needed. It was amazing, and really improved workplace morale. And many coworkers loved the dogs too; one would actually get mad if I came in without my dog.
The office was on 35 acres, and everyone had a door they could close to keep the dogs out of their particular office. If it weren’t for that, I probably wouldn’t have taken her in every day. An office where people can’t remove themselves from the dog and the dog just sits next to your desk all day seems unfair to all parties. But that particular situation was actually quite lovely, and we both miss it. It was the best of both worlds for my pup; she could play with her office buddies all day, but then come home and be the sole object of attention. Though she can’t come with me to my new job, I’m much less stressed, work much fewer hours, and we are able to spend more time doing things one on one like our nightly runs/walks/bike rides.
I was worried about how my dog would handle the transition to being home alone all day in the apartment (she’s a cattle dog mix). It was harder on me than it was for her. She enjoys her relaxation time during the day, and knows we’ll be home to take her on adventures in the evening. The big thing she misses is playing with her best friends all day, but we’ve made friends with the neighbor dogs and they get fairly regular play dates now.
Kelly says
I work for a small consulting firm, and bring my dogs in to work occasionally. I am more picky about their behaviour than my co-workers – they love when the dogs get super excited to see them. Interestingly, Ace my Labrador was raised to be a service dog, and he is not as well behaved as Piper my Aussie, who was raised as a pet. He wants to visit all the time, while Piper is happier to sleep under my desk.
I make sure to pick days when the office is going to be quieter (no major deadlines or meetings), so they don’t become a nuisance. Usually this means I bring a dog one or two half days per week, however sometimes its a month between visits. I try to give them both turns at work, although tend to take my Aussie more as she is both better behaved and needs the extra stimulation.
Trisha says
em: Sorry to give you the wrong impression; Willie is doing great! I thought I took out the references to his injury from the 2011 post, but must not have. I’ll write more tomorrow, loving all the comments, but Willie, Maggie and I bushed from 2 days of a sheepdog clinic, and Tootsie from Pet Pals therapy tonight. My dogs all went to their own work for the last 2 days; love it!
Jennifer Looper says
It depends on the dog. I have a lot of tenants come in my office and my 3 yr. old rescue is way too over the top for that. I have been unsuccessful in my “greeting” training. My older dog, Chase is great with people but barks at every little noise. I have a new border collie pup and I am taking her every day to get used to it. It also allows me to do some short training sessions throughout the day. I own the business so I can make the rules.
Rachel says
I work in healthcare, and can’t take my dogs to work. Most of the time I’m so busy at work that they would be unhappy trailing me from room to room, or waiting on an eternal down stay by my work station. I do wish sometimes that I could have at least one of them with me- especially when a patient mistakes “nice nursing staff” for “potential dating pool.” I think having a large GSD chaperone along might discourage some of that. I also think that Remus, my happy go lucky Velcro pup, would love to be the trauma pup and comfort all the kids who don’t want their shots or need a broken bone splinted or a laceration seen up. But I don’t see a set up like that being feasible anytime soon, if ever.
LisaW says
I have my own development consulting business and work from home, so I always have my dogs at work. We have our routine and it works fairly well for the most part, and I do get far more work done at home than when I was in an office.
Years ago, I did bring my dogs to work (different dogs), and I had an end-of-the-hall office so I installed a gate just before my office door to give the dogs a little more room to roam. The thing I had to be careful to watch were my colleagues — one of whom liked to put scarves or other things on my dog when I wasn’t looking which made my dog extremely uncomfortable. Another colleague’s dog and one of my dogs really did not like each other, and we would work out a schedule for who was bringing her dog what day but she had trouble keeping to the schedule and had a habit of letting her dog roam around at will so I had to be extra vigilant when the two dogs were in the building at the same time. These things made it more stressful for me and my dogs but it wasn’t the dogs, it was the people.
The thing I am enjoying most about this conversation is reading all the different things people do for work. Fascinating.
Susan says
I got my Havanese, Chloe, specifically to come to work with me in my therapy practice. I specialize in trauma work, and thought she would be helpful in relieving the stress of the work for my clients. I was also struggling with so much time completely on my own in my office. I got her at 5 months old, and started taking her to work immediately. It’s now been about 14 months of working with her.
It is true that she has been a distraction at times, due to the ongoing need to train, train, train. I also don’t leave her unattended in my office, which has limited some of my opportunities for lunches with colleagues. But the joy and love this little dog has brought into the office has outweighed those concerns. Chloe has made friends with pretty much everyone in the building. She is a very friendly, and utterly fearless little dog. And her interactions with my clients have been completely fascinating to observe. She seems to know when she needs to sit quietly at a person’s side or provide comic relief.
It’s an ongoing learning process for both of us, but a journey I continue to find both challenging and rewarding.
Patricia Tirrell says
I work at a university and often bring two of my three dogs to work with me. I want to make it clear that I only bring one dog at a time to work with me. The dog that remains home does so because he makes it impossible for me to work because he loves attention and while is a retired therapy dog, he takes his former job very seriously. That means he wants to check on everyone in the office to be sure they are happy. Combine that with the fact that he is blind (both eyes were removed when he was less than 4 months) and it’s a recipe for me to get no work done when he is in the office. My other two dogs are happy to let me work and also to visit with people. They are quite comfortable being on campus which isn’t always an easy place to be since it is a large campus and if you are on the quad during class change it is hectic. Plus there is a lot of construction going on right now.
My advice – make sure your dog is comfortable, the people in your office area are comfortable, that there is a quick escape route should your dog need to use the facilities, and know if your dog has any fears of the building. One of my dogs has a fear of public restrooms – the sound of industrial toilet flushes scares her. If I need to use the facilities I need to find someone to watch her – you need to factor those things in before you bring your dog to work. You need to know if anyone in your work area is afraid of dogs and if so then you should not bring your dog to work. That isn’t fair to your colleague or your dog.
Margaret McLaughlin says
In the lat3 1990s I took my Keeshond, Cobie, to work in a healthcare facility for several years. He had passed his therapy dog screening, & I had a particular job in mind for him: a desire to make the facility look less “institutional” had resulted in a design where sound–including alarms–did not carry well, & the human staff could not hear them, but I knew he would be able to. It was an easy thing to teach him. He also hung out with residents who couldn’t sleep, alerted us to wanderers & unauthorized people at night, cleaned spilled ice off the floor, & appointed himself Official Comforter to Families of the Dying–made me cry the first time he broke a down-stay to go push his head under a stranger’s hand.
When I left there to groom for a few years I only took jobs where he could come with me.
I returned to the same healthcare facility in 2005, & have not had a dog with me at work since. Elly, my Lab, had been hit with sticks as a puppy, & I never felt I could absolutely be sure that she would not snap if she or I were threatened. Both the Flat-Coats, though carefully socialized, are too high-strung.
It does need to be the right dog for the right job.
Rachel, I hear you about the protection factor–all a well-trained dog has to do is lie there, & people instantly become more respectful.
Mike Koenig says
I’m loving all the comments and all the points of view. There are indeed so many sides to this question. I can certainly appreciate them all.
My originally stated viewpoint was because I retired from a highly industrial/technical corporation and work environment. I had managed/worked in an industrial high-voltage laboratory that itself was in a CNC-type manufacturing facility. The environment would not have been compatible with, nor enjoyable for, my dogs, even if management had been receptive to a “dog-at-work” policy.
From the comments I have read on this blog, the “at work” dog policy seems to work best in an office type environment. I am honestly really happy for those dog people who can manage this arrangement successfully. One of my two present dogs would have done very well in this environment. The other one possibly not as well.
My two older adopted dogs are both really “social butterflies” in most situations.
[Mahlee is a female, Sable and Cream, Norwegian Elkhound x Vizsla mix, who just turned 13 Y.O. last week, but thinks she is only 2 Y.O. She has been with us just 1 year as of last week. Louie is a very large male, Black with White, Border Collie x Greyhound mix who is 8 years and 7 months who has been with us just 7 months. His sole purpose (so he thinks) in life is to herd: sheep, cattle, cats, groups of other large dogs at the dog parks, etc. We own no livestock; and cats and groups of other large dogs do not graciously accept his herding moves. It is very hard for Louie to accept this as reality given his genetic make up. You can just see his frustration build when his “designated flock” will not acquiesce to his herding desires for them. We are working very hard with him to redirect this inbred desire into more acceptable activities. We exercise them both with VERY long walks twice a day. Louie came to us officially diagnosed with “Severe Separation Anxieties, and having demonstrated escape and digging behaviors”, i.e., he had actually chewed his way out of a metal crate at each of his 3 previous owners!!! At his initial medical exam our vet described Louie as a “dedicated metal chewer”!!! The Wisconsin Humane Society gave me all the documentation they had from his previous owners. We had a very long conversation about what Louie’s conditions were and what I should expect, and what I should do or not do to help him acclimate to his new home and environment. I had to initial and sign-off on soooo many forms that it was almost like buying a car or a house. They definitely wanted our home to be Louie’s “Forever Home”! It definitely is. Louie was, and in many ways still is, the ultimate “Velcro” dog. We are slowly and patiently working together to help him reach his full potential as a totally relaxed, and confident in all situations, dog. People see us all the time and remark that he is the type of dog that they would like to have. I calmly try to explain to them to do their “Breed Research” online so that they know what they are in for. It is so discouraging that people many times rely solely on the looks of a dog without knowing anything about the genetic behaviour/pre-dispositions. As result, the dog needs to be re-homed multiple times].
Both Malee and Louie love all dogs and all people. They love greeting other dogs with a loose lead while we are on our walks. One of their greatest delights is going with me into every retail establishment that allows customers to bring in their leashed dogs. We very informally work on their being “patient and polite”, 24/7/365, which is to say all the time. One of my greatest pleasures is for strangers to comment on how calm, and well-behaved my two dogs are. We always get comments on how both my dogs are always “relaxed and smiling”. It is nice to get comments from folks on how much more relaxed and happy both Mahlee and Louie are with each passing week. In reality, all the credit due goes to both my dogs. They both deserve it.
The nicest comment for me to hear when I have to go shopping without them is, “Hey, where are Mahlee and Louie? Why didn’t you bring them in with you?” :))
Mahlee would be a great candidate for taking to work; we need to work with Louie a bit longer.
Kat says
I’m enjoying this conversation. Recently a friend who is in the hunt for a new job called. She likes dogs but isn’t especially dog savvy and had just interviewed with a company that allowed dogs all the time. The interviewer had both her dogs with her and my friend was completely taken aback and not at all sure how she should have reacted. She didn’t know if she was supposed to interact with the dogs or ignore them or what. I wondered if having the dogs sit in on the interview was another way the company assessed candidates.
Ranger went with me occasionally when I was still teaching but he was there as part of the curriculum not just a visitor. He loved it. Once when I ran out of time in my day and the weather was too warm for him to wait in the car I brought him to a meeting. He greeted everyone then settled under the table to snooze until all the talking was done. I suspect he’d adapt pretty quickly to being an office dog. The only problem for him would be being inside so much. He much prefers being outside.
Because Ranger is a therapy dog I see how much difference his presence makes. That experience makes me think that allowing appropriate dogs where feasible at work would probably be a plus over all.
I think it’s nice that there’s a designated day where places can ‘try it out’ but I worry that there are so many clueless people who don’t read dogs well or understand that a dog that’s completely comfortable and relaxed at home wouldn’t necessarily feel the same at the office. Potentially having the designated day could result in less than positive outcomes. One of the things I like best about these conversations is seeing so many dog people that truly get it.
Katy says
I bring my dogs to work with me somewhat regularly, but I built up to it for all of them, bringing them by the office in the evening or on weekends when I had just a little bit of work to do. I only bring one dog at a time, because three would be a bit crazy. I have a dog bed in my office (under my desk) which Claire uses – most of the time, no one even knows she is there. The other two mostly lay in the doorway between my office and my lab, where I can see them and they can see into the hallway. They all know not to leave the office without permission.
My one colleague also brings his dog sometimes and the dogs, for the most part, get along great. Occasionally, his dog has surprised mine in my office, but his dog has great manners and will back off right away while mine recovers from the surprise. My youngest dog Allie and my colleague’s dog are best buddies, and I think the students really enjoy watching them play. It is also a good lesson in animal behavior and how to read body language for my students.
My students, for the most part, really love having the dogs in class. Yuki has a habit of giving this enormous sigh during my lectures, which is quite funny. Claire is my more reserved dog, but she has a way of singling out students for attention that makes them feel quite special. Allie is the class clown but knows now to settle down when I ask her. All of them will just park themselves down somewhere in the classroom, Yuki under the projector screen, Allie by the door, and Claire under the instructor desk, to wait for permission to interact with the students again.
As others said, though, this is a regular thing which I worked to train the dogs for. If any of them were not comfortable, they would not come. I also pick the days I bring a dog pretty carefully. And they are always either on leash or behind a closed door, just for extra peace of mind.
Trisha says
I’ve been reading the comments with great interest. Although I could bring my dogs to work every day, I don’t. In part that is because I do so much work at home now, so I’m only in the office 4 hours or so every day, and working at home writing all morning. My breaks from writing in the morning often involve going outside with the dogs to smell the flowers (so to speak), and I find that I like being able to focus exclusively on work when I am in the office. How very different from the days I’d see clients all day long. I’d often have a dog in my office or in the car, because I needed him or her to help me with a client’s dog. I think that my experience, along with the comments, make it clear that there are so many factors that go into whether it’s a good idea to take your dog to work. As I say in the post, I do worry about generic “Take Your Dog to Work!” encouragements, because as noted in the comments, some dogs don’t want to go, and some co-workers/clients either don’t want them there, or are clueless at how to behave. I did feel sorry for Kat’s friend who had no clue what was expected when the interviewer’s dog entered the room. Was that a personality test? Only hiring people who love dogs? Or who can’t be distracted? Eeeps, so glad I don’t have to interview for jobs any more!
Laura says
I love this post. Of course, I have to bring my dog to work, no question. He spends most of the day sleeping, or begging for food from me or my assistant. He doesn’t get any, but can’t blame him for trying. I have a gate blocking my office door so if my door is open, he can’t wander out into the hall to say hi to everyone. Though, I don’t think he would really do that. He has one coworker he just loves, because this coworker takes him for a 5 minute walk in the afternoon and gives him carrots as treats, but Seamus isn’t obnoxious about getting attention. He’ll whimper if it gets to be between 2 and 3 for his walk, and if he keeps it up, I just put him on leash and he settles down right away. He whines during meetings, to show he’s bored, but it isn’t anything distracting. All in all, it is fine around here, but I will say, I had a coworker who absolutely loved him and was working with me at the same time. She would become very distracted by him and would get upset if he didn’t want to play with her when she wanted him to. Also, I’ve noticed my other coworker become annoyed when he can’t take Seamus for his usual walk. I know they both enjoy it, but if I have a meeting to go to, I need him to help me get there. It’s been the biggest issue with having Seamus at work, telling people no, they can’t have puppy time or whatever. The bottom line is, he’s my service dog, a mobility aid when you get right down to it, and sometimes, I have to be mean. 🙂
I think bringing your dogs to work is a great idea. I love dogs and I love the idea of a puppy break. If I can offer seamus as a puppy break for people, I try to do that. Like others have said though, I worry about people just randomly bringing their dogs in. These are dogs I don’t know and I don’t know how they’ll react to Seamus. I always have to think of him first and so, I think, if I knew the dogs and they got along well with Seamus, I’d love to have other dogs in.
Annie says
I work at a shelter and both staff and volunteers have the opportunity to bring their dogs to work. I have two dogs, one comes with me, the other stays home. The dog who stays home has separation issues and does better being left at home. During the few times I brought him to work , he panicked when I left the office.
The dog that comes to work is more easy going. With that said there was a fairly long adjustment period to get her comfortable with all situations (me leaving the office, others coming in, other dogs passing by, etc).
Coming to work is definitely not right for all dogs and even when it is, it takes work.
Rachel says
Margaret- yes very true! I feel much better about walking alone when I have one or both of my boys with me. I’ve definitely had days at work when it would have been nice to have that solid, quiet presence of “safe dog” in the room with me. I have the misfortune of being a very small and soft spoken person, which may play in to why some patients think they can get away with certain behaviors. I don’t tolerate it or reward it, but there’s always someone who has to try. Just yesterday I participated in a “dealing with aggressive patients” workshop at work, and was singled out of the classroom full of people by the instructor for one demonstration because I “look small and like a probably easy target.” Ah, nuts!
Diane says
I’ll take my dog to work on a Saturday when no one else is expected, and when I plan to do varied “light” tasks – no long hours of thinking and producing. This way he enjoys the trip and gets to “help me at work” – plus follow me around thus reducing boredom. (I don’t think accounting and office admin is his thing.) I also practice a little nose work while we’re there! If I took him to work during normal work hours with employees and their dogs, he would be okay. He loves people and is good with other dogs. He always wants to be engaged with everyone and everything so I don’t keep him from events, but he can get a little overwhelmed (always a balancing act!) If I did “take my dog to work” I would limit the time and not keep him there the entire day. This would be fair for him, me and my employer who does actually want to see production for the pay check! Another thing to consider is not all dogs are good around other dogs and/or people and many owners do not recognize this! I’m sure some employees would jump at the chance to do something novel and bring their dog to work without regard to all the common sense warnings….liability insurance anyone?
Kat says
I should mention that Ranger has visited my husband’s work several times. They have an annual diversity fair where employees can share their hobbies, heritage, etc. Ranger is there to teach about therapy dog work and of course he’s in his element hundreds of people strolling around and coming to pet him. The big boss has to come by and have his picture taken with the dog for the company newsletter and there’s a Bar-b-que and Ranger gets to impress everyone when I put him in a down/stay and put his hamburger patty on a plate in front of his paws and he waits while I eat my burger and then tell him he can have his. Hubby just forwarded me the e-mail begging him to bring the dog again this year. There are usually thirty or forty booths/displays with lots of different fascinating things but I think the dog(s) are the most popular.
Julie Fitzpatrick says
I take my dogs to work at least twice a year. I teach high school science, so at times I turned them into some type of lesson. My favorite was the study of acceleration by having my border collie pick retrieve a dumb bell. The more important
Lois says
Great post!
I love dogs, and all animals! I do, however, find they distract (me) from doing my work, when I just want to play with them 🙂
One thing that I need to stress (and I didn’t go through most of the previous comments, so maybe someone else mentioned it?), is how important it is for the dog owners to be as responsible for their dogs in the workplace as anywhere else.
Something I have noticed, is a recent up-tick in certain C-level managers who expect their subordinates (usually their admins) to walk, poop-scoop, etc. the dogs THEY (the C-levels) CHOOSE to bring to work.
I have even seen a few job posts where they state that you (the job applicant) “Must love dogs”…okay, not a big deal. However, what IS a big deal, is when they mention how the person filling the role, has the responsibility of WALKING THE CEO’s dog! This is part of their (JOB) duties….REALLY?! So, they expect the typically very busy admin. to somehow find time to walk their manager’s dog, scoop the poop, etc.
I’m sorry, but if you CHOOSE to bring your four-legged friend to work, then that should be a given that you are completely responsible for them; none of this “My assistant can clean up his poop.” garbage; we (admins) have to do enough of that…in some form or other.
Again, let me stress that dogs are great!! To me, this is like people bringing their kids to work, and expecting someone else to babysit, and yes, kids are great too, but it’s the principle of situation.
More responsible dog owners bringing their fur buddies to work is wonderful…just please be responsible, and do not expect…nor mandate that it is someone else’s (job duty) to take care of your dog, fish, lizard, whatever. Why even bring your pet, if you’re not going to interact and care for them?
I had a job where this was asked of me (at least they asked me during the interview process). Now, if you really want and/or need the job, you may very well not mind. I looked at it as an opportunity to step out of the office, get some fresh air and enjoy the canine company.
However, the poop-scooping part…not fun, but it goes with the territory. Now, years later, I think “What would have happened, if while on a walk with the boss’ dog…he lunged at and bit a passer-by?” What then? Who is responsible? Me or my boss? After all, I was not trained to handle him (the dog….not my boss), so would it be an ‘assumption of the risk’ as the lawyers call it? I get it. If it’s your company, you make the rules. Totally makes sense. With the responsibility of owning/running/managing a company, should also come respect for your employees/coworkers.
Fortunately, I never had anything happen that would require medical attention, law suits, etc. from walking someone else’s dog. He was a retriever, and well-behaved, but I also made sure to keep a good grasp of the leash so as not to put him, nor others in danger. All it takes is for a bird or squirrel to appear, and there goes the doggie prey drive.
I have read other articles involving companies whose HR departments are designing new policies and rules to govern this. I think that’s smart. Things happen. Dogs get spooked, smell fear and react, etc. Most offices have regular mail-delivery and many have it delivered to their office suite, along with FedEx, UPS, etc. Some dogs go crazy when they see those regularly visiting uniformed men (okay, some of us women do too). Kudos for any company that takes this seriously enough to create and enforce policy to keep both humans and dogs safe and happy.
There are definitely plenty of responsible dog owners out there! It’s the those not-so-responsible ones making a bad case for the ‘Dog-Friendly Office’.
If you’re lucky enough to have a dog-friendly office where everyone is respectful, and no one feels put-upon…good for you! 🙂 Maybe others can learn from your…lead (pun intended.)
Cheers!