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What It’s Like Working in a Dog Friendly Office

Explorer Sian loves working in a dog friendly office alongside her pooches Rowdy and Copper. Sian shares her experience of working in a dog friendly office and her tips and tricks.


More businesses are starting to come around to the idea of dog friendly offices, which is why there’s a “Take Your Dog To Work Day.” Lucky for some, many businesses allow you to take your dog more regularly. After working in two dog friendly workplaces, we wanted to share our insight into what it’s like being able to take your dog to work with you.

The first place I could take the dog to work with me was a pet shop, our eldest pooch Rowdy would come in for shifts with me. When I was on a late shift he would come in the till area with me too as there was a little door that could be shut. I now work in an office where they provide employee benefits for companies and Copper comes and spends the day with me.

Copper can come in 15 days of the year but who’s counting?! Not us that’s for sure. My colleagues love walking in in a morning to see his waggy tail and happy face greet them and he loves the extra fusses he gets through the day too.

Why do you take your dog to work with you?

Taking your dog to work with you, allows your dog to leave the house during the day increasing enrichment and socialising opportunities. Dogs are usually much happier if they can come with you to work too because they’re not being left at home for long periods of time.

Not only that but having a dog in the workplace can really help to reduce stress levels and heart rates – even stroking a dog can lower blood pressure. Being able to give the dogs plenty of fusses when I’m having a stressful day certainly makes everything better.

What does your dog do when he’s at work with you?

He su-paw-vises my colleagues when they have their lunch, so if anything gets dropped he can clean up after them. Follows me when I’m away from my desk but ultimately he just sleeps!

I want to take my dog to work how do I approach my boss?

Just ask! You never know if you will be allowed unless you ask, the worst they can say is no. Of course, if they say yes make sure work colleagues are a) not allergic and b) are okay with dogs. You wouldn’t want to make them uncomfortable if they are afraid of dogs and there’s one wandering around the office/workplace.

Ultimately it depends on the characteristics of your dog too, I am lucky that Copper is quite calm meeting new people and being in the office, he happily wanders around and I know he won’t chew anything or pee on anything. Where as Rowdy, he can get a little over excited and with him being a big lad he could be abit too much if he was to jump up on someone.

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Our Top Tips

  • Check with your boss first!
  • Ask colleagues if they are okay with a dog being around
  • Start with taking them for an hour or two rather than bombard them all at once and slowly build it up to all-day.
  • Take their favourite toys and goodies to keep their tummies and their minds happy.
  • Make sure they are reliably toilet trained!
  • Don’t forget the poo bags!
  • If you get one-hour lunch break ask if you can split it when the dog is in so you are able to take them out for wee and poo breaks when needed.

Do you have a dog friendly office?

Share your dog friendly office experiences in the comments below!

Good luck and yappy work day!

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  1. What a great blog post! More businesses should allow staff to bring dogs if it is safe and appropriate to do so. When I was a pup Mooma was able to take me to work everyday and it turned me into such a good boy doggy. I was able to get used to all different people and noises and now I don’t get scared of things.
    Hopefully more people will ask their employers about this, even if they only allow it a couple of times a year or something. Mickey x

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