We have a dog policy at my work but you have to house the pet in a specified meeting room and only move it when in transit to walk the dog or leave. That also means that there's generally a limit of one dog at a time.

We also had someone who loved dogs but was deathly allergic.

Like everyone said, talk to HR. They will figure something out.

Thanks, sounds like just bringing it up would be fine (and hopefully doesn't end up labling me a dog hater!).

The whole pets policy seems crazy to me, what's to stop me bringing my SO to work because I enjoy her company.

Do you think it's just convenient for the owner, or is there something behind letting people bring pets to work?

Having worked two places where this was possible, there's a number of advantages.

Everyone in the office became a fan of the mutt, and I had lots of volunteers for lunchtime walks! Including the lady who was wary of German Shepherds at the start, who ended up curing her phobia "Oh it's only him, he's harmless".

He'd sleep near the desk until someone came over to talk to him, and as a result I wasn't clock watching quite so much (must go, dog needs out). A few heads would sometimes turn when he was having a drink (not so quiet). If I was away from desk he'd just go and settle near one of his other friends.

I felt much better towards both employers as a result.

A lot is going to depend on how well trained they are - lots of barking and running around will drive everyone crazy. Me included.

I work in an office with a dog. I detest it, the dog distracts me constantly with barking and such. I genuinely believe that the dog has a negative financial effect on the company - I'd be much more productive without it, and productivity is $$$. However, I would never say anything, as this could lead to me being ostracized as a non-"team-player".

Something to keep in mind when all feedback on an element workplace environment is positive.

I'm very easily distracted - lifelong ADD. If he'd barked he'd have stayed at home. Apart from the distraction it'd reflect on me the owner. It's pretty easy to train most breeds to stay quiet, though some of the small terrier types seem hardwired to bark. I'm not a fan of constantly yapping things.

Obviously I can't know if anyone was quietly against, but the woman who said she was wary because of breed was a quick convert. If she hadn't been he'd have stayed home and spend the day on the sofa - as he had in my previous job.

see my other comment -- i don't think anyone should be subjected to this, for any reason.

but, as long as you're stuck in the situation, have you ever considered trying to train the dog, since the owner obviously hasn't? it only takes about 15 minutes a day. check out youtube.

I think it's as simple as some people (like me) just enjoy having dogs around in an office. I doubt it's much more convenient for the owners, but I bet they like having their dogs around.

My dog has separation anxiety to the tune of trying to escape the house if I leave it for more than an hour. When people are around he generally will just lay down and sleep. It'd be mighty convenient to be able to bring him to work.

Hopefully mine is an unusual case though.

Dog owning programmer here. Our dog is a rescue and very anxious when left alone. We go to unreasonable lengths to limit his anxiety.

As an example, we just moved from Vancouver BC to Oslo. There are no direct flights between these two cities. To minimize the shock to our dog, we flew in to Amsterdam and spent two days on the train to get to Oslo. We both whole-heartedly felt it was the right decision every minute of the long journey because neither of us want to see him as distraught as he was that day.

We rescued him within 30 days of me going out on my own to freelance in 2011. Despite many concerted efforts of curbing his separation anxiety, he can't go 30 seconds alone without howling his sadness. Given that, every career decision I've made since has gone through the lens of 'What about Charlie?' I understood what I was in for when we got him, and it has certainly introduced limitations to the work I'm able to pursue, but we wouldn't go back on that initial decision.

I've had long running contracts where he was welcome on site. This was the difference between me being able to take the work and me turning it down.

In my biased opinion, quiet and well behaved dogs can co-exist in a productive office. If a pro-dog policy facilitates talent acquisition, in-person communication, and doesn't disrupt anybody - it's a net positive. If the dog is a misbehaving little brat, that's a different story.

If you have a dog that you care about, you will want to go home from time to time to check up on the well-being of the dog. However, if the pet is in the office, then 10-hour, 12-hour or longer days stop being an issue. You can just walk over to your dog to check up on them whenever you want to.

You should work on understanding others if you expect to be understood by them! Calling the policy "crazy" won't help advance discussion.