How to Create a Dog-Friendly Office

Employers allowing dogs in the workplace has become increasingly common. If you’re considering opening your doors to your employees’ four legged companions, here are some tips for creating a dog-friendly office.

Working full time with a dog can be a bit of a juggling act at times. No one wants to have to leave their pooch at home by themselves, and doggy day-care can be expensive. This means more people than ever want to bring their dogs to work with them, which has led to a rising number of companies opening their office doors to their employees’ four legged companions. This is great news for dog lovers, and there are lots of benefits of having dogs in the office for the businesses too.

If you’re thinking about making your office a dog-friendly space, here are a few steps you can take to get it ready for your new canine workforce.

1. Ask your employees’ opinions

Before making any moves towards creating a dog-friendly office, it’s best to check with employees that it’s something they want and will feel comfortable with. This can be easily done via an anonymous survey. If the consensus is that people would like the company of the occasional canine work companion, you can go ahead with plans.

2. Set some ground rules

It’s important to lay out some ground rules and create a pet policy before letting dogs loose in the office. As much as we love our furry friends for their cheeky personalities, there’s potential for them to get up to mischief or cause disruption. There are also certain temperaments that might not suit an office setting, for example, dogs that feel anxious in busy environments or those who can be aggressive. A calm dog that has been through the essential training and will cause minimal disruption makes the most suitable office dog.

Read our article about whether your dog is ready for the office, if you’re considering taking your pooch to work for the first time.

Here are some of the rules you might want to consider including in the office pet policy:

• Dogs must be friendly to humans and other dogs, and happy in sociable settings.
• Dogs must be toilet trained and follow basic commands, including good recall.
• Dogs should be clean and up to date with routine vaccinations and flea protection.
• Dog owners are responsible for ensuring their dog is well mannered, doesn’t cause any disruption and is taken for regular toilet breaks.
• If a dog shows signs of aggression, they must be removed from the office immediately.

3. Make the office a dog-friendly space

Once you’ve decided to make the office dog-friendly, it’s time to make the appropriate changes to the space to keep pooches safe and help them feel at home there. This could include simple tweaks like adding hooks near desks for dog owners to attach leads to and using child gates to create dog-friendly areas. You may even want to create a special dog enrichment zone where they can go to play.

4. Set up a dog-free zone

It can be hard to believe for a dog lover, but not everyone enjoys the company of dogs, and that needs to be respected. Some people might suffer from dog allergies, while others are frightened of them. To make sure everyone feels comfortable at work, create a dog free zone in the office, where people can choose to sit if they’d prefer not to be around any office dogs. Add it to the office pet policy that dog owners are responsible for keeping their pooch away from this designated area and for making sure their dog doesn’t approach anyone that doesn’t want them to.

5. Provide the doggy essentials

Make sure the company’s four-legged contingent and their owners have everything they need throughout the day by having some doggy essentials to hand, including dog poop bags and even some treats for the dogs. Having water bowls located around the office will also make sure the dogs always have access to fresh water when they need it. You may even want to consider getting a couple of dog beds that can be used by the furry colleagues in the office that day.

By turning your workplace into a dog friendly office, it can do amazing things for the company culture, while also making working full time with a dog much easier for your staff. The steps above are some great starting points, but there will be lots to learn along the way! As long as you have some treats for the dogs and the pet parents do all they can to make sure their pooch is happy, there’s no reason why a friendly, calm dog can’t become a welcome part of the work family.