Are You Ready for Take Your Dog to Work Day? Check Out Our Checklists First!

Is it a good idea to bring your dog to work? photo: AdobeStock

Did you know that Take Your Dog To Work Day (TYDTWD) was invented by Pet Sitters International in 1999? Maybe they just wanted a day off, but the pitch was to “celebrate the great companions [that] dogs make and promote their adoptions.” It’s traditionally observed on the Friday after Father’s Day, which this year should have dogs packing their chew toys for the office on June 23. 

Many companies find that bringing dogs into the workplace generally improves employee morale and productivity (plus it’s a cheap benefit to offer). If your company is open to TYDTWD - or even longer dog tenures - here are some things to consider first. 

Not every dog is suited for the K9-5 life, and not every workplace will be appropriate for a new Director of Barketing. You’ll need to take some time to consider the personality of your dog, your own ability to focus on work, your physical workplace, the office/shop culture, and who else will be asked to interact with your dog. 

Here’s a preliminary checklist to help you decide if this is even a good idea.

Is your dog suited to your workplace? 

Your dog should be:

• Genuinely comfortable around strangers, able to interact with them or leave them alone.

• Genuinely comfortable being in a strange place, with novel things, smells, and sounds.

• Comfortable being left alone and also able to leave you alone while you work.

• Friendly with other dogs in the workplace, their “co-woofers” for the day.

• Adaptable and eager to learn new things.

• Healthy and clean.

• Housetrained to a fault.

Is your workplace suited for dogs? 

• Is the environment quiet, or is it loud, active, and busy? 

• Are there lots of visitors, deliveries, clients, or customers coming in and out?

• Are your human co-workers friendly to dogs, indifferent, fearful, or allergic? 

• Is the space generally neat with few doggy temptations, or is it filled with products, employees’ toys, or food left lying around?

• Will the space require your dog to navigate elevators, revolving doors, slippery floors, heavy equipment, rolling office chairs, or CEOs who zoom around on scooters (as one large, local, dog-friendly company is known to have)?

Next, you should think clearly about your work setup and what your dog’s day will look like.  You must have a way to keep your furry office buddy close to you, even if you don’t have a private office. Good solutions include crates, an exercise pen, or a baby gate that can be secured across a cubicle opening, for example. You don’t want your dog to wander off, distract other people, or get into the office kitchen! 

You should also plan to bring some kind of chewing project or other interactive item to entertain your dog while you’re busy doing actual work, like a bone or stuffed Kong toy.  And, of course, you should plan in advance where your dog’s potty will be, making sure you have enough poop bags and an appropriate place to dispose of them - not in the office kitchen trash can, please.

If this still seems like a good idea, here’s the next checklist for pet owners considering TYDTWD.

• Check with your manager for approval well in advance. 

• Check with all of the people who share your workspace.  Ask them if they’re planning to bring in an office buddy dog, and ask each of them what concerns they may have. 

• Remove all dangerous cords, valuable items, and poisonous plants from your immediate workspace.

• Bring in any bulky beds, floor coverings, or confinement items beforehand (crates, baby gates, tethers, etc.).

• Identify a good potty space for your office buddy dog.  Make sure it’s not too close to open windows or doors, or near where people eat. 

• Plan how you’re going to get your office buddy to and from work with you safely. 

• Make sure your office buddy is clean – give your dog a good brushing or even a bath before his professional debut.

If you’ve made it this far, you’re now ready for the very last checklist for the day itself! Make sure you have:

• A healthy dog who genuinely enjoys going to new places and meeting new people and who has enough social skills to navigate other excited dogs.

• A leash and well-fitting harness or collar.

• A lot of small, high-value food treats for rewarding the behaviors you want to see.

• Poop bags - more than you think you’ll need.

• A baby gate, pen, crate, or barrier to keep your dog in your workspace when off leash, if appropriate.

• A mat or bed for your dog to lie on.

• Plenty of chew toy “projects” for your dog to work on while you work.

• A backup plan in case your dog just finds it all to be too much.

For dogs who regularly go to work with their owners in stores, warehouses, workshops, or offices, there are a number of trained skills that will benefit them and everyone around them. These include leave it, wait, and come, as well as how to settle and give polite greetings to people and to dogs, all of which can be taught through positive reinforcement training. Then there are additional considerations including a dog’s individual quirks, business liability and insurance laws, and how to manage groups of canine office buddies, if multiple dogs get in on the act. Of course, these are all things you’d need to iron out with your supervisor or manager if you think your dog has what it takes to become a regular paw-sonal assistant. 

There are many benefits to having dogs in a workspace, as long as your dog and your work are a good match. In fact, for the right dog, TYDTWD could even serve as an interview for a future full-time position. With a little planning, who knows?  Your furry office buddy may turn out to be your company’s best asset hound!