Dog friendly workplaces
Taking Your Dog To Work Shouldn’t Be A Novelty, It Can Be A Long-term Arrangement For Some Businesses, Says Dogs Trust
4 years ago 
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After the enthusiastic response to national ‘Bring Your Dog To Work Day’, Dogs Trust, the UK’s biggest canine charity, urges UK businesses to consider the possibilities of allowing staff to bring their dogs to work.
Almost half (43%) of the respondents to a poll carried out on Dogs Trust’s social media last week had taken their dog into work to mark the day. Of these, 87% said it was a great experience.
Katharine Creagh, Canine Behaviour Officer at Dogs Trust, has shared her expert thoughts in a blog about welcoming canine colleagues into our workplaces. She provides food for thought on the demand for businesses to support their dog-owning employees, the reality of having dogs at work, and whether it’s in the best interest of our four-legged friends.
“For some of us, working from home, pyjama-clad with our dogs acting as fuzzy foot- warmers, has been the silver-lining of a stormy few years... As people return to their offices, there is growing interest in dog-friendly workplaces, partly due to some evidence of benefits to employee wellbeing, and partly due to employee demand...”
Katharine leads on Dogs Trust’s innovative Dog Friendly Workplaces programme, which aims to help ensure dog welfare by supporting organisations to create a dog-friendly environment which will benefit not only staff with dogs, but also clients, customers and visitors. The programme offers regular live webinars, training, and tips for dogs going into workplaces or while at home to make sure that ‘working with your dog’ is a positive experience for dogs, owners and their colleagues. In her blog, Katharine adds:
“If dog-friendly workplace policies are implemented carefully and executed well, there could be welfare benefits for some dogs... Not every dog will want to go into work, nor will every workplace be suitable. Nevertheless, with the proper preparations and a slow, gradual introduction, many dogs could benefit from joining their favourite human at work...”
The full blog can be read here.
Dogs Trust is holding an introduction webinar to their programme on 27 July. To register for the webinar click here.
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