Can employees bring their new puppies to work?
Allowing an office manager to bring a new puppy to work creates an awkward management position where saying no feels difficult. Practical issues like potty training combined with liability concerns make daily office attendance disruptive, forcing business owners to weigh staff happiness against workplace productivity.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1saying no citing insurance or liability reasons
- 2permitting a brief one-time visit just to show off the puppy
- 3offering work-from-home days or negotiating alternative arrangements
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My admin/office manager just got a new puppy and wants to bring puppy to work.”source ↗
“Frankly, I don't like to be in the position to say 'no' to something like, can I bring my pets to work?”source ↗
“While he's adorable, I think for liability and practical reasons (potty training) you'd rather they not bring the puppy in”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3Is it normal for a nonprofit to ask employees for donations?
- 4How to handle fake emotional support animals in restaurants
- 2How to play with multiple pets without one hogging all the toys
- 3Can a first year teacher ask for time off?
- 4How to stop family from forcing me to rehome my cat
- 2Should I keep taking my friendly-reactive dog to group classes?