Need Advice- Boss has new Puppy

bwing10 · February 2017

Ok so my boss got a new puppy at the first of January and brings it to the office daily. It is not potty trained and I usually end up being the one to clean up after it. My boss refuses to take potty training classes to learn how to potty train it and also won't clean up after it and finds it funny when it does its business inside. Well lately I can't handle the picking up of the poop as well as the general smell of it. I am dry heaving, gagging and it hurts my stomach, I don't feel like it is fair to me or our clients for that matter who have to come in and smell poop. No matter how much I Lysol, bleach, carpet cleaner, pet odor eliminator, etc. the smell lingers. What should I do? I brought up that I couldn't handle the smell and that I couldn't handle picking up after his puppy anymore and he thought I was joking. I am at the end of my rope, I love my job but I don't think I can handle this for very much longer.

maebee87 · February 2017

That's horrible!! I would just stop cleaning it up and mention frequently that clients complain (even if they don't) and then remind your boss it isn't in your job description to clean up feces.

DoulaTog13 · February 2017

Does your boss know you're pregnant? Get a letter from your doctor saying that you are not to handle animal or human waste. what type of work do you do??? Maybe even make a report to OSHA or the health department if he's not taking your concerns seriously?

dinofreak · February 2017

@DoulaTog13
I second the OSHA report! Picking up poop is not in your job description, and you shouldn't have to deal with it!

Maybe also send some passive aggressive links to crate-training tutorials to your boss. It's not cruel to put the puppy in the crate for a few hours at a time, they naturally don't want to make a mess in their den so when they get let out, they'll be eager to potty (outside, hopefully!) and a command can be associated with it.

bwing10 · February 2017

I work for an engineering firm as the office manager, definitely no picking up dog waste in my job description. I signed my boss up for a potty training class and he refused to go, saying it was to hard to get the puppy on a schedule with it being in the office and then him being busy after work most nights to be able to take it out every hour or so until it learned. I said something to one of my co workers (boss' son) who is buying the business from my boss and taking over at the end of the year. He agreed that it wasn't fair and that he didn't like the smell either and is going to talk to my boss regarding options for the dog to not be in the office until it is potty trained. So hopefully we can get something figured out this week. My boss did understand that I was mad and frustrated today and he kept the pup away from me the rest of the morning.

morgy_bee · February 2017

bwing10 said:

I work for an engineering firm as the office manager, definitely no picking up dog waste in my job description. I signed my boss up for a potty training class and he refused to go, saying it was to hard to get the puppy on a schedule with it being in the office and then him being busy after work most nights to be able to take it out every hour or so until it learned. I said something to one of my co workers (boss' son) who is buying the business from my boss and taking over at the end of the year. He agreed that it wasn't fair and that he didn't like the smell either and is going to talk to my boss regarding options for the dog to not be in the office until it is potty trained. So hopefully we can get something figured out this week. My boss did understand that I was mad and frustrated today and he kept the pup away from me the rest of the morning.

Sounds like he is too busy for a puppy....

bwing10 · February 2017

He is definitely to busy for a puppy! His dog passed away suddenly in mid December after being hit by a car, was his companion for 8 years and he wouldn't listen to us when we told him he didn't need a puppy and his previous dog went to doggy daycare for the 1st year of her life before she was allowed in the office. His ex wife paid for her daycare, well he is to cheap (even though he is rich) to pay for this pup to go to doggy daycare and get training! He thinks it is up to the office staff to train the dog. I told him if the dog doesn't have her stuff together by his birthday than the office will pay for her to go to training classes as his birthday gift, pretty sure he thought I was joking.

ColoradoHiker · February 2017

I'm confused by the fact that having a dog in your office every day is okay and the norm. I've never worked anywhere where thus would be acceptable, unless it is a service animal (which doesn't appear to be the case).

It sounds like your company is small, is there any sort of HR? Or are you the highest ranked person besides the boss, as office manager? Someone needs to straight up tell him that it's not a general office responsibility to take care of his pet. Maybe there's someone with a dog allergy who can come forward and complain?

The whole situation just seems so unprofessional to me.

bwing10 · February 2017

ColoradoHiker said:

I'm confused by the fact that having a dog in your office every day is okay and the norm. I've never worked anywhere where thus would be acceptable, unless it is a service animal (which doesn't appear to be the case).

It sounds like your company is small, is there any sort of HR? Or are you the highest ranked person besides the boss, as office manager? Someone needs to straight up tell him that it's not a general office responsibility to take care of his pet. Maybe there's someone with a dog allergy who can come forward and complain?

The whole situation just seems so unprofessional to me.

We have a very small office, there are a total of 7 of us. I agree with it feeling very unprofessional, his daughter works in our office as well and she brings her lab in everyday also. I love dogs, but I can't stand having them in the office. We have no HR department, just me. I hate the dog hair everywhere and how much they bark while we are on the phones with clients,the puppy has bit a few clients, but we also have clients come in specifically to visit the puppy, which is odd to me. My boss is 67, and as soon as he retires and his son takes over, all dogs should be out of the office but for now it is driving me up the wall! Everyone in the office owns dogs, but we don't feel the need to have them in the office with us daily, except for the owner and his daughter!

DoulaTog13 · February 2017

his daughter and son work there too??? Sounds like that responsibility should default to them, if you ask me.

SouthernMama15 · February 2017

I used to work for a non profit that operates group homes and a day program for developmentally delayed adults. The day program was on the same property as the office and the employees from the homes and day program as well as the clients frequently came in the office. The CEO brought her golden doodle to work once a week on the day her cleaning lady came because the dog didn't like her. He would sit by her desk and growl and snap at people that walked by or went in. She thought it was funny or sweet that he was protecting her, but we were a state funded facility and everyone was terrified that he would bite someone, especially a client and get us in trouble. We also had a yearly picnic and the board members would come, and of course her dog.
I don't really have any advice for you, but I definitely get how frustrated you are

emmeline714 · February 2017

I would just stop picking after the puppy and make sure the puppy poops and pees in his office see if he likes it. Sounds very frustrating and disgusting. I would throw up to make sure my point gets across as well. Hope you don't have to do it no more. @bwing10

JWatt5 · February 2017

I work in an office where you can bring your dog to work, a few of us take advantage of it (I'm the HR manager). We don't have a policy or anything but it's just common sense that if you bring YOUR dog, YOU are responsible for your dog. I would bring Finn two times a week when he was a puppy and never did he get a chance to poop on the floor unless I totally missed his que and then I felt like I needed to pick up quickly and quietly so it didn't bother anyone. And if he were a rambunctious puppy I wouldn't have brought him in the first place.
If I were you, and if one of my teammates came to me as HR for advice, I would say start with standing up for yourself firmly but politely, stating that you will not be pick up dog feces (use this word, not poo so there's less opportunity for rumour). He can't possibly tell you that it's your job to without you being able to speak with whatever governing employment act is in place (sorry I'm in Canada so for us its the Employment Standards Act). No one should be expected to pick up feces unless you work with Dogs.

MatteaGabrielle · February 2017

I like the idea of throwing up over it. Then someone else has to clean up after both of you.

I hope the bosses son talks some sense into him. I know the small office dynamic. My fil has a engineering office and his office manager and daughter bring in their dogs from time to time, totally trained. My husband office also allows dogs, that are trained. Daily clean up is not cool.

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