A Telephone Survey Of Dog Owners And Employers In Sweden
Dog ownership can be a potential issue when the human owners go to work. This study identifies the problems and concerns of dog ownership that may affect dogs, owners, and employers, including an examination of workplace policies and the common solutions owners use to address the situation.
Based upon telephone interviews with 204 working dog owners and 90 employers, these findings show that while at work, dog owners leave his or her dog at home (73%), bring the dog to work (16%), or use dog day care (11%). Though most dogs are not left at home for more than 6 hours, 53% of dog owners indicated that they would prefer to bring the dog to work. However, 81% of employers were unaware of this demand.
Written dog policies at work are not typical (18%), and many dog owners say they are unaware of the current rules. More than three-fourths (76%) of dog owners say they feel healthier because of the dog, and the majority of employers (59%) feel that dogs could be a positive asset to the workplace. However, many employers are concerned that allergies (68%) and fear of dogs (66%) could be potential problems with dogs in the workplace.