Scotland is best place for working dog owners
Holidaying with our dogs has become something of a trend in the UK in recent years with more of us staycationing and looking for holidays where we can take our pooch along with us too. If you’re looking for a last-minute dog-friendly break this summer then look no further that Scotland, where a new study by tech recruiters Revolent has revealed they are the dog-friendliest UK nation in terms of facilities and accessibility for working pet owners.
Although the study was looking specifically at the experiences of working dog owners, it stands to reason that if they are dog-friendly in the workplace this is part of their culture, and your dog can expect to be welcomed if you take them for a holiday in Scotland too!
With many workers returning to the office, those of us with lockdown pups have faced the dilemma of what to do with our dogs as so many of them have become used to us working from home during the pandemic. Dogs have had to get used to being left home alone again and owners have felt guilty about spending less time with them. Some of us decided it was time to step in and change the way we work with our pups, either taking them to work with us or hybrid working – partly at home and partly at the office so we can spend more time with them. Revolent work in tech recruitment, an industry where many people work from home or hot desk hubs with flexible arrangements and this prompted them to do some research into facilities and accessibility for working dog owners.
Photo by Mitchell Orr on Unsplash
The company used a range of criteria to produce a pet-friendly score for each country in the UK. Including:
- Pet-friendly offices and co-working spaces
- Pet friendly cafes and restaurants
- Suitable parks and places to exercise your pet
- Dog-friendly residential spaces
- Dog-friendly hotels
- Access to vets and pet supply stores
They then analysed this data in comparison to population density in order to assess the competition and relative accessibility by region. As you can see from the results below, Scotland ranks best for working pet parents by quite a significant margin. In In April 2022, some 696,000 UK households reported a desire to relocate so this new study could help dog owners factor a move to Scotland into their long-term plans!
|
Rank |
Country |
Pet-friendly score* |
|
1 |
Scotland |
27 |
|
2 |
Wales |
50 |
|
3 |
England |
76 |
|
4 |
Northern Ireland |
100 |
*The lower number represents better access to facilities, measured against population density.
Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash
Although there are of course, many excellent pet-friendly facilities in all of the other countries examined in the study, the population density in Scotland means that while there are less facilities, they are more accessible to working dog owners due to the low population density there – although this of course could change if everyone moves to Scotland to take advantage of their fantastic facilities!
Speaking about the findings, Nabila Salem, President of Revolent said:
“Increasingly, people are considering work and life in much more holistic terms where they’re aiming for a better, healthier integration of the two. For pet parents, it’s vital to be able to access pet care services whenever needed. But beyond this, people may also be looking for places to live and work where their pets can be more present in the day-to-day life”
Photo by Bruno Emmanuelle on Unsplash
The data used in the study came from a number of online sources which you may find useful when for a dog-friendly job or services. Recruitment site indeed.com now has whether a job is dog-friendly or pet friendly included in some their listings. Likewise co-working spaces on Liquidspace.com also include details of dog-friendly offices.
Zoopla.co.uk and Google hotel search were used to identify pet-friendly homes and accommodation.
And the website dogfriendly.co.uk identified pet-friendly cafes, beaches, pet stores and recommended vet practices.
Do you take your dog to work or have you been thinking about doing so? Let us know how you get on in the comments section below!
Main photo by Pavel Herceg on Unsplash