They’re Cute. They’re Cuddly. They’re Everyone’s Favorite Workplace Perk. They’re Also the Engines of Pure, Unadulterated Office Hell.

Few people are as knee-deep in our work-related anxieties and sticky office politics as Alison Green, who has been fielding workplace questions for a decade now on her website Ask a Manager. In Direct Report , she spotlights themes from her inbox that help explain the modern workplace and how we could be navigating it better.

Dogs-at-work policies are supposed to be a workplace perk. And to some people, spending a day at the office with a beloved canine companion—or having a colleague’s golden retriever wander over for a midday petting break—sounds like heaven on earth. But for others, dogs in the office are an unwelcome distraction and a genuine obstacle to getting work done. They may have allergies or phobias or simply struggle to focus amid furry interruptions. And in a workplace where dogs are treated as universally delightful, admitting you’d rather they weren’t there can feel vaguely taboo. In fact, dogs at work can pose such an issue that I originally wrote about this back in 2018 —but the absurd stories since then have continued to pour in.

To employees who love dog-friendly offices, it’s all sunshine and rainbows, as these people recount:

I’ve been bringing my dog to work for four years, and it’s one of the biggest reasons I’ve stayed at my current job. She sleeps under my desk most of the day, so she’s not a distraction, but she’s so much happier not being away from me all day, and I swear, having her around lowers my blood pressure when work gets frustrating. I’ve even formed closer relationships with some of my co-workers because we’ve gotten to know each other better when they stop by to pet her.

I don’t have a dog, but I work in an office where a dog makes regular visits, and it’s an enormous perk for me. It works because it’s a small office and he’s a good-natured sociable dog. He drops by generally only one or two times a week, so he’s not especially disruptive, and those that want to get to take him for walks.

Personally, having dogs (not just my own, but any dog) around is such a huge, huge benefit to my mental health and happiness at work that if my office stopped allowing them, I’d start looking for a new job or I’d work from home. After salary and benefits, it’s the most important thing about a job to me, personally.

But in any office of more than a few employees, you’re likely to find some people who don’t love dogs—or, in the case of allergies, can’t even be around them:

I was able to land a fantastic job with a big raise after years of stagnant, dead-end work. My first day, I walked into the office, and it was full of dogs. It’s a dog-friendly office, which was never advertised or communicated during the hiring process.

I’m allergic to dogs—VERY allergic. Within 10 minutes of arriving at work, I find that my eyes are red, itchy, and watering, my nose is stuffed up, and I get a headache from my swollen sinuses. This is what happens when I’m on medication! If I skip the meds, I break out in hives, start to wheeze, and run the risk of my throat swelling closed. I went to my doctor, who referred me to a specialist.