If you’re a dog lover and want to bring your canine into the cubicle Friday for Take Our Dogs to Work Day, take a few minutes to consider the cost to your career – and co-worker collaboration.

At the risk of sounding like a draconian dog diss-er, I am suggesting that some dogs should stay home – and some workplaces are just not welcoming to dogs, no matter how sweet and well mannered she is. Of course, this does not apply to people who work in a small office of animal lovers, or in a place where dogs or cats already roam freely. They may want to make sure their office cat gets along with dogs before your Cleo arrives with her boundless energy and enthusiasm.

But the rest of us may need to consider carefully what our dog – and her possible missteps or manic behavior at the office – will say about us, and how her habit of nosing through trash may be perceived by those who don’t love dogs.  What does Penny’s zeal to jump up repeatedly say about you? How will her oversize wagging tail and propensity to bark at strange men seem in your office, where – ahem – your boss and some colleagues could be seen as strange men?

Ask yourself how well socialized your dog is and what your boss thinks of animals. How many cat lovers are there? And how many people who just want the office to be uninterrupted by outsiders – no matter how friendly and doe-eyed they are? How much work you have to finish on Friday? What will Dannie do – sleep quietly while you toil?

What’s the potential cost to your professional reputation to have your dog at work with you? How does that compare to the potential gains?

Before you start muttering dog-hater or grump at me, consider that my dog, Dannie, sleeps or chews bones or tennis balls beside me most days when I work from home. (She’s even come along a time or two to my Italian ice cart.) I know many of the advantages of dogs at work – - and like to see them there. They can make staff more productive, less stressed and more willing to work long hours. An Inc. – Business Insider piece also shows how they foster camaraderie and productivity.

Some dogs become a magnet and a mascot of sorts. At Augusta Physical Therapy in Staunton, VA, Hattie, the golden retriever, serves as the greeter, saying hello and giving patients a reason to chat when they first arrive. The 12-year-old dog has been coming to the office with owner Jacque Walters regularly since 2004 – except on the busiest days or when there’s special activities and she stays home. When a rare patient doesn’t like dogs or is nervous about them, Hattie retreats to a back room.

People come to the office because it’s dog-friendly, and a few even bring in their dogs during their treatments.  “People miss her when she’s not here,” said Walters, who’s vice president of administration. (I love stories like this and would love to hear more about your office dogs and what they foster in your workplace.)

Despite such successes with laid-back dogs like Hattie, we know dogs don’t fit into many work settings – especially the pristine or very regimented ones. Remember too that many commercial and business leases do not allow animals in offices, unless they’re service dogs. My Washington Post Capital Business piece tells of some dog-gone workplaces where the animals were sent home.

Badly-trained dogs could lead to trouble – disruptions, destruction, even a bite! – and undermine your colleagues’ trust and collaboration if you aren’t careful. If you’re a manager and yet your dog won’t follow basic commands, what does that say about your ability to train and lead? If your dog is high strung or needs lots of outdoor time, can you afford to disappear two or three time on Friday? Hire ire a dog walker for an hour or so; no it is not fair to ask the office administrator to add that to her to-do list.

If you’re not sure how well your dog will do at the office, especially if there’s other pooches around, bring her photo in  – or show a short video of her chasing a squirrel or a ball. Or bring her in to say hello on another day – when you aren’t expected to work a full eight hours.

If you’re determined to bring in Penny for Take Our Dogs to Work Day, make sure you’ve made good arrangements, and packed an extra bone. Check out “Seven rules for success” from the sponsors of Take Your Dog to Work Day. And by all means, find out how many other dogs are coming along too – unless your company sells doggy accessories, don’t turn your conference room into a dog park.

“I’d like to teach the world to sing – in perfect harmony.”

“Who you gonna call? Ghost Busters!”

One day I’m singing: “Sunny day, chasing the clouds away.”  Another day I moan:  “Working 9 to 5 – What a way to make a living….”   Sometimes Raffi’s joyful kid songs show up and sometimes it’s vintage rock and roll.

I’ve been thinking about theme songs and how I need a new one for this time in my career when I’m both writer and entrepreneur.  You know, the songs that we play in our heads or hum as we walk down the hall toward our cubicle. Or the one we grab when we need a motivational boost or a reminder of our core values or goals.

For years, mine tended to be drawn from children’s music, including Raffi songs like “Numbers Rhumba” and “Everything Grows” as the Canadian singer brought joyful upbeat tunes into my car and my family room. Singing about the sun shining or the wheels on the bus sometimes surprised other newsroom staffers at the Detroit Free Press and Newsday. It seemed out of character for a deputy business editor or business columnist – until you realized she was the one advocating for a story about work-life balance or luxury pet resorts. Plus the songs connected me to life’s joys and reminded me of my life outside work – and so I cherished them as a working mother’s theme songs.

Then when I picked up a picket sign in in the great Detroit newspaper strike of 1995, I needed a different tune: something promoted peace and change. So I adopted a peace song and sang it regularly on the picket line and while I delivered the Detroit Sunday Journal, the strikers’ online and print newspaper: “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” 

The peace song, adapted to be more inclusive of women, worked wonders in focusing me on peace and justice, not anger and stress that rang so loudly during that time. (Watch Gladys Knight singing this lovely song far better than I did on this YouTube video. )

When I moved to Long Island to work for Newsday, I took up new songs. Among them were some New York-centric songs and for my Long Island Railroad trips into Queens or Manhattan, I adopted “I’ve been working on the railroad.”  Only occasionally would I sing it on the hour train ride, and then usually not very loud.  It was there that I borrowed the song “I believe I can fly; I believe I can touch the sky” from a CEO who sang it to his daughters.  (This version is sung by Yolanda Adams with a bit of gospel sound to it.)

Now, I need something with more energy, more liveliness, more “you go girl and show the world” mindset.  Or maybe I will sing something that encourages me to juggle my myriad projects – Mity Nice, writing, volunteering, mothering – with zest and ease.

Why choose a theme song anyway?

It helps focus your mind and your attitude. It may encourage and inspire you, or help you pull through a tough time. And if you’re developing a personal brand, your theme song – or your playlist – could bolster that, though I don’t recommend piping it onto your LinkedIn profile or blog, unless you’re a song writer or full-time musician or music promoter.

And of course, it could connect you to the world, to pop culture or a favorite performer or television show. ScreenJunkie.com’s Buckminster Schumacker recommends the 12 best ’80s theme songs for your life, including the music from “The Golden Girls” and “Who’s the Boss.”

When I took FastWeb’s 10-question quiz to identify my career theme song, I didn’t know what to expect. (If you want to take it, add in a few extra minutes to answer no to all the “free information” from the University of Phoenix and other sponsoring online colleges and to fill out your profile for scholarships, which is what FastWeb provides.) 

The answer on my FastWeb career theme song: “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves. It’s an upbeat song, and one I might not have considered – until now.‘,width:’100′,height:’100′” width=”100″ height=”100″ align=”" />

FastWeb offers only four choices – “Taking care of business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive; Gloria Gaynor’s “I will survive” and U2′s “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

These days, though, many people may make an Pod mix of songs that sound like your career and career mindset. One theme song might not capture it, but a dozen will deliver.

So please tell me what theme songs are you playing for your work, for your life? And how do you choose it – or does it choose you?

Whether you’re searching for true love or locating work you love, you’ll use similar skills and perspectives. So when I interviewed some matchmakers for a Washington Post Capital Business article, we talked about their careers and business – and the connection between the job search and the partner prowl.
Use these half dozen ideas  to find a new lover or a new boss; they were suggested by matchmaker Ann Wood and Crystal Sylvester, a soul mate coach:

• Know what you want. Be clear whether you want a lifetime commitment or children, an active partner who kayaks and hikes or one who prefers museums and the latest theater. Same for the job and employer – know what cultural and other traits are important to you and whether you’ll thrive in a highly structured workplace or one with some flexibility and variety.
• Trust yourself. Be authentic, said Sylvester. Acknowledge that you know what works for you. Create boundaries and then stick with them.
• Be curious. Ask a lot of questions, and do it pleasantly, said Wood. Don’t make assumptions about men or about future managers.
• Be nice. So much depends on personality and charm, the chemistry. This holds true in a job interview or a date, said Wood.
• Expect contradictions and surprises. “Even if their politics are liberal, their personal lives are conservative,” said Wood, who works from Georgetown. Some couples and some bosses can come off well, even if they aren’t an obvious match. Or as Sylvester said: “The most wonderful things sometimes look different.”
• Understand the details. Some people work together well and yet you wouldn’t want to take them home. Some people don’t consider the commute time on jobs or relationships. Dig into the details and don’t make assumptions, said Wood.
• Try again. Sometimes the second date, or the second pitch, goes better and people are less nervous, said Leora Hoffman, who runs a Bethesda, Md., personal introduction service.

The bottom line for anyone who’s searching for a mate, a date or a job moving  freight  is to be hopeful and clear on your  a great outcome – and then work at it with energy and focus almost every day.