Anyone bringing pets to medschool?

[tonyjerry]

I've wanted a dog forever and now that I'm finally getting out of university housing I'm thinking about it. I know I'm going to be gone most of the day but I'm definitely willing to put in the time while I'm not in class. Anyone think this is a bad idea or have their own experiences? thanks

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[AWhitehair]

Don't get a Jack Russell Terrier, or any sort of terrier for that matter. They are easy to train, but they are just way to active for the indoors and being cooped up in the house all day without attention will only bring trouble. They love to dig!

You need a dog that is content with the indoors and will not try to destroy your house while you are away. I wouldn't recommend getting a puppy unless you have a lot of time to train it.

Getting a dog is a big responsibility and you want to be fair to the dog by giving it a good nurturing home. I'm not so sure you should get one yet. At least wait until you see what your schedule is going to be like and how much time you will actually be able to give to the dog.

AWhitehair

 

[ad_sharp]

I just got a new Chihuahua (well, my wife did anyway). Her name is Zooie and she rocks. I'm getting ready to move into a new apartment where I can have a dog. It's been fun up to this point, but I can't speak for everybody. I'm a big time dog person. It's just fun to have the little stinker running around to greet you when you come home from school. A small dog doesn't take too much time from your day. All you have to do is make sure that they get enough food and water, and let them play outside everyday.

 

[rgporter]

I have two italian greyhounds, I love them but I would have waited to buy them until after med school if I had thought through all the implications. It is much more expensive to find housing that allows pets. There is usually a several hundred dollar deposit then $20-$40/month increase in rent. I can tell you that the med student budget doesn't allow you a lot of leeway for extra expenses. The cheapest place I could find that allowed pets was several hundred dollars over what my school budgets for housing. I love my dogs, but they are definitely a source of financial strain for me right now.

 

[twinklz]

Yeah, I'm bringing a couple pets with me to medical school. However, they're only bunnies. But I'm worried about the money they can go through (the little suckers eat A LOT) Luckily most apartmetn complexes don't realize that the cute sweet bunnies have the potential to be highly destructive thus I get a discount on pet deposits and such.

 

[Anasazi23]

I never liked cats. But I somehow ended up with 2 siamese right before medical school. I'm not sure I could have made it through without them.

 

[Sharkfan]

tonyjerry, I actually wrote a paper two weeks ago about why people should really think before bringing a dog into their home. PM me if you want it; I have some interesting facts about costs as well.

I would say: don't do it. If you really need a pet, cats are less maintenance and can live without a lot of attention. Or fish, they're even lower maintenance. Hehe...

 

[Indebt4Life]

I am a bird person...have you ever heard of a bird person? Usually dog or cat person. Well, I have a love bird and she is so sweet and really trained. She even has her own bird diaper in lime green to match her feathers.

The only problem is that she is soooooo loud! She screams at the top of her little lungs when she sees me leave the room and continues to scream until I return. I don't know what to do with her. I raised her and handfed her as a baby..so she thinks I am her Mommy.

Also, love birds tend to be territorial (in pairs) in that if I try to find her a mate she will attack him. if she had a mate when she was young she would actually turn on me. So, i am thinking about cutting her vocal chords. This is such a cruel thing to do but I don't know what else to do. Adoption is not an option for me as I know nobody will give her the attention and love that I give her.

When I move away to medical school and look for roomates I don't think that anyone will put up with a screaming bird.

 

[oudoc08]

I have a boxer, a choc. lab, and a schnauzer. I also have a 125 gallon saltwater reef tank.

 

[southbelle]

I just got a new Chihuahua (well, my wife did anyway). Her name is Zooie and she rocks. I'm getting ready to move into a new apartment where I can have a dog. It's been fun up to this point, but I can't speak for everybody. I'm a big time dog person. It's just fun to have the little stinker running around to greet you when you come home from school. A small dog doesn't take too much time from your day. All you have to do is make sure that they get enough food and water, and let them play outside everyday.

Is it possible to train those dogs? My ex-bf used to have one and it would use the bathroom all over his apartment. When I confronted him about it he just shrugged and said they were hard to train. It was actually one of the reasons we broke up.(I don't like gross things or unpleasant tasks) The dog was cute though

 

[MoCookiess]

I've been looking forward to graduating, because my graduation present to myself is a puppy. My family has always had dogs, usually large ones, so having a dog in undergrad with shared apartments in the middle of a city just isn't an option. The problem is that recently I've been rethinking this whole thing because I may still end up with a puppy in an apartment in the middle of a city block. I'm not really a big fan of small dogs, because I generally find them annoying, and all of our small dogs were much harder to house-train. Our weims were house-trained in two days or so.

I love the companionship of dogs, especially since my boyfriend wont be moving to my city until my second year. What do you guys think? Do med students really have enough time for pets? Then again, some people have KIDS in med school. I'm probably worrying about nothing.

 

[ad_sharp]

Is it possible to train those dogs? My ex-bf used to have one and it would use the bathroom all over his apartment. When I confronted him about it he just shrugged and said they were hard to train. It was actually one of the reasons we broke up.(I don't like gross things or unpleasant tasks) The dog was cute though

Yeah, I've had her for about a month, and we've just about got the peeing on the newspaper thing down. She still goes where she shouldn't from time to time, but that's what Arm and Hammer pet deoderizer is for. We'll get it worked out soon enough though. She's still just a puppy.

 

[fischer]

As much as a hassle/expense pets can be, I just can't live without them and wouldn't want to.

I'll be bringing my 9 year old Black Lab/Rottie mix and my 3 year old German Shorthair Pointer. My biggest problem is with my fish- I have a pond in my backyard and 6 goldfish which have gotten HUGE. I don't want to leave them behind, so I need to come up with some creative problem solving. Probably just a big ole tank.

With two dogs, 6 fish, a baby and a husband, we are looking to buy a place, so I will be lucky in the fact my dogs will have a backyard. Again, more expensive, but I wouldn't have it any other way. My dogs are always glad to see me and always brighten my day.

 

[OrthoFixation]

We have a Miniature Pinscher and wouldn't trade her for the world. My advice is to seek a professional obediance trainer and teach your dog some manners (and when & where to do their business).

We put ours through the class for 8 weeks, one night a week. In this class, you actually managed / trained the dog in a group setting with the instructor leading the activities. We even had homework (practice) that is critical to your pets success. Every now and then, just like kids, the MinPin can get a little headstrong, so we can have a refresher course and attitude adjustment.

The $80 we paid seven years ago has been recouped many times over. The number "accidents" in the house has only averaged about 1 per year. I highly recommend training.

I'm not in school yet, but we will buy a home so pet deposits won't be an issue. I'm glad ours is tiny b/c big dog=big costs=big poop. I love big dogs, but if you want one, be sure that you have plenty of play space (big yard).

 

[ChE_Babe]

I have a black tabby that runs our house and our lives. We figure he's the closest we going to get to having a child for a few years yet, so he is our "baby". I would never move without him again, when he spent a year living with my parents while I was abroad, it was really difficult! He's a great cat for a busy student though, you can actually leave him alone in the house for several days -which we do when we go to visit my friend who's allergic to him- with a huge bowl of food and he will only eat when he's hungry (unlike a dog or other cats I have owned).

Fischer - my parents have a lab/rott that is the best behaved and smartest dog I have ever known; I would totally own another one if they're all like her. Is yours kind of shaggy, Molly was and I've seen several since that were, where does the hair come from? Labs and rotts are both very short-haired...

 

[Legend123]

If you are not home and or busy and you will be... most of the time, it may not be a good idea to have dogs, big or small. They will miss you so much, it will drive them crazy.. I will be very sad to say good bye to my dog -Buddy(a smart Golden Retriver) when I am leaving for Med School in Aug

 

[SarahGM]

How about fish? I had a really cute goldfish up until last week, but I found him floating bottom-up amongst his seaweed on Saturday night I hate to say it, but at least now I don't have to figure out what I'm going to do with him when I move out of here in August! I prefer to think he's somewhere out there, in that great fishbowl in the sky

But seriously, Beta fish are really really easy to take care of and quite small/transportable. Just don't put them in the same bowl together! Carnage will ensue.

 

[lessismoe]

If anyone is thinking about getting a reptile pet during med school, I'd like to recommend getting a leopard gecko and NOT an iguana or chameleon.

Leopard geckos are easy and low-maintanence. You make sure they have water and feed them one or two times a week (more when they are babies) and dust their food with vitamin powder, and they are good to go. You can easily leave for a weekend, and they will be fine. They don't even need UV or sunlight (well, a little bit of sunshine is good for everything, though). The only major concern you have with them is making sure that they shed completely and properly. If you spend a lot of time with them when they are young, they will be affectionate with you, and they live for ~10 years.

Iguanas and chameleons, on the other hand, require UV light, which can get expensive, and when they grow bigger, you may need a very large cage. Their diets are also more complicated. I love iguanas and chameleons, but I've seen many malnourished, sick, neglected iguanas returned to pet stores simply because their owners didn't know any better. Please do a LOT of research before you pick one up.

 

[fischer]

Fischer - my parents have a lab/rott that is the best behaved and smartest dog I have ever known; I would totally own another one if they're all like her. Is yours kind of shaggy, Molly was and I've seen several since that were, where does the hair come from? Labs and rotts are both very short-haired...

Fischer is actually the name of my lab/rottie And, yes, he is definately the best behaved and smartest dog I have ever known. I swear he is a step away from self-awareness. I am constantly amazed at what he knows/learns and his problem-solving abilities. He is an amazing creature and has brought me so much joy.

He really isn't shaggy- he basically has the same length hair as most labs/rotts I know. He's stockier than a lab, has the rottie head with lab ears, all black, no tail. I think lab/rott is such a good combo- the rottie tempers the hyperactivity of labs and calms them down a bit. Plus, they are both smart breeds. Fischer is the best! Now, my German Pointer on the other hand...she is a handful!!!

 

[MG Md 2B]

Though I'm not yet in med school, I do live by myself in undergrad and have a 1.5 year old maltese named Sheera. I can't imagine not having her around. I have always been a big dog type of person, but that just wasn't realistic with my apartment. My maltese is wonderful...she's 5 pounds, and not yippy like terriers. Very playful, yet loves to curl up with me. The perfect pup (aside from the grooming costs). My advice would be that if you really want a puppy, and can afford one, then to go for it. But, get it a few months before school starts so you can get it housebroken before you have to start classes. Also, it's helpful if there are a couple people you can trust to occasionally stop by and walk it if you have a day where you just can't be home at all.

 

[HoodyHoo]

I have an American Bulldog, a cat, and a saltwater tank and am bringing none of them to med school. If you are going to live by yourself it would be a horrible idea to buy a dog. If you have a wife/husband that can be more involved with the dog, however, it would be cool. And also, paper training is not a good idea because once they get used to that, you have to condition the pet to relieving themselves outside, the two-step process confuses a little puppy.