Do you have time for a dog in dental school?

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Mhines24

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So I'm applying to dental school currently and I want to adopt a dog. My question is if I lived in an apartment how long and how often would I be away from it? Has anyone had a dog and lived in an apartment, if so how was it?

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I'm waiting until fourth year to get a dog. My buddy just had to give up his dog (beautiful doberman) to his mom because he isn't able to care for it during third year. The reality is that dental school is stressful enough without worrying about getting home during lunch to walk it. Especially a big dog like the one in your picture there. It's doable, many people do it, but they all have external supports (wife, roommates who are willing to help out). If it's just you and the pooch, I think you'll be subjecting the dog to a pretty rotten life for a couple years.
 
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Dog will be very lonely. Even if you can afford a daycare, I would not recommend getting a dog. School would take most of your time
 
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My fiancee had a dog during orthopedic surgery residency and fellowship. She hired a dog walker to come by 3 times per week and take him up in the mountains with a bunch of other dogs. We plan to keep him while I am at dental school. Dog walkers are always an option, though it will cost money.
 
Lots of my classmates have kids so a dog is do-able for sure.
 
It is doable, but even healthy looking dog is not a happy one, if it has to sit locked along all day. Kids usually have a babysitter or daycare and two parents most of the time, so we can't compare those two.
A single person attending a dental school would be absent from 7 in the morning till 6pm at least or even more. Get a plant or fish instead
 
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I don't have one but a lot of my classmates do and they seem to be just fine. They usually post pictures of themselves studying with their pets on FB. One of them recently became a licensed dog walker as a side job.
 
If you want a companion, I highly recommend you look into adopting a cat. Petfinder.com has lots of pets looking for homes and the adoption fees are quite low.

My cat (rescued & adopted) is coming to dental school with me. He has been with me for seven years now! He's awesome
  • he greets me at the door every time I come home
  • he follows me around whenever I am home
  • he cuddles with me whenever I am chilling
  • he goes to the bathroom in his litter box like a civilized animal (unlike some animals that go to the bathroom in the middle of a walk- I kid, I kid dog-owners, just taking a friendly jab at you :))
  • grooms himself and keeps himself in top shape
  • he is extremely low maintenance. I just clean his water fountain once a month, and give him some dry food and a canned food every day
  • he is extremely low-cost; I think I spend $1/day on him (including food, treats, medical expenses)

ALSO, cats have longer lifespans than many dogs- mine will easily live to be at least 20....that means I get at least a decade more of his companionship!

Average dog lifespan is 10-13 years in comparison.
 
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If you want a companion, I highly recommend you look into adopting a cat. Petfinder.com has lots of pets looking for homes and the adoption fees are quite low.

My cat (rescued & adopted) is coming to dental school with me. He has been with me for seven years now! He's awesome
  • he greets me at the door every time I come home
  • he follows me around whenever I am home
  • he cuddles with me whenever I am chilling
  • he goes to the bathroom in his litter box like a civilized animal (unlike some animals that go to the bathroom in the middle of a walk- I kid, I kid dog-owners, just taking a friendly jab at you :))
  • grooms himself and keeps himself in top shape
  • he is extremely low maintenance. I just clean his water fountain once a month, and give him some dry food and a canned food every day
  • he is extremely low-cost; I think I spend $1/day on him (including food, treats, medical expenses)

ALSO, cats have longer lifespans than many dogs- mine will easily live to be at least 20....that means I get at least a decade more of his companionship!

Average dog lifespan is 10-13 years in comparison.
Only cat people need to make a bullet point list about why you should own a cat ;)

Kidding. I own two and they are my favorite things in this world.
 
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Only cat people need to make a bullet point list about why you should own a cat ;)

Kidding. I own two and they are my favorite things in this world.

Only cat people CAN make a list of all the things awesome with cats ;)
 
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If you want a companion, I highly recommend you look into adopting a cat. Petfinder.com has lots of pets looking for homes and the adoption fees are quite low.

My cat (rescued & adopted) is coming to dental school with me. He has been with me for seven years now! He's awesome
  • he greets me at the door every time I come home
  • he follows me around whenever I am home
  • he cuddles with me whenever I am chilling
  • he goes to the bathroom in his litter box like a civilized animal (unlike some animals that go to the bathroom in the middle of a walk- I kid, I kid dog-owners, just taking a friendly jab at you :))
  • grooms himself and keeps himself in top shape
  • he is extremely low maintenance. I just clean his water fountain once a month, and give him some dry food and a canned food every day
  • he is extremely low-cost; I think I spend $1/day on him (including food, treats, medical expenses)

ALSO, cats have longer lifespans than many dogs- mine will easily live to be at least 20....that means I get at least a decade more of his companionship!

Average dog lifespan is 10-13 years in comparison.

I wish dogs were as easy to take care of as cats but I'm just not a cat person. I work at an animal hospital and don't get me wrong there are some cats I like there but I just could never see myself owning one.
 
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I've had a dog since second year dental school. Studying all day with my dog sure beats studying all day alone. Now that i'm in clinic, I love coming home to my pooch. I would recommend finding a roommate to share the responsibility with if possible. But that didn't stop me though. I got a small dog who doesn't need much exercise. My family is also very supportive and are willing to babysit her during finals or whenever I feel like I won't have time to give her the love she needs. I trained my dog to go pee and poo in a crate lined with cat litter, that way walks 2x daily aren't necessary (because shes small I can just toss the ball around my apartment and she gets plenty of exercise). Dental school is demanding, but you shouldn't let it keep you from being happy. My dog and gf do take up a lot of my free time, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
 
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I've had a dog since second year dental school. Studying all day with my dog sure beats studying all day alone. Now that i'm in clinic, I love coming home to my pooch. I would recommend finding a roommate to share the responsibility with if possible. But that didn't stop me though. I got a small dog who doesn't need much exercise. My family is also very supportive and are willing to babysit her during finals or whenever I feel like I won't have time to give her the love she needs. I trained my dog to go pee and poo in a crate lined with cat litter, that way walks 2x daily aren't necessary (because shes small I can just toss the ball around my apartment and she gets plenty of exercise). Dental school is demanding, but you shouldn't let it keep you from being happy. My dog and gf do take up a lot of my free time, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

What breed?
I really hope this is a Bichon Frise or Maltese- that'd be AWESOME!
 
If you want a companion, I highly recommend you look into adopting a cat. Petfinder.com has lots of pets looking for homes and the adoption fees are quite low.

My cat (rescued & adopted) is coming to dental school with me. He has been with me for seven years now! He's awesome
  • he greets me at the door every time I come home
  • he follows me around whenever I am home
  • he cuddles with me whenever I am chilling
  • he goes to the bathroom in his litter box like a civilized animal (unlike some animals that go to the bathroom in the middle of a walk- I kid, I kid dog-owners, just taking a friendly jab at you :))
  • grooms himself and keeps himself in top shape
  • he is extremely low maintenance. I just clean his water fountain once a month, and give him some dry food and a canned food every day
  • he is extremely low-cost; I think I spend $1/day on him (including food, treats, medical expenses)

ALSO, cats have longer lifespans than many dogs- mine will easily live to be at least 20....that means I get at least a decade more of his companionship!

Average dog lifespan is 10-13 years in comparison.
I would love to get a cat. Haha they're hilarious to play with. Too bad I'm super allergic to them :(
 
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You guys crack me up. You realize most people who have dogs aren't home 7-6? Does that make them negligent owners?
If they leave a dog along all day, then yes - they are negligent owners. Usually people who have to be away all day hire dog walkers or take their dogs to a daycare or have a spouse, who keeps them company.
Average dental student would not be able to afford daycare or a walker for their dog
 
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I would love to get a cat. Haha they're hilarious to play with. Too bad I'm super allergic to them :(

They're such clowns- they make toys out of the smallest things! Crumple up some aluminum foil and they'll be obsessed for days.

My guy loves chasing laser pointers. If I run the laser light below a couch, he just sits in front of the couch waiting for the light to come back out - even if the pointer is turned off! He'll sit there for 10-15 mins before realizing what has happened :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:

Sorry to hear about your allergies- aren't there certain treatments one can undergo to desensitize their immune system to the antigen causing the allergic reactions? If you want a cat really badly, it might be worth looking into. This may help.
 
Dog will be very lonely. Even if you can afford a daycare, I would not recommend getting a dog. School would take most of your time

Yeah. Set your priority right and do it later when situation would better allow.
 
I have time for a girlfriend. So yes.
 
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I have a dog I got from a breed rescue many years ago. He's not too bright but he redeems himself by protecting me from threats like garbage can shadows after dusk and humans with beards or hats.

In seriousness though, it really depends on a lot of things regarding your own living situation and the individual animal. Essentially, you would have to live in a building that allows cats/dogs that is very close to school so you can walk the dog 2-4 times a day. School takes maybe 7 hours of my day, sleep about 4-6hrs, study 1-3hrs if I can, maybe exercise for an hour... so that still leaves 8+ hours for extra lab practice, eating, bathing, errands, social life, and a pet too! It's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. But then again, ask me in December and we'll see if I have to eat those words.
 
I made two babies during dental school to grow my family to five. Thats kinda like adopting a dog, but different.
 
My fiancee had a dog during orthopedic surgery residency and fellowship. She hired a dog walker to come by 3 times per week and take him up in the mountains with a bunch of other dogs. We plan to keep him while I am at dental school. Dog walkers are always an option, though it will cost money.

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It can be managed, but I don't know about the details, but there is something I am sure of, do not adopt until you know where you end up.
Once you get accepted, settle down, find a good place to live, then yeah adopt!
Not now! You'll end up giving the poor thing away, again!

My thinking is, they are better of with someone who loves them ( you) than at that ugly, disgusting cage in that stinking shelter where the dog might put to sleep at any moment......

What happens to pets here is a tragedy.
 
So I'm applying to dental school currently and I want to adopt a dog. My question is if I lived in an apartment how long and how often would I be away from it? Has anyone had a dog and lived in an apartment, if so how was it?

I agree with Faefly as well. Settle in and see how dental school goes - look at adopting in your second or even third year. Reading the posts above, a lot of people had the support of a SO or even their family. If you have that, then definitely consider it.

I want to adopt a dog as well, but I know for me that realistically it won't happen until I'm out of dental school. I was also considering getting a rescue cat during my 3rd year (dorm life for the first two years), due to their low maintenance and cost as well.
 
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