Dogs and Med School

[BurtonBoy]

Hey guys. Does anyone out there have a dog that they are planning on taking with them to school? Or, do any of you med students own dogs? Some people have told me it is possible to have a dog while in school if you study at home while others think it is out of the question. If I don't get a puppy sometime soon, I just don't know when I will be able to get a dog in the next 8 years or so. Any advice would be great.

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[Chinorean]

I'm curious about that too! I've wanted a dog forever. I think a lot of it depends on what breed you get. The bigger dogs probably need more daily attention/walking but puppies in general get mopey if you're not around and you might have to scoop poop out of your shoes. You could always get a chihuahua and stuff him in your back pack

Hey guys. Does anyone out there have a dog that they are planning on taking with them to school? Or, do any of you med students own dogs? Some people have told me it is possible to have a dog while in school if you study at home while others think it is out of the question. If I don't get a puppy sometime soon, I just don't know when I will be able to get a dog in the next 8 years or so. Any advice would be great.

 

[allisonbk]

I have a dog and I defintely plan on taking him wherever I go. Only problem is that I can not live in any sort of school housing.

 

[little_late_MD]

I have a Siberian Husky. This worries me greatly. Not really the housing part, but the walking the dog and paying enough attention to it so that it doesn't eat my house part.

 

[-Goose-]

I have a Jack Russel (15 lbs of pure adrenaline). long legged, all white, except for a brown/black patch that covers his eye and half of his face. Hes the best study-pal ever, so he's going to med school for sure (that is, if I go to medschool--)

 

[erin682]

LOTS of people have dogs in my second year class. You'll have plenty of time the 1st two years to go on walks, and you can make time 3rd year. 4th year is a cake walk so no problem there. The only time you need to worry about it is if you go to a school where you will likely have to do away rotations. Usually the housing you would get would get does not allow dogs. Most schools don't have this though and away rotations are purely optional.

 

[cfdavid]

Yeah, this is a huge issue for me too. I have a 2 1/2 yo golden retreiver, so I'm concerned about being able to give her the excersise she needs. But, she's my "daughter", and I can't think of leaving her. We'll see. I guess it depends on where one goes to school too.

 

[red dot]

i'm really you guys posted this. i was really worried about my dog. one of the major factors on how i'm choosing schools is based on whether or not i can accomodate him. i need to find a place that will allow dogs. ideally it would be a lower half of a house or something with access to a yard.

 

[red dot]

i'm really glad you guys posted this. i was really worried about my dog. one of the major factors on how i'm choosing schools is based on whether or not i can accomodate him. i need to find a place that will allow dogs. ideally it would be a lower half of a house or something with access to a yard.

 

[leia623]

This is going to sound really strange, but if you're worried about not spending enough time with your dog, you may want to consider doggy daycare. I had to do that with my dog while I was working full time and taking classes in the evening. I would drop her off at 6:30am and pick her up around 9pm. Thankfully she loved it at daycare, so she didn't feel neglected. Even a few days a week can make a difference when you don't have enough time to spend with your dog.

 

[Rudy Guliani]

I would warn against this, many schools will not admit you if you own a dog.

 

[Orth2006]

I have a 16 month old dog and I am definetley taking him. He'll be fully grown by the time I hopefully start school in July/August. I just don't know how easy it will be to find accomodation (depending on where I end up going to school) that accepts large dogs. Some of the house/apartment lists I've looked at seem to want smaller dogs and I know I will have to stay off-campus because most schools dont allow dogs in the on-campus housing. I have a german shepherd (75llbs now -prolly 80 by that time). Anyway I think its possible to have a dog. They come in handy for those much needed short breaks from studying. Love my doggie.

 

[Risa]

I have a cat who I reaaaaaaally want to bring with me! He's 14, and I'd be so sad to leave him with my parents and miss out on the last years of his life :-(

 

[SuzieQ3417]

I've got a 1.5 year old Brittany I was planning on bringing...the only exception would be if I went to Mount Sinai. I think it would be unfair to keep such an energetic dog in a tiny NYC apartment, so I would probably have one of my family members take care of her until I am done with med school. (luckily my family loves dogs, so it shouldn't be a burden on them)

 

[Messerschmitts]

I have a cat who I reaaaaaaally want to bring with me! He's 14, and I'd be so sad to leave him with my parents and miss out on the last years of his life :-(

I got two cats! I found 2 abandonned kittens in a park in late May. But I don't think I'd take them to medical school, they'd probably be happier running around in the yard of my parents' house.

 

[penguinophile]

Hey guys. Does anyone out there have a dog that they are planning on taking with them to school? Or, do any of you med students own dogs? Some people have told me it is possible to have a dog while in school if you study at home while others think it is out of the question. If I don't get a puppy sometime soon, I just don't know when I will be able to get a dog in the next 8 years or so. Any advice would be great.

As a person who currently does foster work with dogs, DO NOT GET A PUPPY!!!! Since med school will be rough enough without the late night wake ups because they aren't fully housetrained yet, you should look into a local rescue org (www.petfinder.com) and look for a dog that has been fostered in a house, and is about 1.5-2 yrs old. Although puppies are adorable, it is a huge time committment to train a dog from scratch, plus puppies get adopted quickly, and older dogs deserve some love too.

 

[JennyS211]

I have two dogs and a cat and I would not even THINK of getting rid of them! They're all coming with me, we'll figure something out!

 

[Pretty POHA]

I know!!! One of you dog lovers needs to go to school at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver. And then you can move in with me at my house-- bring your lover-bug dog, and then we can all be a happy family! Yay!!!

 

[EvoDevo]

I have a Siberian Husky. This worries me greatly. Not really the housing part, but the walking the dog and paying enough attention to it so that it doesn't eat my house part.

You have way more free time during your first two years than you think. Having a dog and finding the time to take him/her out several times is not a problem.

 

[primadonna22274]

I'm only considering programs where I can afford to live in a house and keep my four-legged children (two dogs, a German shepherd Elsie and Golden Retriever/border collie mix Henry; four cats--evil Siamese Atticus, calico sisters Nola & Nora, and my baby Milo). This rules out New York and other big cities but I don't like NY anyway. Most likely will stay on the West Coast.
My fuzzy kids keep me sane. If I didn't have them I would resort to ice cream and trashy novels for comfort.

 

[Darth Asclepius]

I have a cat who I reaaaaaaally want to bring with me! He's 14, and I'd be so sad to leave him with my parents and miss out on the last years of his life :-(

Cats aren't that much of a problem. You should be around a decent amount of the time for the first two years. Third year, your cat might get lonely, but you can deal with that then. Dogs are more of an issue because they need to go outside and be walked. Your cat will be just fine if you are gone all day. It's also a lot easier to find housing that allows cats than it is to find housing that allows dogs (at least in my experience). I don't really think that bringing your cat should be an issue. I'm really glad I have my two kitties with me.

 

[nebrfan]

I have a Jack Russel (15 lbs of pure adrenaline). long legged, all white, except for a brown/black patch that covers his eye and half of his face. Hes the best study-pal ever, so he's going to med school for sure (that is, if I go to medschool--)

I've got a border-collie mix - it's like 40 lbs of pure adrenaline with none of the intelligence you'd normally expect from a collie

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

I don't know that I would recommend a puppy to a pre-med who didn't already have a dog. Puppies need an awful lot of time and can become seriously neurotic if constantly left alone for long periods of time. Also, remember that we're going to be poor - my dog would chew anything in sight but it was my $150 Cole-Hahns that she actually *ate*. My dog, despite my best efforts, probably destroyed at least $1,000 worth of property as a puppy. Cats tolerate alone time much better.

Having said all that, though, this is a great topic! I have a 3-year old German Shepherd that I got when she was about 7 months old. She had been raised by an older woman who was an "animal collector" - had 30 dogs before she called for help. My dog was the bottom of the pack and so poorly socialized with people that they considered putting her down. She was not fond of women and probably not a good choice for children.

Enter a single man - me! My dog and I are about as close as two creatures can be - shepherds tend to be one-person dogs anyway. When I talk about med school, I'm often asked if I'm giving the dog away. To me, lifetime commitment means just that. My poor dog, whom I got before I decided I could no longer run away from studying medicine, has already adjusted to long periods alone during my pre-reqs after work each day. But I walk her as often as possible and we have a lot of fun for a couple of hours every evening. I love it when she lays on the bed next to me, trying to "read" the same book I'm studying. It's not an ideal situation, but she would (in my opinion) be hurt far worse by losing the only real home she's ever known.

The dog is a factor in my school decision (assuming I get >1 offers). In Oklahoma, I can probably rent a house with a small yard pretty cheap. She likes staying outside and it's not a problem. Heaven help me if I have to get an apartment with a 70-pound dog. I don't know what we'll do, but we'll manage somehow. She's my fur-kid!!!

 

[Moto]

We have 3 cats, can't imagine leaving them behind. They've got me through the MCAT, prereqs, secondaries. I would rather pay more for housing w/ pet options.

 

[Bluntman]

Haha...thought it said drugs and med school. Oh well maybe I'll start that one next...