How hard is it to have a dog in med school?

[TallPreMed]

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Speaking about dogs and med school

Dogs also don't have to wear makeup vs med students who do

 

[lalex]

Hm if you're going to joke, make it funny ugh. You disappointed me Premed.

Dogs also don't have to wear makeup vs med students who do

 

[691622]

I'm going to get a puppy/kitten this summer. I'm taking two gap years before medical school (hopefully). So, I trust myself to train a dog more than I do by picking an adult from the shelter that may/may not be trained.

How are you able to take 2 gap years when you said you're already accepted to medical school?

 

[samac]

How are you able to take 2 gap years when you said you're already accepted to medical school?

Cause he's a-trolling

 

[lalex]

How are you able to take 2 gap years when you said you're already accepted to medical school?

Because I thought people would think someone who did not yet apply could not get in. But I overestimated SDN's intelligence.

 

[NickNaylor]

It is certainly possible to have a dog during medical school, though it will be varying degrees of difficult depending on your circumstances.

My wife and I got two cats (both ~a year old) and a dog (~4 months old) while I was in medical school. We got the cats at the end of M1 year and the dog towards the end of my M2 year. During the pre-clinical years, you could probably do whatever you wanted if you weren't planning on going to class. Keep in mind, though, that even if that is your strategy, there will likely be some days where you will need to spend a significant time away from home.

From my own experience, there is no way that I would've been able to care for a dog - puppy or adult - on my own once I hit the wards. Your schedule is simply too unpredictable and and you will be spending a lot of time at the hospital (I would assume 10-12 hour days at least). Even for a trained adult dog, that's a stretch. If you don't have any roommates or significant others that are willing to help you, you will be relying a lot on services to help you (walking services, doggy daycares, etc.), which cost a lot of money. Also keep in mind that having a dog ties you down quite a bit; doing something like taking a weekend trip out of town is made much more difficult and/or expensive by having a dog. When my wife and I went on our honeymoon, we had to pay $50/day for boarding, which added another ~$400 to our trip cost. Just for our dog.

I love my dog and don't regret getting her. But if you're fine with either dogs or cats, then I would get a cat far and away above a dog. They're low-maintenance, loving animals if you give them some attention. They can do well on their own, so your crazy schedule has less of an impact on your ability to care for them. Even if we went on week-long trips, my wife and I would just leave out a big bowl of water and a feeder bowl and make sure to clean the litter boxes and they were good to go. All and all, I think cats are much more suitable for the average medical student.

That said, if you do end up deciding to get a dog, think carefully about your ability to care for it and the demands on your time independent of taking care of the dog. This is doubly true if you've never had a dog before. A puppy in particular basically operates at the level of an infant. They require constant attention, will pee and poop all over your floors until you get them trained, and will likely destroy just about everything in your home that they can get to. They are a lot of work, and most medical students don't realistically have the time to take on that responsibility on their own without significant help.

 

[Kaz]

OP, take the advice of the kind-hearted people above and try to determine if it's worth your time to get a dog or will fit your schedule or something once med school rolls around. You'll probably have less time to spend on SDN.

...In your case, I think you (and we) would benefit a lot from it.

 

[takeurmeds02]

I wanted a dog too. I dog sitted for a friend for the weekend. I'm thinking twice. You really have to coordinate feeding, walking, and playing with your dog and quite frankly, it's hard. It wouldn't be fair to the dog. Try and dog sit for a friend if you can. The only caveat is if you know you're going to have support in taking care of him/her.

 

[Toutie]

I'm going to get a puppy/kitten this summer. I'm taking two gap years before medical school (hopefully). So, I trust myself to train a dog more than I do by picking an adult from the shelter that may/may not be trained.

Are you going to take the dog/cat with you when you go to med school in Europe or the Caribbean?

 

[Benjoe11]

Because I thought people would think someone who did not yet apply could not get in. But I overestimated SDN's intelligence.

What?? Am I the only one who doesn't understand this sentence??

 

[lalex]

Are you going to take the dog/cat with you when you go to med school in Europe or the Caribbean?

In Europe, probably. I don't see an issue there. Caribbean, probably not.

 

[lalex]

What?? Am I the only one who doesn't understand this sentence??

Rephrase: To me it was like someone asking me if I was a girl. Stupid questions deserve stupid responses.

 

[691622]

dont feed the troll

 

[TallPreMed]

YES! THE BANHAMMER HAS BEEN BROUGHT DOWN ON THIS TROLLOP!!!! #goadmin #goodmove

 

[candbgirl]

So what finally caused the ban hammer to drop?

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

So what finally caused the ban hammer to drop?

Streampawisms

 

[Glandzburg]

So what finally caused the ban hammer to drop?

In Lee's new sticky thread, I believe it was said that there would be explanations when members are banned. Mods, I'm curious about lalex's fate. Thanks.

 

[idontwatchgreysanatomy]

Wait, so lalex is a guy?

 

[TallPreMed]

In Lee's new sticky thread, I believe it was said that there would be explanations when members are banned. Mods, I'm curious about lalex's fate. Thanks.

I feel like the garbage that spewed forth onto this forum from lalex is explanation enough for why she was banned.

 

[Petypet]

It's fine as long as your are responsible and have at least 1 person to help out. I have 2 cats and 2 dogs, and between my wife and I it works out. If you are putting more than 80 hours in as ms1-2 you are doing it wrong. Ms3-4 we do doggy day care or my in laws so they aren't crated every week day. Some days they are crated but they have a good home and get love and food, which is a lot better than most dogs stuck in a shelter.

As someone eluded to previously the costs add up. I take one pet to the vet 2-3 times a year.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Goro]

The constant insipid questions and the melt-down he had in one of the other threads.

I was waiting for him to post something like:

"Can doctors own pencils?"

"Do med students wear shoes?"

So what finally caused the ban hammer to drop?

 

[TallPreMed]

Just creeped on all of streampaws threads. Lalex is definitely streampaw.

THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I REPEAT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL

 

[Lawpy]

lalex got troll sprayed

 

[ditritium monoxide]

I don't know about you all, but I thought lalex was a funny troll. However, rules are rules, and trolls aren't allowed.

 

[gwooooooooooooooooooood]

People regularly have both, just make sure you know the time commitment and constraints of your living arrangement. And it is FAR easier to get your pet in year 1 or 2 when you have a lot of control over your schedule. Getting a dog/cat in 3rd year is not too advisable as you lose control over your hours (and won't be able to go home to take care of problems with your pet).

 

[Glandzburg]

TBH, I thought this whole time that lalex was just a bit of an airhead seeking actual advice. 10/10 troll job I guess. 😵