Raising a puppy as an MS1

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Raising a puppy as an MS1?


  • Total voters
    71

dnovikov

Full Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2008
Messages
271
Reaction score
10
Hey guys,

Figured I would ask the SDN community a question that I've had for a few weeks now. My friend's dog recently had pups and he offered to sell me one. The problem is I am planning on matriculating to medical school this upcoming august and am not sure whether or not I will have sufficient time to train the pup (its a pitbull) before school starts. The plan is to get the pup within the next few weeks and sufficiently train him/her until august. I live next to a buddy of mine who will also be getting a pup from the litter and is fairly experienced at training dogs so he can show me a few thing. However as an MS1, will the responsibility of caring for a dog be too much of a distraction as I adjust to medical school? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Members don't see this ad.
 
Last edited:
Much as I love dogs, I'd advise against a puppy, especially a pit bull puppy.

1. They need to be walked at minimum every 4 hours until they're about 8-9 months old. They just don't have the bladder capacity to hold it longer. This could be really difficult if you don't have a stay-at-home partner or no mandatory classes.

2. Pit bulls are wonderful dogs, but it's a b**ch to find a rental that will allow them. Unless you already own a house, you'll likely have a really hard time.

3. Housetraining a dog is REALLY hard. Takes a lot of patience and a LOT of time. Other behavioral training is also pretty time consuming.

If you want a dog, I totally get it. But I'd advise getting an older one from a shelter. Shelters nowadays do a great job of screening dogs, and you'll actually have a better idea of what you're getting into. They'll be able to tell you about its personality and whether it's housetrained.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
It would be tough, but doable. The real question is how would you handle it during ms3. Do you have anyone who could watch over it while you are on rotations?
 
Hey guys,

Figured I would ask the SDN community a question that I've had for a few weeks now. My friend's dog recently had pups and he offered to sell me one for a bargain price. The problem is I am planning on matriculating to medical school this upcoming august and am not sure whether or not I will have sufficient time to train the pup (its a pitbull) before school starts. As an MS1, will the responsibility of caring for a dog be too much of a distraction as I adjust to medical school? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I've heard two pieces of advice over and over for embarking on life in medical school. 1) Don't get a dog. 2) Don't buy a house.

Both tie you down needlessly and add extra expense and effort. Not to mention that dogs are incredibly demanding animals that need plenty of attention and that are on a schedule that you have to adhere to. I like the point someone made earlier about landlords being very wary of pit bulls. A good friend with a dog told me how much harder her housing search became before medical school because of having to find a place that would accommodate a dog and a roommate who would be okay with it. I love dogs but it makes no sense to get one and add more stress before the four most demanding years of my life to date.
 
What about a cat? Or are pets in general a bad idea for med students?
 
Hey guys,

Figured I would ask the SDN community a question that I've had for a few weeks now. My friend's dog recently had pups and he offered to sell me one for a bargain price. The problem is I am planning on matriculating to medical school this upcoming august and am not sure whether or not I will have sufficient time to train the pup (its a pitbull) before school starts. As an MS1, will the responsibility of caring for a dog be too much of a distraction as I adjust to medical school? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

How experienced are you with dogs? If you have never had a dog before, then I'd say definitely not. Having a puppy is a major responsibility and as awesome as dogs are, they are not ALL joy, especially when they are being trained. Also, dogs are expensive. If you haven't had a dog before do major research on the costs involved, both time and monetary. A dog is a commitment. The fact and way that you're asking this question leads me to think you don't know enough about dogs and should not get a puppy at this point in time.

If you have enough experience with dogs to know what you are getting into, then the answer is a qualified maybe. If you know that having a dog will make you much happier, and you are confident in your ability to handle the costs and responsibilities, then it is possible. Especially if you would be acquiring the puppy early enough that it's house-trained by the time you start school (although it still won't be able to go all day for a while). I do know people who have dogs are are in medical school, but their dogs are older and well-trained.

Also the person cautioning you about pitbulls in particular as a housing risk is very on point. Pitbulls are considered an insurance risk and many apartments that otherwise allow dogs outright ban the 'dangerous' breeds (I disagree that pitbulls should as a group be included on those types of lists, but that's the way it is in many places). In many major cities you'd be SOL trying to find decent affordable housing with a pitbull in tow.

What about a cat? Or are pets in general a bad idea for med students?

Cats are a completely different story in terms of time commitment and if it fits your budget I don't see a reason to not get a cat. It's really not comparable to getting a puppy.
 
It depends on your circumstance, and you haven't offered enough detail for the SDN community to provide an answer tailored to you. Still, you have been given some good general advice that you can use to assess the risk associated with you getting a canine companion.

FWIW, I have a young dog and will be getting another one after relocating for medical school. But, I also have years of experience with dogs while in a rigorous academic program (PhD), and a wife that will split responsibilities with me or take them over when I can't, and who will help devote enough time to our buddies to ensure that they have a happy and healthy life as well.

I do consider it unfair to get a dog when you are unable to devote reasonable, if not substantial, resources to care for it. Unless your situation is unique, getting a dog that falls in the breed-restriction category (which pitbulls do, unfortunately) is unwise. If a significant part of your consideration of getting a dog is because of its pricetag, I would argue that you are not ready to own one.
 
I've had both cats and dogs.
Having a cat is easy. You can totally do that. A cat can stay at home alone for a couple of days if you leave enough food and water.
Having a dog is a different story. A dog requires a lot more attention and care. In general, I am all for having pets in med school because they will bring you a lot of positivity and will fill that void from having to spend time away from friends and family. I work with an ER Doc who had a chocolate lab when he went to med school and residency. A couple of times he brought the lab to work. So, in general, I think you can do it; however, it should not be a pitbull. It should be a dog that is easy to train and handle.
 
If it's the first time you are owning a dog, however, then M1 is not the time to start. Give yourself at least 8 months to get one before you start school.
When you get a puppy, it's like having a new born baby.
You need visits to the VET every 2 weeks for vaccinations/shots, checkups and all that anti-viral puppy stuff - can be expensive. The first 6 months will be challenging. She will cry/yelp/whine/bark/scream/shaking her crate like a vicious lion (next to your bed-where u need to have her so she can smell you or feel a presence) in the middle of the night for no apparent reason - waking u up from sleep grinding your teeth, you start to wonder if a vicious animal has really snuck into your house, eaten her and taken over. You open her crate and see those beautiful brown puppy eyes and realize it's her causing all these drama and she just needed attention and a hug. She's peeped all over herself too, vomit and perhaps poop too? You clean her up, sing her a lullaby and rock her back to sleep only to wake up 1hr later to the same drama. Hopefully neighbors don't complain depending on where you live. You get so tired and frustrated one day you find yourself barking back at her, doing karate moves across the floor with an invisible entity in the middle of the night - then you really scare her. Problem fixed! She realizes she has a crazy owner that is ohh so scary. She gets it. Finally she gets it. She stops, finds a new way to frustrate you.

Now unto the poop. She will poop/pee in unexpected places (including on your couch, if your dog is like mine). She will have poop hanging from her butt and decide she wants to play tag and have you chasing her around to see if you can catch her. You try to catch her cos u don't want her to sit on your treasured places. You try to give her a bathe and she escapes and puts wet dog smell/poop smeared all over your beautifully laid out apartment while wagging her tail and having fun thinking she's playing. With soapy water on the floor, you may fall down and break your neck in this process and perhaps you don't.

One day you break down and cry...you just cry. You've had enough, this is too time much, frustrating, time consuming, what have you.... You need to give her a bathe quite often like every other day cos she is still a puppy and puppies just smell - you can't really hug her too much unless she's clean. She hasn't learned to hold her pee yet (until about 6 months) so she will pee wherever she finds herself. She particularly likes to pee on your rug, your couch, your bed, your pillow, or anything that looks like will soak up her pee (so you don't see it enough to point your finger at it and tell her "no pee"). You try to train her and she gets confused even more and she attempts to poop on your couch as well so you can sit on it and we can all pretend it's yours!

Now unto the bites. The puppy sharp tooth. God help you that you don't have an angry dog that's greedy for food...Try passing by her bone.. Meaty fluffy biscuit bone. That day, let her see your feet pass by in the horizon...you will really wish you had adopted a lion instead...

Don't do it my friend! Do not do it ... unless you are ready...
 
Last edited:
Please do not get a dog unless you live with someone reliable who is not a medical student/full time worker. MS1 and MS2 aren't a big deal. Yeah you'll be studying a lot, but unless you go to a school with mandatory all-day class, you can be home with the dog most of the day or at least go home to let him out to pee during the day. The real issue is MS3 and MS4 where you'll be on rotations, usually away from your apartment for 8-12+ hours. You'd have to hire someone to go to your house multiple times per day to take your dog out and feed it. Then residency. It's extremely unfair to the dog to be home alone for 12+ hours.

Very very few people in my class have a dog (less than 5 people), and those that do have dogs live with significant others who can be home to care for the dog. If you want an animal for companionship, get a cat. They are much more independent.
 
I am applying this cycle and am not in Med school but let me tell you this is a HORRIBLE IDEA. I worked in a veterinary clinic for two years and also in shelter medicine and have seen many young people come in with busy lives and ended up with a bad pet. They didn't commit to proper training/socialization due to school and work and ended up with a destructive force. It does not matter the breed, every dog needs training. I'd recommend a cat-like a two year old. That's been trained. Plus cats usually don't care if you are gone for extended periods of time. At least both of mine don't. I know its tempting to take a cute puppy but leave it to when you are set in your career and can properly train it so you can enjoy it more.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Med student with two cats. I love them and they are a huge stress relief. If you want to get a dog, I suggest finding a roommate who has a dog. I'm sure you'll be able to find someone. That way you get to play with the dog all you want (well, as much as your roommate lets you), but you don't have to be responsible for the dog. Best deal!
 
Anybody have any opinions on bearded dragons? They look awesome and seem to be relatively low maintenance. I was thinking of calling mine Balerion the Black Dread, or maybe Ancalagon the Destroyer. During halloweens, I would tape some paper wings on him and we would go out to wreak havoc on the neighborhood.

After a long day of rotations, I and the little guy can chill and watch some TV. Me with a nice pale ale, him with crickets or worms or whatever. Oh man, it'll be sweet!
 
Anybody have any opinions on bearded dragons? They look awesome and seem to be relatively low maintenance. I was thinking of calling mine Balerion the Black Dread, or maybe Ancalagon the Destroyer. During halloweens, I would tape some paper wings on him and we would go out to wreak havoc on the neighborhood.

After a long day of rotations, I and the little guy can chill and watch some TV. Me with a nice pale ale, him with crickets or worms or whatever. Oh man, it'll be sweet!

Bearded dragons are easy to take care of. I have had mine for 6 years. 🙂 He is even missing a foot from an amputation and part of his tail and is doing just fine.
 
Hey guys,

Figured I would ask the SDN community a question that I've had for a few weeks now. My friend's dog recently had pups and he offered to sell me one for a bargain price. The problem is I am planning on matriculating to medical school this upcoming august and am not sure whether or not I will have sufficient time to train the pup (its a pitbull) before school starts. As an MS1, will the responsibility of caring for a dog be too much of a distraction as I adjust to medical school? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Raising a puppy is quite a bit of work. If you feel the need to get a pet, get yourself something requiring a bit less maintenance. An adult dog is still a bit of work, but will normally be trained/housebroken. Cats are less maintenance, but depending on their personality, they may destroy your stuff/piss everywhere if they're needy and there's no one else at home for long periods of time. Fish are a safe option.
 
I'm with you OP, I just adopted a dog last summer after I graduated from college. For many of the reasons listed above though, I chose to rescue an older dog with low energy. Adopting a senior dog may be the way to go for you because you can give it a few great years it wouldn't normally have (since these dogs are often the least desirable at shelters) and not have to worry about taking care of it 5-10 years down the line.
 
Hey guys,

Figured I would ask the SDN community a question that I've had for a few weeks now. My friend's dog recently had pups and he offered to sell me one for a bargain price. The problem is I am planning on matriculating to medical school this upcoming august and am not sure whether or not I will have sufficient time to train the pup (its a pitbull) before school starts. As an MS1, will the responsibility of caring for a dog be too much of a distraction as I adjust to medical school? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I found a puppy as an MS1 and kept her. I had plenty of time to take care of her during the first two years of school, and became profoundly attached to her. Problems started as an MS3. Initially I would drop her off with a friend (not in med school) every morning. I had to have a friend who was willing to get up between 5 to 6 am just for my sake. Then that friend moved away before MS4, and this year has been difficult. My dog is too lonely to be left alone all day as often as I have to go to the hospital. So I have to leave her with a family member for days on end while I am on a surgery rotation. When I was going on residency interviews, I had to leave her with that person as well. The dog is clearly distressed by this and is happy when we're all in one place. I think she'd have a better quality of life with my family member . . . which is now heartbreaking for me. Forget about med school -- the hours in residency (particularly in certain specialties and at certain programs) are where this really becomes unbearable. I will either have to find a very unique roommate wherever I go for residency (and be sure I did not want a roommate at this age) or give my dog away to my family member for good depending on where I match on Friday. If I could go back in time, I would not have kept this little stray -- I love her to pieces and this is breaking my heart and kind of ruining the whole residency/match process.
 
I found a puppy as an MS1 and kept her. I had plenty of time to take care of her during the first two years of school, and became profoundly attached to her. Problems started as an MS3. Initially I would drop her off with a friend (not in med school) every morning. I had to have a friend who was willing to get up between 5 to 6 am just for my sake. Then that friend moved away before MS4, and this year has been difficult. My dog is too lonely to be left alone all day as often as I have to go to the hospital. So I have to leave her with a family member for days on end while I am on a surgery rotation. When I was going on residency interviews, I had to leave her with that person as well. The dog is clearly distressed by this and is happy when we're all in one place. I think she'd have a better quality of life with my family member . . . which is now heartbreaking for me. Forget about med school -- the hours in residency (particularly in certain specialties and at certain programs) are where this really becomes unbearable. I will either have to find a very unique roommate wherever I go for residency (and be sure I did not want a roommate at this age) or give my dog away to my family member for good depending on where I match on Friday. If I could go back in time, I would not have kept this little stray -- I love her to pieces and this is breaking my heart and kind of ruining the whole residency/match process.

😢 Best of luck to you on Friday, hope things work out for the best for both you and your dog.
 
Please do not get a dog unless you live with someone reliable who is not a medical student/full time worker. MS1 and MS2 aren't a big deal. Yeah you'll be studying a lot, but unless you go to a school with mandatory all-day class, you can be home with the dog most of the day or at least go home to let him out to pee during the day. The real issue is MS3 and MS4 where you'll be on rotations, usually away from your apartment for 8-12+ hours. You'd have to hire someone to go to your house multiple times per day to take your dog out and feed it. Then residency. It's extremely unfair to the dog to be home alone for 12+ hours.

Very very few people in my class have a dog (less than 5 people), and those that do have dogs live with significant others who can be home to care for the dog. If you want an animal for companionship, get a cat. They are much more independent.


A little off topic - but all this is making me wonder how people with kids handle MS3 and MS4. I met a medical student (MS1) on one of my interviews who is a single parent with an infant - she must have some plan for managing this when she reaches MS3. She must be working so hard. (Seeing people like this on the interview trail was very humbling!)

(I do have an adult dog, and there is a plan for my clinical rotations and residency - but it absolutely relies on my SO, our dog-loving friends and family, and professional doggy care agencies, and it will still be really difficult.)

I found a puppy as an MS1 and kept her. I had plenty of time to take care of her during the first two years of school, and became profoundly attached to her. Problems started as an MS3. Initially I would drop her off with a friend (not in med school) every morning. I had to have a friend who was willing to get up between 5 to 6 am just for my sake. Then that friend moved away before MS4, and this year has been difficult. My dog is too lonely to be left alone all day as often as I have to go to the hospital. So I have to leave her with a family member for days on end while I am on a surgery rotation. When I was going on residency interviews, I had to leave her with that person as well. The dog is clearly distressed by this and is happy when we're all in one place. I think she'd have a better quality of life with my family member . . . which is now heartbreaking for me. Forget about med school -- the hours in residency (particularly in certain specialties and at certain programs) are where this really becomes unbearable. I will either have to find a very unique roommate wherever I go for residency (and be sure I did not want a roommate at this age) or give my dog away to my family member for good depending on where I match on Friday. If I could go back in time, I would not have kept this little stray -- I love her to pieces and this is breaking my heart and kind of ruining the whole residency/match process.

I'm so sorry. My dog is my baby, and I can't even imagine what it would be like to give him up. Good luck with both him and the match.
 
As a vet student, I would say don't get a dog your first year of med school (for many reasons, many of which have already been stated). If you must, get a cat. Be aware, though, that **** happens, and pets have medical bills. So if you do get a pet, put some $ aside every month for emergencies, or get pet insurance.
 
A little off topic - but all this is making me wonder how people with kids handle MS3 and MS4. I met a medical student (MS1) on one of my interviews who is a single parent with an infant - she must have some plan for managing this when she reaches MS3. She must be working so hard. (Seeing people like this on the interview trail was very humbling!).

It is hard work. There are 3 people in my class with children, one of them has 3 kids, and I honestly don't know how she does it. Her husband works full time and I believe the wife of another classmate is their nanny/babysitter. She has an extremely regimented schedule for herself and she is a great student, but I know she works really hard.
 
Anybody have any opinions on bearded dragons? They look awesome and seem to be relatively low maintenance. I was thinking of calling mine Balerion the Black Dread, or maybe Ancalagon the Destroyer. During halloweens, I would tape some paper wings on him and we would go out to wreak havoc on the neighborhood.

After a long day of rotations, I and the little guy can chill and watch some TV. Me with a nice pale ale, him with crickets or worms or whatever. Oh man, it'll be sweet!

I've had bearded dragons before. They do look pretty awesome and, despite their aggressive and spiky look, they are completely docile. In terms of maintenance, sometimes I forgot I even had a lizard to take care of once it got 2+ years old. Towards the end of its lifetime, I didn't even have a tank for it anymore. It just lived in the house and fed on roaches (although we still gave it crickets and mealworms) and ran out to sit around in the sun during the daytime. Plus, you won't ever get rejected by your dragon because a cold blood animal will glue itself to any warm body it can find.

As for me, I'm going to get at least two guinea pigs. 😍
 
Much as I love dogs, I'd advise against a puppy, especially a pit bull puppy.

1. They need to be walked at minimum every 4 hours until they're about 8-9 months old. They just don't have the bladder capacity to hold it longer. This could be really difficult if you don't have a stay-at-home partner or no mandatory classes.

2. Pit bulls are wonderful dogs, but it's a b**ch to find a rental that will allow them. Unless you already own a house, you'll likely have a really hard time.

3. Housetraining a dog is REALLY hard. Takes a lot of patience and a LOT of time. Other behavioral training is also pretty time consuming.

If you want a dog, I totally get it. But I'd advise getting an older one from a shelter. Shelters nowadays do a great job of screening dogs, and you'll actually have a better idea of what you're getting into. They'll be able to tell you about its personality and whether it's housetrained.

Puppies are also expensive, and you should absolutely enroll your dog in puppies classes and an obedience class ($200-$250). Proper socialization during a dog's early weeks is important (particularly 10-16 weeks of age), and failure to properly socialize a dog can lead to, among other things, aggression and behavioral problems. These classes can go pretty far in helping with it, and it will make your life easier. Also, with the time constraints of a MS1, think about whether your puppy will get all of the exercise it needs. Puppies are more energetic than older dogs. Don't be fooled if your puppy sleeps a lot at first. My golden retriever puppy was extremely laid back and slept a good portion of the day for the first two weeks, then her energy exploded.

Also factor in the vet bills. The immunizations for puppies are also series, and vaccines aren't cheap (about $250 total, not necessarily counting examination fees, etc.). If you want to potty train your dog, you'll need a crate and a good one that will fit a pit bull will cost approximately $100. And watch your dog like a hawk. My mother threw rib bones in the trash can (despite the fact I had specifically placed the bones where the dog couldn't get to it), and my puppy swallowed a pork rib bone (about 5" whole) on Christmas Eve no less and was forced to take my dog to the emergency vet. Imagine my dismay when I was given three options: Have an emergency endoscopy at $2k-$3k, emergency surgery at $3k, or to wait it out. The point of this anecdote: you should always be prepared for unexpected emergency vet bills. Don't forget that having your dog spayed or neutered can cost $75-$150.

And then comes potential issues with living arrangements. Many landlords will charge non-refundable pet deposits (usually $300-$500+) and/or charge pet "rent" on top of it. This is an additional added cost. And if you have a pit bull, you can be prepared to rule out a number of housing options.

I agree with the other poster that a puppy may not be as good an option for a medical student as a senior dog or at least an adult. They can go longer with bathroom breaks, are less energetic, and with moderate amounts of exercise tend to be much happier. Seniors especially, are often happy with a couple of good walks a day and pretty much want to lay by the heater or on the floor all day. :/
 
Thought I should share this to explain the situation a bit more, by the time I start medical school, the dog will be around 6-7 months old. I can devote a lot of time until August so I plan on doing my best to train the pup alongside guidance from a close friend who has raised a pitbull himself.
 
Thought I should share this to explain the situation a bit more, by the time I start medical school, the dog will be around 6-7 months old. I can devote a lot of time until August so I plan on doing my best to train the pup alongside guidance from a close friend who has raised a pitbull himself.

That's about the age of my dog currently; she is still a lot of work!
 
Cats are easier, they know how to use the bathroom by them self, sleep all day, shower by themself, and are cuddly.

If you have someone to help you with a puppy, it can be manageable. It's like all those girls taking care of newborn babies in med school, not something you ever want to do alone.
 
Thought I should share this to explain the situation a bit more, by the time I start medical school, the dog will be around 6-7 months old. I can devote a lot of time until August so I plan on doing my best to train the pup alongside guidance from a close friend who has raised a pitbull himself.

The training of the dog is the least of your worries. It's really not a difficult feat to train an intelligent breed from a puppy. Just think about the quality of life of the dog in 3 years when you're an MS3. A girl in my class who lives alone with her dog is planning to hire someone to come to her house every day to feed and walk her dog during clerkships. That's a pretty huge expense, not to mention unfair to the poor dog who won't have very much interaction with you.

Again, I only think it would be feasible to get a dog if you have a significant other or something who will be there to take care of him when you're otherwise occupied for most of the day.
 
The training of the dog is the least of your worries. It's really not a difficult feat to train an intelligent breed from a puppy. Just think about the quality of life of the dog in 3 years when you're an MS3. A girl in my class who lives alone with her dog is planning to hire someone to come to her house every day to feed and walk her dog during clerkships. That's a pretty huge expense, not to mention unfair to the poor dog who won't have very much interaction with you.

Again, I only think it would be feasible to get a dog if you have a significant other or something who will be there to take care of him when you're otherwise occupied for most of the day.

There is a trade-off between increased intelligence and dogs being more independent minded. My golden retriever is incredibly intelligent and was easy to train on most things; however, she is also stubborn and there are a few thing where she blatantly refuses to do (like not getting on my bed, etc.) even though she'll jump off when she sees that I am looking. She knows she's not allowed there, but will do it when she thinks no one is watching. She is incredibly sneaky and it isn't limited to this one thing. Some dogs are harder to train on some things than others, and sometimes trainers are needed, hence the reason I suggested that as a limiting factor. Even intelligent dogs with good training (this is my third golden, and she's been the hardest by far) can require a professional obedience class.

Of course, my sample size is quite limited. 🙁
 
Don't do it my friend!

I absolutely must agree. Don't do it. I will be graduating this year. I have a friend who is graduating next year who said it was an awful decision to get a dog in MS2 when he should have been studying. Now he's afraid he won't match.

Do not underestimate this. Learning the foundations of medicine takes significant time and dedication. Animals do too....
 
Thought I should share this to explain the situation a bit more, by the time I start medical school, the dog will be around 6-7 months old. I can devote a lot of time until August so I plan on doing my best to train the pup alongside guidance from a close friend who has raised a pitbull himself.

You're being shortsighted. The problem isn't first year and puppy training. It's only partly MS3 and/or MS4. The problem is residency. Your dog will be 4 years old, love you, and you'll do what? take it to doggie daycare at 5am every single day before work? Count on someone else (family, significant other, friend, roommate?) to take care of it when you're home less than 8 hours every 24 hours? Every residency has some rotations that are better/worse than others, but overall they are universally worse than medical school.

Don't be selfish. It's a sentient being. It's going to be sad if you leave it that much. You can train it not to eat your shoes or potty in the house, but you can't teach it not to be lonely or miss you.
 
Last edited:
There is a trade-off between increased intelligence and dogs being more independent minded. My golden retriever is incredibly intelligent and was easy to train on most things; however, she is also stubborn and there are a few thing where she blatantly refuses to do (like not getting on my bed, etc.) even though she'll jump off when she sees that I am looking. She knows she's not allowed there, but will do it when she thinks no one is watching. She is incredibly sneaky and it isn't limited to this one thing. Some dogs are harder to train on some things than others, and sometimes trainers are needed, hence the reason I suggested that as a limiting factor. Even intelligent dogs with good training (this is my third golden, and she's been the hardest by far) can require a professional obedience class.

Of course, my sample size is quite limited. 🙁

Oh I definitely think there are dogs that are too smart for their own good. I raised a lab from 8 weeks old and he learned commands extremely quickly. Only had 3 accidents in the house before he was house trained. He's 7 and a half now, and when no one is looking, we'll find him on someone's bed upstairs even though he knows full well that he's not supposed to be there. While he knows all the basic commands and he'll do them if he knows we mean business, often he'll just give us this look like "hah. make me." But he's cute and generally awesome so I guess it's okay 🙂

I can see the benefit of actual training classes, we had help when we were training my dog. I was just referring to the fact that training the dog is the least of OP's worries. The welfare of the dog is a more important consideration.
 
People who suggest cats instead of dogs, I still see one problem that I can't think of a way past. There is traveling involved in medical school including visiting home for breaks (if you're OOS), away rotations, and residency interviews. How do you handle this, especially if you're traveling by air? I suppose that you can get somebody to take care of it for a few days but a month or two might be unreasonable.
 
People who suggest cats instead of dogs, I still see one problem that I can't think of a way past. There is traveling involved in medical school including visiting home for breaks (if you're OOS), away rotations, and residency interviews. How do you handle this, especially if you're traveling by air? I suppose that you can get somebody to take care of it for a few days but a month or two might be unreasonable.

A TON of people in my class have cats, several people have multiple. I'm potentially adopting a cat after boards. There are plenty of people who don't go home for breaks (people from Cali/west coast) as well as people who live in the area who don't mind stopping in and feeding the cat(s) for a week or two for some extra cash. The only extended breaks are MS1 summer, during which most people do research here anyway, and away rotations, where you either have a roommate or a close friend or family member take care of the cat for the 4 or 8 weeks. I have a roommate, so that solves that problem.
 
People who suggest cats instead of dogs, I still see one problem that I can't think of a way past. There is traveling involved in medical school including visiting home for breaks (if you're OOS), away rotations, and residency interviews. How do you handle this, especially if you're traveling by air? I suppose that you can get somebody to take care of it for a few days but a month or two might be unreasonable.

If I'm gone for a month, and I have a cat, I would use a cat carrier. My sister had one of those when she moved cross country with her cat.
 
I have a four year old husky that my girlfriend and I rescued last year. She'll be working full time while I'm in med school (or at least for the next two years until she applies to PA school) and we will crate her for those 8 hours a day. After that there is always doggy daycare.

There is a huge difference between getting a puppy and getting a young adult/adult/senior dog. I wouldn't take on any of these obligations if I didn't have someone else alongside me committed to making it work.
 
Can we turn this thread into one where we just post pictures of puppies?
 
Hey guys,

Figured I would ask the SDN community a question that I've had for a few weeks now. My friend's dog recently had pups and he offered to sell me one. The problem is I am planning on matriculating to medical school this upcoming august and am not sure whether or not I will have sufficient time to train the pup (its a pitbull) before school starts. The plan is to get the pup within the next few weeks and sufficiently train him/her until august. I live next to a buddy of mine who will also be getting a pup from the litter and is fairly experienced at training dogs so he can show me a few thing. However as an MS1, will the responsibility of caring for a dog be too much of a distraction as I adjust to medical school? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!


I have two dogs. The first I got before med school and just got the second pup just a few weeks ago (end of MS4 basically). Pretty much solid advice in this thread so far. With that said, as far as dogs are concerned I would absolutely recommend either having roommate support, a SO, or willing family member readily available to help you out now and in the future. If you don't have that resources you could be looking at expensive doggie day cares, dog walkers/sitters, etc. if you are being fair to you dog.

1st and 2nd year are definitely doable outside of mandatory lectures or gross anatomy labs.. If you've never raised a pup before, you are in for stress in addition to the starting medical school stress. So don't put yourself in that situtation if you don't think you can handle the monetary, training, and attention stresses in addition to medical school.

3rd year will have rotations where it'll pretty much not be doable without assistance(or just unfair to the pup/dog depending on how you look at it.). Whether that means a rotation in a different city, or long hours(OB/GYN, Surgery, call nights). Of course I had my SO available to look after the pup. Some of my other classmates had to offload the dog onto their parents for a month or so at a time. 4th year can mostly be doable especially after the 1st half(Acting Internships, Aways rotations, and Interviews are done by this point).

And since we are posting photos:
wgBnkw8.jpg

l24117d.jpg
 
I'm actually debating the same thing. My boyfriend really wants a puppy, I know how much work puppies are, bright side is they'll keep each other busy while I'm studying my butt off, right? Do realize that with larger breeds if you don't keep them busy or exercise them they will become destructive. Especially the smarter breeds, they'll get into everything out of boredom. Definitely agree with everyone that if you have a roommate or someone willing to play with, let out, etc during the day it'll all work out. Personally, I don't like leaving the little ones alone for longer than 3-4 hours max just because of their small bladders and tendency to get into things, so if you have to attend classes I would suggest getting an older dog. I'm bringing one of my small dogs with me because she's now 3 and completely ok on her own for long periods of time.

Since we're adding pictures this is one of my english setters that I have to leave with my dad when I move. He likes sitting on chairs and is too chicken to jump off of them haha:

IMG_0224.jpg
 
There is a trade-off between increased intelligence and dogs being more independent minded. My golden retriever is incredibly intelligent and was easy to train on most things; however, she is also stubborn and there are a few thing where she blatantly refuses to do (like not getting on my bed, etc.) even though she'll jump off when she sees that I am looking. She knows she's not allowed there, but will do it when she thinks no one is watching. She is incredibly sneaky and it isn't limited to this one thing. Some dogs are harder to train on some things than others, and sometimes trainers are needed, hence the reason I suggested that as a limiting factor. Even intelligent dogs with good training (this is my third golden, and she's been the hardest by far) can require a professional obedience class.

Of course, my sample size is quite limited. 🙁
Sneaky as can be!! Damn dogs.... like this bad boy here! 😀
 
Top