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Odd question I know, but I've been considering getting a dog before I head off to law school in the fall and I'm just curious to see if anybody else is planning on doing the same thing or if any current law student has had an experience with this. I know time constraints can be pressing as a 1L and I wanted to see if anybody out there has successfully taken care of/trained a dog with all of the time commitments! Thanks!

i've been wondering this too!!! I would loooove to get a dog next year, but I'm thinking practically and financially, it might be a bad choice. Also the dog might hate me for never spending time with it.

My cousin is in a T14 and has a dog. I'm sure its some work, but pays serous dividends in stress relief.

lawschooliseasy wrote:My cousin is in a T14 and has a dog. I'm sure its some work, but pays serous dividends in stress relief.

My girlfriend and I already have a cat, and depending on finances would love to get a dog. Stress relief and companionship FTW!

goblue1646 wrote:i've been wondering this too!!! I would loooove to get a dog next year, but I'm thinking practically and financially, it might be a bad choice. Also the dog might hate me for never spending time with it.

I know! I totally get the financial part of it, I wonder if student loans will cover dog food lol!

Also remember apartment fees. We had to dish out $500 for the privilege of letting our dog live in our apartment next year.

I'd imagine that most of it comes down to what kind of dog it is and what your living arrangements are. It'd be much harder to have a Mastiff and go to NYU than it would be to have a Bassett Hound at Washington and Lee. Also way easier to care for a dog if you live with people that can help and keep it company when you're gone.

I would train it before 1L year starts (like work with it for a month or two prior since u'll be leaving the dog a few hrs every day for school) but come on, 1L isn't prison, you still have free time just not much and you can't waste the little you have. Yes, you can play with/take a dog on walks and still be a successful 1L.

I have two dogs and a cat, so yes, I plan on having time to care for them.

I bought a puppy a week before 1L, and I love him, but at times it made things a little harder. Some things to consider:
1. Do you want to study at home? Especially f you live in an apt. where a dog can't go in the back yard through a doggy door etc. (which is true for most 1Ls), you are going to have to let the dog outside to go to the bathroom several times a day, so you can't just stay at school from 7 am to 10 pm. I studied completely at home, so I left right after class every day.
2. Are you going to have the funds to set aside some extra money for shots/food/routine vet care AND unexpected emergencies? I had to take my puppy to the vet twice last semester because he ate something weird (which puppies have a tendency to do).
3. Do you want a puppy or an an older rescue dog? A puppy will be more expensive to provide vet care for, will require being let out to go to the bathroom more often, and will take more time to train etc. I recommend getting a puppy earlier than a week before 1L haha. If you could get one in the spring and potty train it etc., it will require a lot less time when you get into 1L year.

All in all, I love my puppy and he was a great distraction during study breaks and also provided company because he would just chill on hi bed by my desk while I studied during the day, but I would consider the drawbacks too because you don't want to have to give a puppy/dog away because you can't handle it during 1L year.

goblue1646 wrote:i've been wondering this too!!! I would loooove to get a dog next year, but I'm thinking practically and financially, it might be a bad choice. Also the dog might hate me for never spending time with it.

dogs don't hate people who own them. its sad but true, also kinda nice

I was wondering this too!! I'm leaning towards getting a cat...just because they don't need too too much attention and like to their own thing.

I got a dog recently and will be going to law school in the fall. I'm not to worried about it. I'm working full-time currently and have found the time to take care of the little guy (he is 4 months old)

All you really need is a spare hour or two in your day.

Please do a search, there are MANY MANY previous threads on this topic.

Very, very easy to have a dog. Law school isn't THAT time-consuming.

However, dogs live longer than three years. What happens when you start working 80 hrs/week?

Awesome, thanks everybody! I plan on hopefully going to Wake Forest, so looks like I'll have a dog in tow!

HUGE difference between buying a dog right before law school and having one that is trained and obedient going into LS

sdegarmo wrote:HUGE difference between buying a dog right before law school and having one that is trained and obedient going into LS

Yeah, that's definitely what I was thinking. That's why I'm getting one now so I could hopefully have it trained well enough for the fall!

dhatfie1 wrote:

sdegarmo wrote:HUGE difference between buying a dog right before law school and having one that is trained and obedient going into LS

Yeah, that's definitely what I was thinking. That's why I'm getting one now so I could hopefully have it trained well enough for the fall!

stay away from alphas!

sdegarmo wrote:

dhatfie1 wrote:

sdegarmo wrote:HUGE difference between buying a dog right before law school and having one that is trained and obedient going into LS

Yeah, that's definitely what I was thinking. That's why I'm getting one now so I could hopefully have it trained well enough for the fall!

stay away from alphas!

The goal with dogs is to BECOME the alpha.

sdegarmo wrote:

dhatfie1 wrote:

sdegarmo wrote:HUGE difference between buying a dog right before law school and having one that is trained and obedient going into LS

Yeah, that's definitely what I was thinking. That's why I'm getting one now so I could hopefully have it trained well enough for the fall!

stay away from alphas!

lol, I was thinking maybe a great dane??

dhatfie1 wrote:

sdegarmo wrote:

dhatfie1 wrote:

sdegarmo wrote:HUGE difference between buying a dog right before law school and having one that is trained and obedient going into LS

Yeah, that's definitely what I was thinking. That's why I'm getting one now so I could hopefully have it trained well enough for the fall!

stay away from alphas!

lol, I was thinking maybe a great dane??

I just rescued a 1yr old great dane....An 80lb 'puppy' with no former obedience training = the frustrating and fun all in one giant bundle

also consider that even if you get it trained before school starts, puppies are still going to require lots of attention from you to be happy. i would really recommend getting an older dog from a rescue that can be by itself while you're studying/in class without getting lonely.

also, get a male dog. they tend to be more obedient and trainable than female dogs in my experience.

echoi wrote:also consider that even if you get it trained before school starts, puppies are still going to require lots of attention from you to be happy. i would really recommend getting an older dog from a rescue that can be by itself while you're studying/in class without getting lonely.

also, get a male dog. they tend to be more obedient and trainable than female dogs in my experience.

how many times have you experienced this? Ive experienced the exact opposite with like 9 or 10 dogs between my family, friends, and roommates

I just recently adopted a black lab mix, she is 13 weeks old and will be coming with me in the fall. My boyfriend will be looking after her primarily while I'm in school, but I plan to devote time to her when I'm not studying/at school.