1L pup Forum

[taf889]

For the ~2 months before law school, I'm going to have down time and be able to commit full time to raising a puppy. Anyone with a dog have experience of whether or not this will be reasonable given the craziness of 1L? I assume it's not, but had to ask before I sign up for dorms at my school.

Thanks!

[DwightSchruteFarms]

Absolutely not. Worst idea ever. A dog takes years to raise, not "~2 months."

[guano]

A dog takes years to raise, not "~2 months."

I agree with this, but only this. Having a dog in law school is totally doable, though you want to steer clear if the most a tube breeds. Also consider your lifestyle after law school. If you're planning in biglaw, getting a puppy would be tantamount to cruelty to animals.

[Icculus]

I have a Golden and found having my dog with me at law school made 1L better than it probably would have been. Also, 1L is no worse, and in many ways is easier, than a 40 hour/week job. So if you think you could take care of a puppy working a normal job then you can do it in law school.

[Danger Zone]

1L isn't crazy. The last month of each semester is crazy, but other than that, you'll have plenty of free time.

[cinephile]

I got young kittens right before 1L. I know kittens a bit different than puppies, but they're still wild. I got a large dog crate and put them in it with the litter box (I guess you could line yours with newsprint), water, and toys while I was out. If the dog's small enough, you can even install a shelf in the crate so he or she has twice the space.

[rufus&miles]

Don't get a puppy, adopt a slightly older dog. It is WAY easier to house break an older dog (if they aren't house broken already)

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

It works both ways. Having a dog (i have two) means about an hour out of every day for walking/feeding and then a few minutes long breaks through out the day to pet/play. This can be good in that it forces you to get outside, and animals can be really affectionate. I personally wouldn't get a puppy because potty training and all that stuff is way more intense, plus there are plenty of great dogs age 2+ waiting for an owner at the pound.

[arez]

I am the crazy person that got a 4 month old puppy the day after my last final 1L fall semester. 4 months later I can say I wouldn't do it any differently. I had 2 weeks of winter break to housetrain him (which miraculously happened) then it was back to class. My dog is a larger breed dog who needs lots of exercise. It's been challenging finding the time to meet his and my needs some days but having a dog gives me a great excuse to get outside, exercise, take trips, explore my neighborhood, etc. I should also add the caveat that I do have a dog walker come a couple of times a week and I live about 6 min walk from my classes. Bottom line - if you really want a dog, don't let 1L hold you back. You can make it work if you want to.

[taf889]

I am the crazy person that got a 4 month old puppy the day after my last final 1L fall semester. 4 months later I can say I wouldn't do it any differently. I had 2 weeks of winter break to housetrain him (which miraculously happened) then it was back to class. My dog is a larger breed dog who needs lots of exercise. It's been challenging finding the time to meet his and my needs some days but having a dog gives me a great excuse to get outside, exercise, take trips, explore my neighborhood, etc. I should also add the caveat that I do have a dog walker come a couple of times a week and I live about 6 min walk from my classes. Bottom line - if you really want a dog, don't let 1L hold you back. You can make it work if you want to.

This was such a nice answer! Thanks. Not that the other posts weren't, this is just more along the lines of what I wanted to hear .

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts, gives me a lot to think about.

[lisavj]

We got a dog the summer before law school. We had one already, which helped the training process, and there was a "we" - I'm married. Husband definitely had some of the burden once law school started, but we like the dog and he seems pretty well adjusted (oddly, he's housebroken, and the other dog started pooping on the rug when I came home late).

IMHO law school is not that much of a time suck. (I worked far fewer hours than I did at my previous job) And, you can do a lot of it at home with a dog in your lap. Just make sure you are willing to sacrifice the 20 minutes of studying to take the pup for a walk and play with him, you're adding a pet to your life and that means you have to take care of it, even though your study life takes a hit. Also, dog food be 'spensive - no really. We have two small yorkies and easily feed them $40 in food per month. Bigger dogs are probs more expensive. (we feed 'em kibbles and bits too, no expensive nutrisystem for our dogs - some see that as abuse. I see it as, they eat poo, this has to be better).

If you're going into biglaw, be prepared to pay for a dog sitter. Of course, if you *get* biglaw, you'll be able to afford that. Or doggy daycare (our dog did that for a few years before we got the 2d dog, and loved it).

[philosoraptor]

I can't imagine life without my dog (who joined us beginning of 2L year) and cat (who loves the dog). Having a partner to help out with care, training, and attention is important, though. Also, we got one who was incredibly low-key and sweet and doesn't require constant exercise and stimulation. We're planning on getting a dog walker next year, but that's a small price to pay for the value he adds to our home. (If he were more high-energy, we would do doggie day care instead.)

I think law school is a great time to adopt a rescue dog, if you know you're 100% committed and have prior experience with dogs.

[sinfiery]

The part that scares me is the inevitable biglaw stint to pay off your debt. Seriously seems cruel to the young pup

[DreamShake]

I brought my dog with me to law school and haven't had a problem. The only time I feel like I'm not fulling meeting her needs is during finals, when I don't have much time to walk/play with her. As others have pointed out, biglaw is a whole other beast. You can't do doggie daycare because you won't be done with work early enough many nights. A dog walker costs a small fortune ($15k/yr at $15 a day, which is cheap), and even that won't cover the times when you're stuck at work overnight. If not for my SO, who has better hours and loves our dogs, I don't know that I could keep my dog in big law and feel good about the decision.

[philosoraptor]

I brought my dog with me to law school and haven't had a problem. The only time I feel like I'm not fulling meeting her needs is during finals, when I don't have much time to walk/play with her. As others have pointed out, biglaw is a whole other beast. You can't do doggie daycare because you won't be done with work early enough many nights. A dog walker costs a small fortune ($15k/yr at $15 a day, which is cheap), and even that won't cover the times when you're stuck at work overnight. If not for my SO, who has better hours and loves our dogs, I don't know that I could keep my dog in big law and feel good about the decision.

Fair, but $15 a day, 6 days a week, 50 weeks a year, is $4,500. Not pennies, but not $15K.

[lisavj]

As others have pointed out, biglaw is a whole other beast. You can't do doggie daycare because you won't be done with work early enough many nights.

I know of at least one doggy daycare in the Bay Area that lets you drop off as early as 5:30am, and pick up as late as Midnight. (And while we were bringing our dogs every day, they let us pick up and drop off whenever the frack we wanted because we were spending about $8k/year to bring our dog there every day and they were willing to make compromises for the people they knew well).

[DreamShake]

As others have pointed out, biglaw is a whole other beast. You can't do doggie daycare because you won't be done with work early enough many nights.

I know of at least one doggy daycare in the Bay Area that lets you drop off as early as 5:30am, and pick up as late as Midnight. (And while we were bringing our dogs every day, they let us pick up and drop off whenever the frack we wanted because we were spending about $8k/year to bring our dog there every day and they were willing to make compromises for the people they knew well).

That's pretty awesome, and not something I'd heard of before. My hometown doesn't have any that offer pickup so late and I hadn't thoroughly investigated the Bay.

I brought my dog with me to law school and haven't had a problem. The only time I feel like I'm not fulling meeting her needs is during finals, when I don't have much time to walk/play with her. As others have pointed out, biglaw is a whole other beast. You can't do doggie daycare because you won't be done with work early enough many nights. A dog walker costs a small fortune ($15k/yr at $15 a day, which is cheap), and even that won't cover the times when you're stuck at work overnight. If not for my SO, who has better hours and loves our dogs, I don't know that I could keep my dog in big law and feel good about the decision.

Fair, but $15 a day, 6 days a week, 50 weeks a year, is $4,500. Not pennies, but not $15K.

My bad--not enough sleep this week/weekend. Apologies.

[lisavj]

That's pretty awesome, and not something I'd heard of before. My hometown doesn't have any that offer pickup so late and I hadn't thoroughly investigated the Bay.

Looks like you're coming to the Yay soon (/are currently here?) - if you're interested check out MetroDog. I'd say you could drop my name but we haven't been there for a few years so they may not still remember us. They're really awesome people.

[ash0117]

I got a Chihuahua puppy the March before I started law school. I was off of school and able to train and spend time with him prior to starting law school. When I moved up here, I found a reliable pet sitter that was available on very short notice. She isn't cheap ($18), but I only use her about once a week, on the day when I have school all day. I prefer to do most of my studying at home, so most days when I get out of class I come home to study and take care of the dog. If I get caught up at school, I call the pet sitter to go walk my dog. During finals, I used her once a day for two weeks, but I budgeted for that at the beginning of the semester. Other than those last couple weeks, owning a dog hasn't been hard at all for me. I was born and raised with dogs and would have been lonely living by myself without a dog.

During the summer, working a 9-5 it was going to be pretty rough, but my mom recently moved to the area and is going to take my dog during the day.

I can honestly say that having a dog has made 1L much more bearable. I was forced to not obsess over studying and had built i study breaks. It seems that overall the students that had pets seemed to maintain a bit more balance. But it isn't easy, you have to really want to make it work.