alirod12 wrote:czelede wrote:
For the large majority of the population, having to make a commitment to your priorities and having to make serious sacrifices to keep that commitment != "not hard at all". To say it isn't work is a complete misrepresentation. This isn't about having priorities, it's about the fact that making sacrifices for your priorities REQUIRES work, and if you can't make those sacrifices you shouldn't have a dog - so why would you tell people that it ISN'T work? Training it and socializing it aside, the simple fact is that your dog needs to be exercised and walked regardless of your happy hour/social networking event, sinus infection, sleep deprivation, finals, or three straight days of subzero ice-rain. They are 100% worth it, but it's not always easy. And not every dog is going to be as easy to take care of as the next one. Your advice is both wrong and perfectly embodies the mindset of thousands of owners that end up giving up their dog when, a year later, it was just too hard to maintain those priorities.
But if you'd like to settle this argument by whipping it out over reading comprehension, I'll go get my ruler and we can see whose number is bigger.
This post is about having a dog in law school, not having a dog in general. So if people are asking about whether it is hard to have a dog in law school, they have already considered having a dog outside of it, and most likely understand what goes into it.
I'm not sure how my advice embodies the mindset of owners who give up their dogs. This site is about opinions, and when I say "it's not hard work at all", that is clearly my opinion, and I did not present it as a fact. My dog is in peak condition. He runs or swims or plays with other dogs mutliple times a day, every day. He is fully intact, but perfectly socialized. He is fully obedience trained, on and off leash, with perfect recall and a Schutzund heel to finish. He is a fed on a diet of grain free kibble mixed with raw meat, raw eggs, vegetables, cottage cheese, and pureed pumpkin (for those who can't read between the lines, a "time-consuming" diet). I'm not the type of owner who chucks a dog in a backyard for 18 hours a day and calls it easy. Like people often say, if you love what you do, it isn't work.
Again, this I why I mentioned "priorities" in my subsequent post. I wasn't on here posting "OMGOMGOMG def get a dog OMGOMGOMG." My biggest problem on this forum is that the "Top Law Schools" doesn't imply "Top Law Students".
And yeah, feel free to get out that ruler. Unless you got -0, you won't out measure me.
I think you grossly underestimate just how much more responsible the "applying to law school" crowd is than the average Joe. Many people "consider" what goes into owning a dog (walking and feeding, maybe socializing), but living out the day-to-day when you have the pressure of classes and money and grades is a different story. Obviously you've done your research, but the stark reality of it is that most people are NOT like you in their approach. Don't assume that the commonality of law school precludes them from thinking more like that general populous than you when it comes to this particular subject.
When I said that your advice "embodies the mindset of irresponsible owners", I wasn't trying to imply that you were one. Just that many irresponsible owners decide to get a dog while watching their friends exalt the benefits of having one (which I do) and are subsequently misled into underestimating just how much work is required. The idea that "it isn't hard work at all" because you'll love the dog is a very common misconception that ends up screwing over the dogs many new owners bring home, in hopes of twilight evening walks and lazy naps by a fireplace or something.
For the record, picking up feces twice a day? Walking my dog when I want to drop down dead in my bed? Being pelted with a blizzard for an hour a day? It fucking sucks. I do it because I love her and prioritize her well-being over my comfort, not because I love doing it. Maybe you'll say that if I really loved my dog I would not find handling her excrement to be work, and maybe we can agree to disagree on that.
The bottom line is that dogs, like all good things, require dedication, time, sacrifice, and commitment - and I'm sure you've given your dog all of those, and I can see from your statements that it was easy for you to do so - but to most people, those four things ARE hard work. To say that they aren't, without preface that this is specific to your case or your opinion, is misleading.
I had a dog that looked very similar who was a pitt/rottweiler/mastiff mix. He was huge but a big old love ball. And super smart!
