Pooches and PhDs

[rising_star]

GreenePony, when I hear people use the phrase "crate-training" I assume they define it as training the dog to spend long periods of time shut in the crate (up to many hours). If the dog is being let out periodically from the crate (after at most 2 hours), then I don't have any problems with it, and I consider it an absolutely valid "private place" for a dog that likes that kind of space. However, most people I hear talking about crate training literally mean shutting up their dog for hours on end, which is something that causes me worry. Sorry if I wasn't clear

maelia8, I guess I'm what you'd consider a "bad" dog owner because I do leave my dog in her crate for more than two hours. When she's in her crate while I'm gone, she's chill. If I leave her out, she gets stressed out and chews something (shoes, blanket, pillow, anything she can find), which tends to make her sick. So, it's actually for her safety more than anything else. If she were to swallow a piece of blanket while I'm gone and choke, I would never, ever be able to forgive myself. In her crate, I can control that and keep her much, much safer than I could in my apartment. Also, dogs sleep like 18+ hours a day. Mine sleeps in her crate while I'm gone.

 

As for exercise, I live in an apartment. I'm not usually gone more than six hours at a time and, as previously mentioned, my dog is definitely in a crate while I'm gone. I walk her ~1 mile every morning, take her out again when I get home, and for another 1-2 walks in the evening. In addition, we go to the dog park 4-6 times a week for 1-2 hours. And, she gets regular playtime with my neighbors' dog who is about her size and activity level. Now that it's getting warmer and it's light out later, she gets more activity, including longer afternoon/evening walks and more time at the dog park. And I do all of this alone (it's me and the dog). So, I just want to be clear to maelia8 and everyone else, that using a crate and living in an apartment don't automatically mean that your dog is suffering. Yes, you have to consider it carefully. Yes, there are tradeoffs to spending part of my early evening at the dog park almost every day, but I have a happy, healthy dog who spends several hours a day in her appropriately-sized crate and gets excited about going in there when I leave because she knows it's playtime when I get back. Crates by themselves are not cruel.

[maelia8]

maelia8, I guess I'm what you'd consider a "bad" dog owner because I do leave my dog in her crate for more than two hours. When she's in her crate while I'm gone, she's chill. If I leave her out, she gets stressed out and chews something (shoes, blanket, pillow, anything she can find), which tends to make her sick. So, it's actually for her safety more than anything else. If she were to swallow a piece of blanket while I'm gone and choke, I would never, ever be able to forgive myself. In her crate, I can control that and keep her much, much safer than I could in my apartment. Also, dogs sleep like 18+ hours a day. Mine sleeps in her crate while I'm gone.

 

Risingstar, I don't think you're a "bad" dog owner because you use a crate - in fact, it seems like you have been able to successfully train your dog to be very well-adjusted to crate use, for which I commend you. It seems that your dog is happy, healthy, and gets plenty of exercise, which I think is wonderful.

 

However, in my experience, the vast majority of people I know who "crate-train" their dogs simply use the crate as an excuse not to actually train their dogs, which develop nervous habits and are afterwards unable to cope with "life outside the box," so to speak. I know too many dogs that are locked up whenever there are visitors because the dog is simply too poorly trained not to bite and/or bark at anyone not in the family, as well as dogs that have peed in their crates and been forced to sit in their own filth for hours because their owners are out or otherwise occupied. For many people, a crate is a far too tempting way to put away something you don't want to deal with at the moment, and that attitude is incredibly detrimental to the pet's health.

 

As you have managed to do, it is possible to successfully crate train your dog, if crate training is something that your situation necessitates, you are capable of doing in a healthy and safe way for your pet, and your pet takes to without any major problems, but hearing about it always makes me leery because I know that the vast majority of the time, it is not done correctly and leads to more problems than it prevents. 

[lacy627]

I should also mention I have a horse and having a dog is not nearly as complicated as having my horse. I have had her for 14 years and literally have taken her everywhere I have gone. She moved from Florida -> Alabama -> Pennsylvania -> Texas -> Germany (yes, you read right) -> to Florida again... and now she is going to grad school with me. It depends on your priorities though. My horse and dog are very high priorities and I make time for them. Other girls spend their little free time at bars or at the gym and their little stipend on clothes and purses... my free time and money is all spent at the barn with my horse and dog. It is what makes me happy and sane. Nature (even if it is a horse) is STILL cheaper than therapy lol. 

 

One really good alternative are dog enrichment centers (aka dog daycare). Most of them are between $15-30 a day and you can drop them off in the morning and pick them up in the evening and they get to play all day long with other dogs. Often times the facilities have large, outdoor dog park-like areas with a pool, toys, etc. I plan on bringing my pup 2x a week so she gets all her socialization and playtime. Between daycare and the barn she will be too pooped out to notice I am gone during the day.

[S_Colorado]

Aww I'm so glad to here about you taking your horse with you! My friend just moved away with her horses and before that, they had moved to and from Thailand. I love to hear about people who have horses as family members.

 

My dog is coming with me, no matter what. Part of looking at schools was deciding what program schedules would work, and also how close to campus I could afford to live. I work part time at a lesson barn right now, and so my horsey family is staying at the barn but I'm hoping I will find a new horsey family in my new town. My dog (and me!) would be so sad not to have horses around.

[sparrow1]

So, I'm going to post because this is a very relevant topic for me at the moment. I notice that most of these replies seem to be concerned with getting a dog while in grad school. I'm in a slightly different situation as I already have a dog, and am trying to decide whether I should bring them with me to grad school.

 

Actually, I technically have two, but I'll explain. My older dog, "I" adopted in 2006, she is now 8 years old. I say "I" because I was the one who pushed it forward, but I was only 15 and so my dad is actually her legal adopter. My younger dog I adopted in 2009, she is now 5, and since I was 18 she is legally mine. They are really family dogs but because of the circumstances of getting them, anyone in my family will say they are "my" dogs, and so the decision-making here is ultimately up to me. I started my undergrad in 2011, and left them at my dad's since I knew it would be very hard to handle being a dog owner and school at the time. I realized going through school that it actually would have been possible to have a dog, but it would have made things a lot more difficult as it is nearly impossible to find an apartment allowing two 50 & 80lb dogs in my undergrad college town. It would have been very nice for sure, since I know that during my school years my clinical depression got a lot worse, and no doubt a lot of that has been helped by my dogs over the years--they are much better than any Prozac, that's for sure! 

 

Now that I'm graduating, and starting grad school in Los Angeles in the fall, I am seriously considering bringing one of my two dogs, and I'm wondering if people can offer any insight to that. Asking my family hasn't been much help because they just say to do whatever I want and they kind of suck at being objective about it.

 

 

I know that I can't bring both dogs, because I am from Michigan and moving to California. I 100% refuse to ship any animal, let alone my dog, in cargo on a plane, and both dogs simply will not fit in the car for the drive (I am driving anyway). Bringing just one will also make it easier to find a dog-friendly apartment (which are much more common in L.A. than my undergrad college town). My grad school is also dog-friendly, which is great because she will be able to come with me while I'm working at school (just not during class), but they have a policy that one student cannot supervise more than one dog in the building at any time.

 

The other dog would stay with my dad and his cat, and my younger brother still lives at home so she will still have company and care. The dog I bring will only be alone during classes (max 6 hours/day twice a week, most days only 4 hours), and will be able to come with me pretty much everywhere else. I am a much more involved pet owner than my family members, and I spend a lot more of my free time playing or walking the dogs when I am home, so even though she'd be completely alone for that time (something she's not really used to because my other dog has always been there) she would get a lot more exercise that she hasn't gotten regularly since I went away to school. There are a bunch of dog parks in the area where we could walk to in L.A., and one literally across the street from my school building--so we could hop over there like if I had readings to do or whatever, it's so close the wi-fi works there too so I could even bring my laptop!

 

Those all seem like positives to me, but the negatives are there as well. Obviously, the dogs will be split up. I am considering bringing the younger dog, since that seems to be the most logical way to do it (given that legally I am responsible for her). I love both dogs equally, so there's no simply picking my favorite one, but the younger one is also more friendly/accepting of strangers, which will make taking her to school much more pleasant. With the older one I'd have to be concerned about her growling at people if they approach in a way she doesn't like, which is less than ideal. Obviously, my family will miss whoever I take, and I will miss whoever I leave, but I've already been missing them both for the last 3 years, and it seems like a better option for both of us to have someone to love!

 

Being split up is a negative though since they are definitely buddies, and they do play when the older one actually feels like it. However, as I said my dad has a cat, and they both hang with the cat sometimes too, so whoever stays will still have that companionship. My sister is going away to her undergrad this year, but my brother will most likely be living at home for at least 2 more years, up to 3-4 (and my degree is a 2 year degree). It's incredibly sad and bleak to think about, but at that point the older dog will be 10+, and she's larger sized (border collie/lab) so it's possible she might be near the end of her lifespan at that point. I only say that because it's possible we will not have to worry about what to do with her once my brother moves out (my dad works long hours so if she's still around and healthy, I'll probably end up bringing her to wherever I'm living at that point).

 

Basically, either I leave both dogs, or bring one--it will really be impossible to take both. :/

 

Anyway, that ended up being really long so thanks to anyone that actually reads it. If you have any thoughts that might help me decide what to do I would really appreciate it!

Edited April 20, 2014 by sparrow1

[S_Colorado]

That is a tough decision. My thought would be to leave both dogs. They have been living there happily for the past 4 years. Splitting them up would not be my recommendation. If your family loves them both, they have a great home. If you get through 6 months of your program and you really are missing them, then you can change your mind and bring one out.

 

But ultimately the choice is yours. I've struggled with this in a different way but my dog has been living with me and my parents for the last few years as I have been getting ready for school. He loves them so much. He is definitely my dog , and in no way a family dog, except that he lives around them but I am the one who walks and feeds him and he goes on long trips with me. I know he is going to be really sad leaving them though. I'm hoping to find housing with other roommates so that he doesn't feel lonely in the house.

[rising_star]

Hmmm... sparrow1, this is a tough situation. FWIW, I've gone through something sorta similar. I actually have two dogs. One I got last year and the other is 12ish. The older one has basically always been a family dog because I got her out of urgent necessity (red-nosed pitbull that a guy was just going to use as a bait/training dog because she has zero inclination to fight and I thought that was wrong so I took her) while I was in college. When I did my MA, I considered moving her there, even though it's a giant PITA to find a rental that will allow a 65-lb pittie. But, that dog is such a weirdo, separation anxiety-ridden animal that I decided to leave her where she was. (I refer to where she lives as "doggie paradise." She lives outside of town on five acres. The neighbors have horses and donkeys she gets to run and play with, plus there's deer, rabbits, and other animals to chase.) I did it because it's the best thing for her even though I miss her and it is so freaking obvious that she misses me whenever she sees me. Still, back home is right for her. If I thought she would've done well in her new environment, I would've brought her with me, even though she wouldn't have had her doggie companion (my pit was NOT the alpha and let a 30-lb terrier mix 10+ years older than her boss her around all the time).

 

Anyway, back to your question. Your situation seems pretty ideal for having a dog. I would seriously evaluate the financial impact of bringing the dog (increased rent, etc.) and make sure you won't be financially compromising yourself to have the dog. Also, I'd have some sort of plan in place for what to do if your dog doesn't adapt well to the move, misses your other dog and cat, etc.

 

Side note: How on earth are you able to get work done at the dog park? I'm there 1-2 hours almost every day (some other regulars and I refer to it as our social hour) and I can't imagine how I'd be able to read a book even if I weren't talking to my dog park friends. This might be because my dog is so active and is always running around but I seriously don't know how people are able to do it!

[Shamrock_Frog]

maelia8, I guess I'm what you'd consider a "bad" dog owner because I do leave my dog in her crate for more than two hours. When she's in her crate while I'm gone, she's chill. If I leave her out, she gets stressed out and chews something (shoes, blanket, pillow, anything she can find), which tends to make her sick. So, it's actually for her safety more than anything else. If she were to swallow a piece of blanket while I'm gone and choke, I would never, ever be able to forgive myself. In her crate, I can control that and keep her much, much safer than I could in my apartment. Also, dogs sleep like 18+ hours a day. Mine sleeps in her crate while I'm gone.

 

As for exercise, I live in an apartment. I'm not usually gone more than six hours at a time and, as previously mentioned, my dog is definitely in a crate while I'm gone. I walk her ~1 mile every morning, take her out again when I get home, and for another 1-2 walks in the evening. In addition, we go to the dog park 4-6 times a week for 1-2 hours. And, she gets regular playtime with my neighbors' dog who is about her size and activity level. Now that it's getting warmer and it's light out later, she gets more activity, including longer afternoon/evening walks and more time at the dog park. And I do all of this alone (it's me and the dog). So, I just want to be clear to maelia8 and everyone else, that using a crate and living in an apartment don't automatically mean that your dog is suffering. Yes, you have to consider it carefully. Yes, there are tradeoffs to spending part of my early evening at the dog park almost every day, but I have a happy, healthy dog who spends several hours a day in her appropriately-sized crate and gets excited about going in there when I leave because she knows it's playtime when I get back. Crates by themselves are not cruel.

I have a dog who loves his crate. He'll even sleep in it when I'm sitting at my desk (his crate is next to my desk). My mom actually will check on my dog for me while I am at work, and usually they just take naps together (she is retired, and the dog is just really lazy). My dog will spend plenty of time in his crate regardless of whether I'm home or not. Often times I will find him laying in it at all times of the day and night. Although if I'm in bed, he's right there laying at my feet.

[angel_kaye13]

Shameless plug, for my South African animal rights friends.~ Remember: dogs are roughly a 10-year commitment, if not longer! I love animals SO much too, I totally get the longing for one! Just make sure to project beyond grad school, which can be a transitional/turbulent time, moving-wise.~ #adoptdontshop

[Cheshire_Cat]

Glad I'm not the only one crazy enough to keep a dog and a horse through the grad program.  I adopted my baby and he is really well behaved.  I live with my brother who comes home a few hours earlier than I, so I'm not as worried about him being left home alone.  I would like to get a cat though so he'll have someone to play with, and cats make me laugh with their antics.  But I don't know how responsible that would be given my financial situation.  So maybe after a year in the program I'll reasses and decide then if I want a kitten.  I also have bunnies to care for, but they are old, so I'll probably get something once they are gone.

[qeta]

I adopted my rescue beagle during my last year of undergrad last year. He wasn't house-trained, but thankfully since I lived on campus I would come home every four hours and check on the doggie. He moved with me when I started my MA in September 2014 and has actually mellowed into a great apartment dog. I don't leave him alone for more than 7 hours and 2-3 days a week I don't go to the campus at all. I've found it pretty easy to balance my time even with classes, teaching, and some other university commitments. I just had to be super-careful about scheduling my time. Honestly, my dog made the transition to grad school and a new city so much easier. I always have a super-loving and -affectionate being to come home to - it's a seriously amazing privilege.

[ssynny]

This is actually why I decided to get a cat last year. It was my last year of undergrad and I wasn't sure where I was going to be. I applied to both grad school and jobs all over the country where I would be completely by myself. I adopted Sirius so that we would always have each other no matter where we went. :3

[HistoryGypsy]

I had a dog when I did my MA, and I honestly would never have gotten through it without him.  Every time I was stressed, there was Jasper with his crazy antics to make me laugh.  I was forced to get outside regularly to take him for walks, which meant taking more breaks and also helped with stress.  Every time I got home after a long day, he was there to greet me with such enthusiasm that it was as if Christmas had come again.  

 

Now that I'm going for a PhD, I'm once again entering a program with a wonderful little dog.  Daphne is the most cheerful, bubbly, snuggly pet in the world!  She got me through two stressful, horrid years as an overstressed teacher, and I've no doubt that she'll be the perfect cure for many graduate woes, too.  Studies have shown over and again the immense value of pets for both mental and physical health of their owners.

 

You do absolutely need to have housebreaking at least at a 75% success rate before you start your program, or else it will add way too much stress.  Also, it's a good idea to invest in a baby gate (easy to find at garage sales or on Craigslist) so that you can pen your dog into a bathroom, kitchen, or other non-carpeted room when you're away if it's for longer than 4-5 hours at a time (a crate is great for training, but if a dog is in for too long, it can have an accident and then get stuck sitting in its own waste -- this happened to me before and I felt HORRIBLE for my poor dog).

 

Also, another tip:  Build your study/work-at-home schedule around the dog, with walk breaks, play breaks, and training breaks built in.  This will keep you working in healthy chunks of time and will automatically ensure a healthy amount of breaks.  I'm a bit of a workaholic in academia, so having a dog really helps me to keep healthier habits.  

[shinigamiasuka]

I've wanted a cat all my life. It never happened.  

[Nanolol]

I've wanted a cat all my life. It never happened.

Now is not too late! 

[qeta]

I've wanted a cat all my life. It never happened.

 

Now is not too late! 

Try petharbor.com! I bet there's a perfect cat waiting for you at a nearby shelter. 

[Cheshire_Cat]

I've wanted a cat all my life. It never happened.

OMG! I want a kitten so much right now!  But I already have two bunnies, a dog, horse, and tortoise, so I think I should wait...  I told myself I would get one when I passed my CPA exam, but that didn't happen.  My bunnies are old, so when they die I will get a cat.

[Ellies]

My daughter moved out last summer into a studio apartment near her college, and brought her cat with her.

She didn't even last a month; she called me in tears telling me that the cat was so lonely, she just didn't have the time to spent with him.

I got into the car and picked him up right away. He's very happy living with us and our four other cats again.

Let this be a warning, though; it may seem like a great idea, but it may not work out. Make sure you have a backup plan in case it doesn't!

[Nanolol]

I had 2 Chihuahuas when I was completing my BSc and living in a townhouse. Whenever I went to class, the dogs stayed in my room and had their own potty area so that they could eliminate even when I wasn't around. Plan to do the same thing for my PhD  

[quirkycase]

I would love to have a pet while in grad school, but it's not feasible for me.  I'm moving abroad. Also, the place I'll be living in doesn't allow pets.  I feel like having a pet would be a big stress reliever, though.  We always had pets when I was growing up, so it feels lonely when I don't have at least one at home.  I like dogs, but they require too much care and time for me.  I don't think I'd be able to handle that while in grad school. A cat would be better, although I'd probably get two so that they could entertain each other while I'm busy.  I'd also love a bunny; that was my first pet growing up, and I love them

[rising_star]

ashso, you may be able to volunteer at an animal shelter once in a while. I volunteered at a shelter during my PhD program, going out there about once a week to walk dogs. It was relaxing and fun.

[quirkycase]

rising_star, I hadn't thought of volunteering at an animal shelter.  That's a great idea! I'll look into it once I get settled in my new area.

[Junebug_125]

Excellent advice here on crate-training, obedience classes, and the time commitment involved with having dogs while in school. Definitely check out the AKC CGC classes- training is the best bonding and mental exercise opportunity plus these classes are specifically geared towards teaching everyday "life skills." Maybe even try competing in obedience/agility if you really enjoy it!

For anybody looking for a specific breed of dog, consult responsible breeders and breed specific rescues listed on the official national breed club website. They will list breeders (and rescue groups) that adhere to their code of ethics and perform appropriate health testing.

One other thought on dogs, rentals, and living close to campus: definitely be prepared for breed or weight specific policies in apartment complexes. I managed to live on my own within half a mile of campus throughout undergrad with two Dobermans, but only by renting privately owned properties (with a higher price tag). Worth every penny of course, but I was not prepared for how difficult it would be to find a willing landlord.

Edited July 29, 2015 by Junebug_125