dog/college ?

[ziggy]

i am going to be attending presbyterian college this fall. i am wanting a lab real bad, but dont know if ill have enough time to fool with one. i got a place he can stay that is 5-6 miles away from campus. so, no problem getting out there, just dont know if ill have the time.

those that are in college now, or remember your college experience, how busy am i going to be, and will i have enough time to mess with one?

[clemsonqwacker]

When I started school I left my lab at home. Looking back at it, yes. I could have spent a little less time messed up and waisting time and spent with him no problem. I really hate that i had to leave him at home. He got real sick and died when i was a senoir. I missed out on some good years outside of the short hunting season. You will have as much time as you want. You will be busy according to the semester hours that you take but, seriously nothing compared to working an 8 to 6 job. When I started graduate school, to make a long story short, I got a new lab. I made sure that I had a place that I could keep my dog. I wouldnt do it differently. I set up a little pen outside my house and one outside the lab that I worked at. I had time to work with him like 5 or 6 times a day for just a few min. I worked much much more in grad school and still had plenty of time. The last year and a half that I had a dog there was some of the best memories that I have of school. It gave me something fun and healthy to do outside of school. And let me tell you this, there is nothing like walking across campus with a little new lab pup. Try it one time and youll know what I'm talking about. I dont know what PC is like but there were plenty of places to work Bud at Clemson. You will have to know though that it will take a certian comitment of time. If youre not willing to give him/her the time then dont do it. I knew plenty of people that had dogs and nobody ever had a problem with time. Your collage experience is what you make of it. Some people study all day and night, some dont study at all, some work jobs and some play. People from all of these groups will fail and some will pass. Good luck

[JBH III]

It is probably not a good idea. You will be very busy, and will end up wishing you didn't have to take care of the dog. You atleast should wait a year to see how things go. You may decide later you do have time, but I wouldn't get one freshman year.

[clemsonqwacker]

I could agree with that. Waiting until after freshman year is over and re-evaluating is probably a good idea. Its all according to what you want to spend your free time doing. Having a dog you wont have as many options. You will have to take care of it. Personally I would want to wait until i had a place where I could keep a dog right there with me.

[ziggy]

i think that waiting until after freshman year is a good idea as well. i wish i could keep a dog with me on campus, but i cant. like i said, i got a place about 5 miles away, so i wouldn't have any problem getting to him if i had the time.

[HuntinCosta]

atleast wait until you have your own place you can keep the dog. i got my pup my junior year. it was a perfect time to get him. you have plenty of free time as long as you allow it. alot more time than when you are out in the real world working. i still work and go to class, but i have atleast an hour a day to get quality training in, if not more. So definantly get a dog while you're in school but atleast get it when you can spend alot of time with it. to have a good dog you have to spend as much time with it as possible and let it go every where with you.

[Sonnydays]

I'm in the last year of law school and my 5 1/2 month old yellow lab has been a blessing in disguise. It sure makes school alot more bearable, but then again I am not about to be a freshman in undergrad. I have as much work as I feel like doing at any one time all the time, but working my dog seems to be the most enjoyable type of work I do right now, and hopefully will be a good break this summer when I am studying for the bar. I definitely had to wait until the time and conditions were right. I got Sonny when I knew I was at my last stop as far as moving was concerned, other than back to the farm when I am finished here. Just keep that in mind.

[BMAC_ducks]

Ziggy, as many people have said, I would wait until after freshman year to get a dog. For the past two years my dog has lived off and on with me at school. The times that he is here is great but it does require you to make time to attend to him. A pup that doesnt live with you can also make it hard and requires more time than a grown dog. It deffinitly is a great and fun thing to have a dog at school, especially during hunting season, it even helps you out with the girls, but the best advise is to wait a year. Get accustomed to college life and all the things that go on first and then youll be able to make a rational decision if a dog at school is an appropiate decision.