Dogs and Nurses

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I was wondering if how many of you on here have dogs? I start nursing school in the Fall, and I am going to get a dog in May. I have wanted a dog since I was young, but could never have one because my family was too busy with sports, and other activities. So now I am getting myself a dog for completing my first BS degree. Also I want to get through the early puppy stage(1-2 yrs) while in school, since I have plenty of time.

For those of you who have dogs, how do they do while you are at work. I was wondering how they do with 12 hour shifts. I am single, right now, you never know what will be in 2 years. But I was just wanting any input on dog-owners.

I have a 6 years old brown miniature daschund who is paraplegic at this moment and had a back surgery few weeks ago,I'm doing physical therapy with him so he can walk again.

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Specializes in SNU/SNF/MedSurg, SPCU Ortho/Neuro/Spine.

I have 2 dogs

Blake and Tiffany, both german sheps.

Black is Black and Tiffy white! both are 2 yrs old!

They are like children, and if you teach them right they will be awesome companions!

my dogs knows to go out to the bathroom when i wake up! and they poop and pee, they get a drink when i wake up and end up peeing before i leave for the day.

then when i leave i give them 2 milk bones each, and at 2 pm food gets dispensed for them, also water!

they eat, and stay OUT of the cage, free range of the house with toys!!!

then i come home and take them outside first thing, then they do their busines, and eat again (i hide the toys) and we play around go to bed, and next day we repeat the same routine...

they know enough not to pee or poo in the house, nor to chew!!!! in case an acident happens they do it on the kicken floor where it is easier to clean!!!!

i love my doggies, and thank them for putting up with me during NS lol!!!

they will definately get more time, and extra beach time as soon as i graduate!

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Having your parents around to help you is HUGE! :) That's how I did it when my dog was a puppy, and I couldn't have done it without them. It's nice before an exam to let the dog sleep with my mom so I don't have to get up with her to potty at 5:30 haha! I know, I know, she shouldn't sleep in the bed...she's spoiled, I'll admit it :rolleyes:.

But I wanted to clarify that I WOULD have gotten my dog from a shelter had I intended to get a dog at all...it was a very spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, my mom and I just could NOT leave that pet store without the puppy, and all we had come in for was some bird seed! :chuckle Oh well, I am not an evil supporter of puppy mills, they are terrible, and I wish I had gotten a dog from a shelter, but I love my dog more than anything and I'm sooo glad I have her. And sometimes I think about this: what if someone who couldn't afford the surgery to fix luxating patella had bought my dog, and then returned her to the pet store because of her congenital problem to get their money back...What do you think the pet store does with returned dogs? I HATE to even think about it... :cry: those poor things. So in my mind, I sort of rescued my puppy from the pet store, haha!

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Hey!

I have a Jack Russell Terrier. He's not the overly-hyper, yapping, evil kind though :p! He is a pure-bred pup and he was bred for temperment. Through my family's experience - never get a dog from a pet store. My sister has done this a few times and had to get rid of them because they never adjusted. Apparently it's very hard to train pet-store puppies and you never know where they're from (puppy mill?). I'm not very knowledgable in this area though but it's just what I've heard.

My dog does really well with being at home alone. We've had to leave him a few times - once for a little over 24hrs and we expected him to have had an accident and nothing! It was great... I would just suggest getting him used to going once in the morning and then when you get home. Take him out. Other than that my pup never did anything else to destroy the house! Training is your best bet - get a smart dog...ones that learn quick! :up: They'll be your best friend through the stressful times!

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Having your parents around to help you is HUGE! :) That's how I did it when my dog was a puppy, and I couldn't have done it without them. It's nice before an exam to let the dog sleep with my mom so I don't have to get up with her to potty at 5:30 haha! I know, I know, she shouldn't sleep in the bed...she's spoiled, I'll admit it :rolleyes:.

But I wanted to clarify that I WOULD have gotten my dog from a shelter had I intended to get a dog at all...it was a very spur-of-the-moment kind of thing, my mom and I just could NOT leave that pet store without the puppy, and all we had come in for was some bird seed! :chuckle Oh well, I am not an evil supporter of puppy mills, they are terrible, and I wish I had gotten a dog from a shelter, but I love my dog more than anything and I'm sooo glad I have her. And sometimes I think about this: what if someone who couldn't afford the surgery to fix luxating patella had bought my dog, and then returned her to the pet store because of her congenital problem to get their money back...What do you think the pet store does with returned dogs? I HATE to even think about it... :cry: those poor things. So in my mind, I sort of rescued my puppy from the pet store, haha!

I didn't mean to offend, or pass judgement. I know the dogs in stores deserve fantastic homes also, this is a reason I can't go into pet stores. I may come home with one.

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Specializes in NICU.

I was just like you. All through nursing school I wanted a dog so bad!! I knew I didn't have the time for one between work and school and living in an apartment wasn't the best place to raise a dog either. So I waited until I was out of school and married. I got a beautiful puppy name Scout. He is half Brittany half German Shorthaired Pointer and I love him to death! We had only had Scout 2 weeks when an 8 year old Basset Hound showed up at my husbands work. Her owner dropped her off on the side of the road and after getting in touch with the owner who said they didn't want her anymore we took her home.

So now we have two dogs and let me tell you.... Dogs are hard work. Well my Basset Hound isn't but the puppy is!!! It was like having a baby. Now I feel like I have an unruly teenager. I work 12 hours shifts but my husband only works 8 hour shifts. They stay in a kennel while we are gone. A kennel is a MUST!!! So they get walked when my husband gets home and then I walk the puppy again when I get home.

The days I'm off they get walked 2-3 times a day. We are installing an underground electric fence next week so they will have more room to run around. I can't seem to exercise my puppy enough.

Since my pup is half Brittany I can tell you that they are very smart and very loving but EXTREMELY energetic.

Just to warn you... raising and training a dog is very hard work!!! But very rewarding! They love me unconditionally and they really cheer me up when I've had a bad day!

Tiger

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jayhawk, although you have your mind set on a type of dog, please get a dog based on their needs, vs yours.

if a dog you get requires tremendous activity and you're not able to provide that, it is so unfair to the dog.

at least consider a dog that will be content living in confined quarters.

leslie

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Specializes in acute rehab, med surg, LTC, peds, home c.

My doberman is 7 years old now so she is very mellow but when we 1st got her I was in school and I had to make time to walk her everyday no matter what the weather because she was such a ball of energy. If she didn't get her walk in she would chew on her feet or butt and make bald patches. I also crate trained her, its not mean, she loved that crate and it kept her from getting into bad habits. She is a beautiful, important member of our family and she gives me a reason to get out and exercise. She is my best walking buddy. We also took her for obedience training as well as rally and agility just because she thinks its fun and enjoys the intellectual stimulation. They really are smarter than we give them credit for.

However, it is alot like having a newborn at first. Puppies are nice but are alot of work and can really do some damage if left to their own devices. 12 hour shifts would be hard on a puppy. My dog has a friend next door that she plays with and they both love it and it helps them burn off some energy.

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Specializes in ICU, nutrition.

I got a dog right before my first semester of nursing school. She was a bulldog, about 15 months old, and she'd had her first litter of puppies. Her owner was going through a divorce and had 3 bullies, all girls, but was only going to be able to keep one. Kady was a wonderful condo dog! Quite the couch potato, except for right after a bath. We had a tiny back yard, and she'd go out and do her business. She'd lay outside on the nice days and was crate trained. My son was roughly a year older than her so they grew up together. It absolutely broke our hearts 4.5 years ago when she got sick and we had to have her euthanized.

We currently have a mastiff, an Affenpinscher, and a bulldog, all males. The big dogs are pretty low energy these days, although they bounced off the walls until they were about 2.5 (the mastiff) and 4 (the bulldog). The Affenpinscher is high energy and needs lots of attention. I don't know if it's the breed in general, or just him, but he's not one that likes to be alone.

I've had mixes, a Rottweiler (best dog we ever had, but he did not like to be left alone either), and a bullmastiff besides the dogs I've talked about so far. I recommend you research breeds to see what's the best fit for you and your lifestyle. Every dog is different but it gives you a good place to start at least.

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Since my pup is half Brittany I can tell you that they are very smart and very loving but EXTREMELY energetic.

I can attest because I grew up with Brittany's, we hunted them and they were fabulous dogs. I want a dog that will play/jog with me, maybe train to hunt, but I don't want a couch potato. That's why I like Labs and Brittany's, and I like Boxers because I have never met a Boxer that was mean/I didn't like.

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Specializes in Critical Care-Neuro/Trauma ICU.

I am in nursing school currently and I have 3 dogs! I had 2 of them before I started and took one off the hands of a fellow student who didn't know how to handle it. It's definitely a handful...but I agree with some of the others that crate training would be especially beneficial. With 12's it would probably be a little long to crate them, but my dogs do just fine with 8-10 hours. They get plenty of love and exercise when I am home and they have adjusted quite well.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept.

I have had shih tzu's and absolutely love them. They are a small lap dog, but are pretty sturdy and I haven't had many health problems with them. I have always lived alone, so when I had one dog I decided the most humane thing was to have two. :) I thought my little girl would be miserable being home alone for so many hours when I couldn't be there, so I had two and they did GREAT. They played together and kept each other company - something you might want to think about. :) I have three now and can't imagine ever living without a dog. They are my best little friends.

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