eewee Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 I originally planned to rent a house with a fenced yard for my dog and maybe get a roommate to share costs. However, rental houses with fenced yards apparently don't exist in the city I'm moving to. I have a pretty active young dog and now I'm trying to decide what's best for him if he won't have his own fenced area. I'd love to hear comments/advice from anyone with experience having a dog in PA school, particularly if you are single and have a large dog. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackjacks Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Haven't started PA school, but my parents have a large balcony deck that they let the dog out on. It has a potted plant that he always goes on, and they clean up any poop right away. Kind of gross IMHO, but maybe something like that would work. They let it out in the yard with a stake with a long chain. Do you run? You could try to take the dog for a long run each day for both of you to get exercise...if you don't run, maybe a neighbor would run the dog, or find a roommate who likes to run ;) I know I would love to run someone's dog with me, I miss having a dog! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swooshie1 Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Are you saying that you just won't be able to have house with a fenced yard, or a house with a yard, period? I hate hate hate the idea of a dog chained to a stake, especially if it is going to be left alone. That's an accident waiting to happen, IMO. If you will have a house with a yard but just not fenced: you could purchase some cattle fencing (4"x4") & 4 foot tall stakes and put up a small fenced area in a safe place adjacent to the house, if the owners of the house will allow you to do so. Not hugely expensive and way safer for your dog. If you're saying you can't find any place with a yard, e.g., just apartments, then maybe try to find a place close enough to school so that you can zip home during lunch to let him out, and get him exercised in the morning before school, and after you get home. If none of this sounds feasible, then how about finding someone to adopt your dog, at least while you're at school or until you can figure this out? A friend? Sibling? Parent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eliseis Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 In a similar situation. and just moved to my new city into an apartment from my old city where we had a house with a yard. We chose a place that is across the street from a park (where I take both of our dogs everyday for walks) instead of a place close to campus. I previously worked 12 hour shifts at a hospital and kept (and keep) my younger dog in a kennel while I was at work. He quickly learned to tolerate being in his kennel and often spends time in it while we are home and it isn't locked. My plan while in school is to take them to the dog parks near us so they can get adequate exercise in the evenings combined with early morning walks. It isn't an ideal situation, but I make sure he especially has time to run and get his energy out and I use the dog park time to read and study while they play. Mostly they sleep during the day anyway and I try to make time for his needs in the evenings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackjacks Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 I hate hate hate the idea of a dog chained to a stake, especially if it is going to be left alone. Agree, my parents only do that for a few minutes at a time and it's largely turned into just the balcony now; they don't have a great situation for the dog at their new house. The balcony thing started in the winter when there was snow on the balcony so it was basically the same as letting it out into the yard. I promise he isn't actually treated badly and is a very happy dog! Also, he's an australian terrier, for some reason small dogs out on a stake seems more acceptable to me? Dog park is a great idea, especially if you can study there. There are those doggie day cares, but they're probably expensive. Could also pay a dog walker if you can't find someone willing to do it for free. It it a dog that could be trained to run alongside a bike? That would be an easy way to give it a ton of exercise if you're not a runner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seijou Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 There are those doggie day cares, but they're probably expensive. You should be careful with daycare places. There are some great ones out there (although rare), but even the great ones have downfalls. I have a new establishment in my area that gets all the raves on Yelp, but when you have 20+ dogs in a small area (they don't kennel the dogs, they let them run in a playground most of the day which is wonderful because most places stick your dog in a kennel and take him/her for brief walks...) then you're bound to have problems. I'd say that 98% of the time it's fairly trouble free... but there are people who report things like coming back to pick up their dog with a slashed eye from "aggressiveness". You really have to ask yourself if it's worth the risk.. My dog is part of my family and I would never want her in that situation... As it is right now I'm working way too much and my dog is more or less getting neglected (but I do try to spend my free time and the rest of the energy playing with my dog after work). I use to live in an large apartment complex with no yard, just a small patio, and it was miserable both for me and for her (dog). I recently moved to a place with a yard and she's been so much happier. Before work I can simply spend a bit of time in the yard with her and let her get that energy out by playing fetch. In the old complex it use to be a trek just to get her to the bathroom... So take it for what it's worth, but IMO the situation you put your dog in will reflect on the dog. For my dog (her breed & personality), it really drove her nuts (she got bored a lot and she didn't get nearly enough exercise as she needed). I don't regret moving to this new place at all, it's been really really wonderful to have the yard. And in all of my future planning (including PA school), I'm going to do my best to accommodate her (again, she's family). But also keep in mind that a bad situation for your dog will also stress you plenty because you're going to have to deal with it at the end of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swooshie1 Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 I promise he isn't actually treated badly and is a very happy dog!. Sorry - I didn't mean to imply that your folks' dog was being treated badly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eewee Posted May 20, 2012 Author Share Posted May 20, 2012 Do you run? You could try to take the dog for a long run each day for both of you to get exercise... I do run! So yes, that's a good possibility. He is only now getting old enough to run with me. I know I won't be able to entirely meet his exercise needs with running but it would at least help me get through the week. I considered daycare but it's 15-20 dollars a day and there are some issues with that, as you guys brought up. swooshie, your idea of putting up my own fence is good - that way he wouldn't be in the crate all day. I'll have to look into that one. Thanks! Really appreciate everyone's input. Like you guys, my dog is family to me and I really don't want to leave him. I'm willing to do whatever I need to do including spending some extra money (that I don't actually have - yikes!) to accommodate him. Unfortunately, that still might not be enough. I'm lucky because my parents are willing to keep him while I'm in school but he would mainly be an outside dog (with a wonderful huge yard, good shelter from the elements, other dogs, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancngd Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I started PA school and decided to bring my dog who was 11 at the time. He's still pretty active, but not really a dog to run with anymore. My school was in a very small town and the house I moved into didn't really have a yard, more like a parking lot surrounding it. I'd give him a nice walk early in the morning, come home for lunch and give him a short walk, and then right after school he would go for another long walk. It was actually refreshing and good to clear my head like that. I honestly don't know how I could have done this without my dog, since you have to take study breaks and it was always nice to come home to my puppy:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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