Why It's a Very Bad Idea to Get a Dog in College

So you and your friends are getting ready to move into your new off-campus house. You're super excited to get out of the dorms and get a taste of what real life is like, dirty dishes and all. The summer before you move in, one of your roommates comes up with a wild idea: “Lets get a puppy for our place!” This sounds like the best idea you’ve ever heard of, but I hate to break it to you... it’s actually not.

Dogs and college life just don’t mix. Period.

Having lived with two different dogs over the past two years, I can personally attest to how bad of an idea this is. Don’t get me wrong — I love both of these dogs with all of my heart, but a dog living amongst college students is not going to get all the love and attention it needs and deserves, despite how much you adore the lil' guy.

Let’s be honest, most of us can barely take care of ourselves. Do you really think it’s a good idea to be responsible for another living creature? We already have a hard enough time balancing classes, money, and our social lives — adding another living creature into the mix isn’t ideal.

We like to think we’re adults in college, but most of us aren’t quite there yet. I guarantee most college students would rather binge watch Netflix than take a dog for a walk in the cold and pick up its poop, not to mention the monetary cost of owning and maintaining a canine.

Plus, dogs need to be on regular schedules. They need to eat and go for walks at roughly the same time every day, and college is not a place where people have regular schedules. You might have to wake up for a 9:30 a.m. class one day, but then sleep in for a 2:15 p.m. the next. Your dog is going to need to be on roughly the same schedule both of those mornings, no matter what time your class is scheduled. What happens when you have a night class one day and can’t take the pup out for his evening walk? Or when you have to spend the day in a library studying for all of your midterms?

Then there’s the weekend. After a night of partying there’s little chance to no of someone waking up to take care of his or her dog. And even if by some miracle you do wake up, nobody wants to deal with a dog while hungover.

On top of this, what if you and your roommates plan on having some people over to pregame, or even have a party? What do you do with the dog? All of the strange people and loud music will undoubtedly rile the dog up. None of this is fair to any dog.

Dogs need to be brought up in loving and stable homes. As college students, we just can’t offer this. No matter how much better you think your house or apartment will be with a cute little puppy, do everyone a favor and hold off until graduation to get it.

Photo by Aidan Meyer