PostsAdvice

‘Is it realistic to have a puppy during my training contract?’

Avatar photo

By Legal Cheek on

14

đŸ¶ đŸ¶ đŸ¶


In our latest Career Conundrum, a trainee solicitor is thinking about getting a puppy — but how will she juggle life as a dog mum with the demands of a training contract?

“Hello Legal Cheek. Due to start my training contract soon (regional office of an international law firm) and wondered what your readers’ experiences were of owning a puppy while working as a trainee/lawyer? I’m aware I’m going to be working more than just 9-5, but my average hours look quite reasonable compared to some law firms on your Firms Most List. I will be living with my bf in a flat and would look into getting him or her (I don’t have one yet) walked during the day. Thank you.”

The 2025 Legal Cheek Firms Most List

14 Comments

Dean

Stupid idea. You should be in the office 5 days a week as a trainee to get the most out of the experience. Between the likely long working hours and social events (work and non-work) you will not get to see the puppy. Get one at a later, more approprirate stage in life.

Reply Report comment
(43)(6)

Greeno

If you’re seriously asking this question, you are definitely not ready to be a dog owner.

Reply Report comment
(44)(2)

Anon

Take the dog to work with you. I think Slaughter and May allow/encourage this. Not sure about others.

Reply Report comment
(4)(27)

kate

It sounds like you may not have cared for a puppy previously so please allow me to tell you a little about what you’ll experience.

For the first 6 months of a puppy’s life it operates on a cycle of about 3 hours. It wakes up, urinates and defecates wherever it is, it needs to be fed and then it will be very very active for an hour or so when it needs to have stimulation and interaction. Until it’s around 4 months old its muscles, sphincters etc will not be developed enough for it to have any hope of controlling when it urinates or defecates. Until it’s 4 months or more no amount of training will prevent the dog from messing where you want it to.

If you are not there it will urinate and defecate wherever it is – likely all over your floors. It will not learn to do so only when it is in a suitable place so even when the dog is adult you will continue to have it use your carpets etc as a toilet because it has not been taught to do otherwise.

During these first 6 months is when it will need attention every couple of hours. This is also the time to train a dog in the basics, best done in small 10 minute slots several times a day. If it is on its own it will bark or howl in the hope this will attract someone, anyone, to come to it. It will do this while you are at work and it will likely go on for hour after hour driving your neighbours insane and lead them to complaining to you. With no training in this critical period your puppy will be out of control giving you all sorts of problems when you want to take it for a walk, go to the park, mix with other dogs etc. Leaving a puppy on its own for 7 to 8 hours at a time is as cruel as leaving a human baby unattended for that long. Having someone come in ‘to walk it’ is woefully inadequate. I hope you do know that a puppy needs vaccinations and cannot be walked where other dogs go until it has received all those jabs and this will not be until its months old so ‘walking it’ cannot be done for months. The dog will suffer mentally and the effects of this trauma at a young age will lead to lifetime behavioural problems. Having a puppy and then treating it like this would be an act of deliberate neglect and cruelty.

You will not end up with the dog experience you are imagining and dreaming of. By the time the dog is 9 months old you will be beyond exasperated with it – repeatedly messing inside the house, howling and barking all day, untrained so taking it out ‘for a walk’ will be a nightmare and you will be wanting to get rid of it, asking a rescue organisation to take it on for you.

The dog will live the rest of its life with the result of the trauma and neglect it has gone through.

Please don’t think of having a puppy until your life is in a place where you can give it the attention, love, training and security which it deserves.

A cat on the other hand is a completely different proposition. You might want to talk with some cat owners and see if that might suit you.

Reply Report comment
(67)(0)

Anon

The dog itself will be the biggest factor in your plans here. For example, what if your dog has separation anxiety and cannot cope with being left alone even for short periods. There is no ‘recommended breed’ to avoid this.

I suggest holding off until you can dedicate the time to the dog. As another poster suggested, if you would just like a pet, consider a cat.

Reply Report comment
(10)(0)

Talking from Experience re: pups and TCs.

As a single parent training contracts 5 years ago were not flexible so in relation to puppies I would think definitely not!

You will be paying more in doggy daycare than you will get for wages.

Qualify, get to know your job, workplace and hours and then look at getting a pup. Unless your partner is working from home full time initially then what would be the point as you would never get time together and bonding is important.

Having a puppy is like having a baby literally, just one has fur the other has fuzz. Don’t rush into any other commitment until after your TC it’s not fair on you, your partner or the pup!

Reply Report comment
(9)(0)

Tired parent

My partner had a baby during my TC, whilst already having a neurodivergent 5 year old. I also took and passed SQE2 at the same time. Make of that what you will.

Reply Report comment
(1)(7)

SM121

Nope. Don’t even bother. You’ll be stressed. The poor pup will be miserable. Bad outcome for all.

Reply Report comment
(13)(0)

Anon

What is your boyfriend’s working pattern? Pup will need company and care during the day, so might be worth considering whether he can be around to offer that until pup is old enough to go to doggy daycare. Doggy daycare is probably be a better option to begin with then a dog walker – it offers socialisation and a degree of training if you find a good one, and takes up more of the day. Pups can’t walk far or for long when they are little, it can damage their young legs while the bones are still forming. A dog walker is something for an older dog, who can take longer walks, and does not need care and company all day.
Hope that helps

Reply Report comment
(3)(0)

Bike Brief

This is a terrible idea. Please don’t do it. You’ll have an unhappy and needy dog, you’ll be as guilty as hell. I’d regard a trainee who bought a puppy as displaying bad judgement and planning. Unless you have a partner who works from home, and your relationship is stable, please don’t do this. I know a bit about puppies. My wife, who worked part time from home socialised assistance dogs and held an assistance dog brood bitch, who produced 32 assistance pups. Also, you’ll have a nightmare renting accommodation. Give it a bit of time.

Reply Report comment
(9)(0)

I like dogs more than humans.

It’s doable, with caveats.

We (my partner, NQ at magic circle and I, previously trainee at Silver Circle about to be NQ at US shop) rescued a giant breed dog about halfway into my third seat. We hadn’t planned to get a pup/rescue until I qualified but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for various reasons. We are both reasonably experienced dog owners but this was our first rescue – rescues bring different challenges to puppies, but it’s a similar overall effort. It seems from the question that you aren’t an experienced dog owner, in which case I would recommend against rescuing.

The main things are choosing the right breed, training and socialising it well from the start, planning and having the support/infrastructure around you to make it work. On breed – it would be irresponsible to get a breed which needs more exercise than you will realistically be able to give it (huskies, labradors, collies and so on), or breeds which are prone to separation anxiety (most poodle-cross breeds). Also think about where you live – if you’re in a small flat in a big city, a giant breed like ours might not suit you so well. On training, scope out classes in your area and read as much as you can in advance so you hit the ground running. Classes are better for puppies than 1:1 work with trainers because you get the added socialisation and stimuli during training. Training time is an investment but incredibly important, as is socialisation. If you will not have the time to properly train or socialise the dog as a puppy, you shouldn’t get it (unless you plan to send the dog to a residential training facility). Planning/infrastructure are just common sense really. Take at least 2 weeks holiday, ideally sandwiched with bank holidays etc to give yourself as much time as possible, when you first collect the pupper. Stagger your work from home days to minimise the number of days that the dog doesn’t have company, and get a *good, reliable, experienced walker* on the days it’s home alone. Especially as a pup, you don’t want it going any more than 4 hours without proper human contact so you’ll probably need the walker to come twice a day for the first six or so months. Do not cheap out on this and ideally you should have two good walkers on speed dial in case one cancels at short notice. Make sure the dog has things like enrichment toys available to keep it occupied and lower the risk of destructive behaviour. If you have family nearby who can help with dog care, that’s great – but we don’t and we still make it work.

Dogs are a lot of effort and a 10-14 year commitment. You are going to have to go to a lot of effort and some degree of sacrifice to make it work, but being a dog’s human is one of the greatest, most rewarding feelings in the world. You just have to make sure that you’re getting one for the right reasons and that you are realistic/have your eyes open to the challenges associated with it.

Reply Report comment
(1)(0)

Alex

Some of the replies lack politeness but echoing some of the other comments, getting a puppy is a huge responsibility that requires hours and hours of work you likely cannot spare during these crucial two years of your career. See how you fare after a year or once you are NQ and go from there.

Reply Report comment
(2)(0)

Anon

I’ve been qualified for years. I have always wanted a Dog. Now, that I am self-employed, I have got a puppy – even while being self employed with my partner not working, it is a huge amount of work; more than I had expected. I have made the right decision for me, but I don’t know how anyone would cope having any less flexibility than I do. If I had a puppy whilst on my TC, it would have resulted in significant neglect. Not something that should happen to any human or animal.

Reply Report comment
(4)(0)

I too like dogs more than humans

The fact that you’re even asking this says it all. Dogs aren’t hobbies you can squeeze into lunch breaks.

This is exactly the kind of careless idea that fills shelters during ‘unprecedented’ events; for you, that could be a long holiday, relocating for a year to try out an international branch of the business, a change of living arrangement where pets aren’t allowed, splitting up with your partner, or simply realising it doesn’t fit into your life like you thought it would.

Hard ‘no’. Absolutely not. Start small, such as 
 a Tamagotchi.

Reply Report comment
(2)(0)

Join the conversation

Related Stories

news

‘I’m about to start my training contract. Got any advice?’

Keen to make good first impression

Aug 21 2025 8:35am
30
news

‘How are junior lawyers using AI?’

Amid the hype and hyperbole, one Legal Cheek reader wonders what real impact technology is having on the day-to-day working lives of trainees and associates

Aug 4 2025 8:04am
6
news

‘How’s everyone feeling about the NQ job market?’

Qualifying in September

Jul 25 2025 8:32am
38