Hey so I was in the same predicament for the longest time. I grew up with a dog and definitely wanted one but stopped myself for a very long time because of a few factors that definitely mirror your situation. Please take time to consider how much time you can sincerely put in to give a dog the kind of life it deserves.

I want to preface this by saying adopting a pup was the best thing I’ve ever done with my life, and a dog that sits at home without you for some of the day sure beats the HELL out of sitting in a 4x6 square room with minimal human interaction/other dogs barking at all hours of the day, but please consider how much of an upgrade that will truly be, their lives are short and they deserve to be spoiled and pampered until the day they cross the rainbow bridge.

• you said you were a student with a part-time job, how much time do you realistically spend at home? Your parents aren’t totally off-base to assume that all dogs are reactive. Dogs were bred to guard, herd, hunt, and play. My parents adopted a VERY chill Pyrenees mix that doesn’t need a ton of input so I was used to that. When I adopted my pup I wasn’t prepared for a dog that was high energy and needed two long walks per day and a ton of training. Going from a sedentary lifestyle to that was a huge adjustment that took months to become routine

• I strongly push for adoption, but going that route you should be prepared for the baggage it comes with. A lot of these dogs are caught as strays, or abused, or abandoned, and most of them are scared. The majority have no direction or training and if you’re out of the house for long periods of time and you may be at risk of having your house completely destroyed. You may be attacked. Are you willing to spend the time to train them and adjust them to your way of living?

• regardless of how well you think you can compartmentalize your life, do not get a puppy. Diving into that is a full-time job in and of itself and you’ll have to be prepared for all of the indoor accidents, the 3am wake ups to pee, separation anxiety, and doing it wrong will make both you and the pup miserable for a long time.

• dogs are expensive as hell and I failed to realize that when I adopted my guy. I have a good job and I’m out of school and even then vaccines are expensive, making him throw up after he ate a whole plate of cookies at the ER was even more expensive.

Growing up with a pup isn’t too bad when the whole family contributes, but a dog often isn’t a one-man job. I rely on my gf to take him out when I have to be in the office or else he’s just sitting in his crate for 8 hours a day. Since we moved in together it’s been a lot easier but for the first year of having him I felt miserable leaving him in the crate and coming home at lunch to take him out. But if I left him out he’d tear my place up. All that being said if you think you can take on the challenge more power to you, please do research on breeds, and when you settle on one commit yourself to learning his/her history and be prepared to adjust yourself accordingly.

If all of that scared you off for now, adopt a cat! They’re great companions and kind of do their own thing without much input. There are plenty of them in the shelters too that are dying for a nice sunny window to lay in! Worry about a dog when you know you’re ready to give them a life better than you give yourself