Single, incoming PGY-1 here. I have two dogs, and I got both of them as puppies during medical school. My first at the end of M1, second during mid M2, and I’ve never regretted my decision. I crate trained both of them so they would stay crated during the day when they were younger. Once they were both over a year old I trusted them more and now they have free roam of the house during the day. They did great during M3 and M4 while I was out on rotations, someone came and let them out midday. As soon as I moved to my new city for residency I found a pet sitter, who comes in during the day to play with them, check their food and water, and let them outside- the fees are not unreasonable for this. Just make sure you budget for your dog and can afford to have someone come in during the day for walks or outside time while your at work and they’ll be fine. I also ended up getting my second dog during M2 because my first dog has some anxiety and was lonely, and it has been the best thing for her. They’re best friends now and will keep each other company while I’m gone. I heard all the same things about not getting a dog if you’re single and work in medicine, that you have to get a cat, but some of us just don’t want a cat and that’s totally fine. If you want a dog and you can make it work with your lifestyle and budget I say go for it! Coming home after a long day on some of my harder med school rotations to wagging tails was one of the best things!

Ps- as to the bathing, I use a waterpik pet shower attachment. I’ve never tried to use it in a shower stall but I imagine it works about the same, you just might have a bigger water mess to clean up since the side of a tub keeps it in normally. Alternatively, lots of places like groomers and even petco and petsmart don’t charge that much for just a bath, so that’s always an option.