Will my dog get in the way of my future plans? If so what do I do?

I'm 17 and I just got a standard poodle puppy. She is mine, and she will be my responsibility throughout her life, a 10+ year commitment. I got her as an emotional support animal, and she has been helping with my depression a lot! But I realized that my plans after high school are very up in the air, and non-traditional. I want to go into the music industry and I do not want to settle down. I really want to see the world, and possibly tour if I get the chance. I love her, and I love dogs, but the common understanding is that to have a dog you have to have the "American dream" lifestyle where you settle down. That is not the lifestyle I want, and I just want to ask if there's anyone who lives a non-traditional lifestyle while having a dog? How do you do it? Any touring musicians? Artists? Creatives? I want to keep her, and take very good care of her, just while also following my dreams!

Emotional support animals are welcome on airlines at no extra charge as long as you have a current authorization letter from your doctor.

Hmm well it's doable for you to keep the dog and still follow your dreams as long as you have your family there to take care of your dog whenever you need them to. You're still so young, so there will be times where you're probably not going to find somewhere to live that allows dogs. Your family should support you and take the dog for a year or whatever. Or, if you're lucky, you'll always find apartments that allow dogs.

My advice to you is take it one step at a time. If you end up becoming so successful that you go on tours, well then you can easily take the dog with you. You're a lot more likely to be working from home and keeping the dog in the apartment when you go off to auditions or whatever.

It's interesting that you say you don't want to settle down, and yet you want the responsibility of a dog. That shows that part of you does want the reliability. For most people, the "american dream" just means being able to pay your bills and to be surrounded by friends and family. I think we all want this. If what you're saying is you want the lifestyle where your home changes every week, well most dogs kinda prefer structure and stability in their lives. So if you find that your lifestyle is currently a bit hectic for the dog, then no harm in having her stay with your parents for a little while.

So standard poodle. You are looking at 15yr plus… ESA maybe relevant where you live in YOUR country, elsewhere in the world they are a pet and have the same conditions of any other pet.so forget traveling with you on airlines( they travel crated in the luggage hold and only on large planes that have temperature control to enable that or are shipped by animal carriers separately), forget going into business, forget renting a property and thinking you can use US local laws on ESAs, that stays in the US, you live by laws of the country you are in, so of course your pet will affect where you can travel with it or rather where you are able to have it shipped by animal carriers, quarantine, pet passports and all the fees they require, what hotels will allow pets, if you can find a taxi/bus/train who will allow it to travel… You will be looking at leaving it at home beinglooked after by family/friends/pet sitters or kenneled while you are gone

No, I can't see you traveling the world with a dog. Many countries have quarantines where you have leave your dog for a certain amount of time.

If you got a 3 month gig in some country where they quarantine dogs for 10 or so days, maybe more, that would not be fair for the dog. Seems to me at this stage you have some major decisions to make. A dog on tour would get in your way. Before you go world wide do some local touring, see what it like locally. Will part of this time be going to school? Will you get a house off campus so you can have your dog? It may come to the point where you have to choose either the dog or the prospective future.

Yes, a dog might get in the way of your future plans. Dogs take time and money to look after properly. People in the music industry don't typically make a lot of money in the beginning. If you don't have the time, you'll have to spend more money to have other people look after her when you can't. Will you be buying a house any time soon? No? Then you may have more trouble than most people finding a place to live because many rental places do not accept dogs or may not accept large dogs. There are many places you are simply not allowed to go with a dog, and many others where it just isn't practical. Travelling with dogs can be difficult. In hotels, for example, you can't leave a dog alone in the room. If you're going to other countries, there's a lot of red tape and expense to get a dog admitted. Getting the dog there at all can be a problem as airlines won't ship dogs at certain times of year. Dogs can't travel on buses or trains in many places, and you can't depend on finding a taxi which will take a dog.

I got my first dog when I was 19 or so. I would do the same again, but it definitely had an effect on how I lived compared to people the same age who had nothing to look after but themselves.

If you are not legal age you can't own property and dogs are property. You are going to be in the music industry with an emotional support dog? Interesting.

I have a non-conventional lifestyle, I suppose. I have a GSD (not a support dog of any sort) and she travels with me from City to City. I stay on one Coast for business, do not drive cross country, and will not "fly" a dog.

She is not a problem - but I'm not in the music industry.

First you got the dog then you thought about whether you should get the dog? What?

Rehome the dog.

I don't personally have a nontraditional lifestyle, but being a touring musician does NOT automatically disqualify you from being a good dog owner. Look at big stars like Dierks Bentley -- his dog just went on the road with him and even starred in at least one of his music videos. Also, I was reading an article just the other day that mentioned Taylor Swift's obsession with her cats, so I'm pretty sure she just totes them along with her, too. I would imagine that once you hit it big, any animals along for the ride end up being treated like royalty, and what pet wouldn't love that?

If you get emotionally attached to this dog then Yes, it will get in the way of your future plans.
There's no doubt you will have to leave the dog sometimes in the care of someone else or in kennels etc.
This will not be easy to do, and she will be on your mind all the time you are away from her
You should have thought this all out BEFORE getting a puppy.
We can't always have everything we want in life all at the same time and I
suggest you give the puppy up until you are more settled in your outlook.
At 17 years old and with the world at your fingertips, its no time to get involved with having to look after a dog.
UNLESS of course you live with parents who will willingly look after your dog for you whenever you want to spread your wings a bit and go off and do your thing. In which case there's every possibly the dog will favour your parents over you. Jmo.

It may be possible to have her with you going forward BUT I do wonder about breeders who don't ask the right questions re what's intended for the puppies they sell. We all make mistakes but for me, the biggest would be not to recognise this wasn't a good idea and not take her back to her breeder sooner rather than later. Unless of course, your parents will be willing to take over caring for the puppy, when needed?