Does is work having a dog in an apartment-which breeds.

Something that I did not see mentioned that I feel is very important when considering dogs and apartments is that if you decide on certain breeds you will have a much more difficult time finding somewhere to rent.  When I have browsed rental sites some of the dogs I've seen prohibited are pit bulls (and pit bull "types" such as American Staffordshire Terriers and Staffordshire Bull Terriers), rottweilers, Dobermans, German Shepards, chow chows, huskies, akitas, bull terriers, presa canarios, and wolf hybrids.

Not that members of these breeds are not great dogs, but owning them might make getting an apartment more complicated.  Now, there are rentals that will take these breeds--especially if they are well socialized, have good manners, have passed an obedience class or two and even better if they have their Canine Good Citizen.  The first place we lived with our pit girl was actually an apartment--but I had known the owner for years, and I'm not sure if her insurance company knew about Sally.  My cousin has a pair of rots and it took her forever to find a place to live.  She said that with most places, the second they were told the breed the conversation was over.  In the place they live currently, she told the landlord that they were large dogs and the landlord when on and on about how great big, slobbery dogs were, but never asked the breed.
     

Kota our New York boy lives normally in Down Town New York. He has the life of Riley, I know this will sound like an awful Brag but bear with me I have a point    .... Kota's Momma hires dogwalkers to walk the boy 4 times a day when she is at work, he goes to Puppy Day Care and Puppy Dog Spa several times a week. She takes him to the dog park when ever she can. Kota is her heart ! He has a complete wardrobe for all seasons . She is currently on a wait list for a ...wait for it .....3000 sq foot apartment down town NYC. ... she feels it will be "okay" for the boy.

His Momma spends craaaazy money on him , but as she has it that's okay.  Kota came to spend a Year with G'ma and G'pa at Camp Bwana. He had a mast cell tumor and radiation treatment and since her new job would mean horribly long hours she was terribly concerned about the Boy's happiness. The job was too good to pass up and having him come home with us has been a god send for them. It may also have elongated his life as we have taken over 15 pounds off of him, he is building muscle and is always happy playing with the Raptors and Zion and our 5 grandkids.

Kota is an adult Rhodesian Ridgeback. Imposing at about 80 pounds he needs exercise, and controlled feeding. He house broke easily as most RRs will and didn't mind being alone during the day between walks. For it to work his mom has to spend heavily on him, getting a big dog friendly apartment in downtown NYC is not easy , He had to be ttrained from very young on about dog parks and manners so he would be welcomed everywhere. She is nearly rabid about picking up after him , we trained her to be.... We tell our puppy owners Bwana Pups should never leave anything behind them but SMILES ... as we are pretty tough on our own yard cleanliness and we have a pack of 8 , our puppy families listen when we speak and take it to heart.

If you do not have the time to walk and train your puppy to eliminate outside, while carrying pooh bags and cleaning up instantly ...not later or in the morning... If you don't have a great common area withh grass or live next to a dog friendly park...If You have lots of extra time and money to spend on your fur kid MAYBE you should rethink getting a dog ???

Any small to medium dog is do-able in an apartment for a new comer to the dog world. It does not have to be a purebred, shelter dogs are just as likely to be sucessful in apartment living.  If you are not a stay at home mom...what are you going to do if the pup barks all day when you leave? I know you might think I am obsessive about the picking up thing , but one dog messing everywhere and not cleaned up after can make an apartment complex decide to stop housing dogs.  Keep in ming sharing common area has it's dangers...if you do not keep your dog up to date on it's vaccines you run the risk of picking up all types of expensive or life threatening illnesses. Dogs are NOT cheap, they aren't toys and aren't fads... are you planing on having this dog for , say 10 years ?? That would be about right for an apartment Rhodesian, a smaller dog would live MUCH longer.  But this is a life style and life commitment.  I see people oooohing and aaahhing over celebrities and their toy dogs dressed up cute  .... I feel kind of ill... and I think how many people are going to run out and get a dog only to give it away when it gets in the way of the rest of their lives....?

Bonita of Bwana

I just got Jack (hes a 15 lb. terrierish mix lol) last week, and let me tell you having a dog in an apartment is so so so much more involved then having a dog in a house. It really does take a lot more time and energy than you would think. We walk twice a day (after breakfast and before bed) and sometimes in the middle if i have time. Jack wont go potty unless we Walk! (it was rainy the other day so i tried to just go right outside the door and he wasnt having any of it!) Its not easy but I would not trade it for the world. Just be aware popping him/her over the balcony might not work. Good luck.

I have a 2 year old poodle mix and have lived with her in an apartment since she was a puppy.   For me, there is no real difference between living in an apartment or a house in terms of her exercise.   When we visit friends or family with yards, the yard is just convenient for pottying but does absolutely nothing in terms of exercise because the yard is just a holding pen and she will not exercise herself.   I spend about 1-3 hours/day walking with her and running off-leash and we would need to do this no matter where we lived.    Yes, there were times during potty training that I wish I could just open the door to a backyard and let her out rather than having to put on a coat and shoes and take her downstairs and around the corner, but it's really not a big deal.  I think the primary considerations in terms of what kind of dog you should get is how much time you can devote to exercising and providing activity for the dog, what kinds of things you want to do with the dog and the dog's personality, not where you live.   You can have a huge house but your Border Collie will still go crazy if you're not exercising it.  Barking and stigmatized breeds are the only apartment-specific considerations I would have.

Also, remember that the size of the dog doesn't necessarily correlate with energy level.   A four year old Great Dane or retired Greyhound will likely need much less exercise than a Jack Russell, for example.  My sister has a tiny Maltese and when she's under-exercised she will bark until your ears bleed :)   

You have a 2 1/2 yr old and live in an apartment, please don't consider a Jack Russell Terrier.  The first concern is they typically have a very low tolerance for very young children and why find out the hard way?  Also with a young child, I would expect you don't have the time that a JRT needs for dedicated training, classes, exercise etc.

Yep they can bark and bark loudly if not trained carefully, they ll bark at people walking by (whether they seen them or not), squirrels etc.

I give this advice from being a breeder of Jrts and competing with them, but more importantly from years of being a JRT Rescue Rep.

This should also include those stupid crosses as well, Pug x Jrt etc.

Good luck

Lynn

Dogwatcher-Willow lived in our apartment with us the first four years we had her.  It's not all that difficult to make adjustments for the living situation.  But, something about the way you said you would put her over the balcony in the morning and at night (IF it wasn't raining too hard). . .I just want to ask, you will exercise her besides that, right??

of course I would exercise too, I plan to take the dog with me most places, for nice walks and trips in the car.  I just thought if the dog was desperately in need to relieve it' self, I have an open balcony on ground level, they good just pop onto the grass outside easily with me, and then later I could take for a walk.  I couldn't get up immediately in the morning and walk the dog, but I little bit later would be no prob.  Do dogs, when they wake up need to go immediately?

i take mine immediately. i usually sleep 8 or 9 hours when i can, so i figure they have to go pretty bad!

I'm going to caution you heavily to wait until your child is five, and has more impulse control. Little toddlers have no idea that things like grabbing and twisting hurts dogs (and people). They are still learning not to do those things. And at that age biting is instinctive (for little kids!!). Toddlers invariably go for a dog's eyes, too.

Either way, you realize you can't leave a dog alone with a toddler, right? Even for a few minutes... 20 seconds....any time at all? This is how little kids get bit.

Having a toddler is totally time-consuming, I sure do know! I'm so glad I survived that stage, LOL!

Then there is the fact that you can't put the dog in the yard, but must constantly watch both dog and kid, unless the dog spends a lot of time in a crate. It could get really hard to do things with your set-up.

I strongly urge you to wait a few years.

 I do respect what you are saying Jeano, and in most cases waiting is good for alot people. 

It is possible to have a dog and a toddler, but it takes alot of work. My son was born around dogs (small breed and medium breed) and grew up with dogs (he's almost 2 years old), and he is amazing with them. I had to work very very hard on "Gentle Hands" with him, and constant supervision. Even though he is little he doesn't slap, pull hair or anything like that. So it can be done, but you have to be willing to work very hard on it.

If I may make a suggestion, you should look into some of the breeds people have suggested and do some research on them. Find out what their needs are, how much exercise, grooming, feeding, cost, the works. And then go from there to determine if you are really ready for a dog. Good luck!

dogwatcher

I couldn't get up immediately in the morning and walk the dog, but I little bit later would be no prob.  Do dogs, when they wake up need to go immediately

I have a dog in an apartment, and it works okay, but it is A LOT OF WORK. I can't stress this enough. Having a dog in an apartment is HARD. It takes a lot of dedication and a lot of extra time. Going outside first thing in the morning when you'd rather stay in your PJs and drink coffee. Going outside late at night when there might be weirdos out on the street but your dog really has to pee. Making sure you walk your dog every single day because he gets absolutely zero exercise in the apartment itself and will destroy your house if he gets bored.

I think in your situation it sounds like a cat would be a lot more fun and less work. Cats can have very, very different personalities, so if you want a "dog like" cat, I'm sure you can find a nice, snuggly, obedient cat at your local animal shelter. My BF's cat is better behaved and better trained than my BF's dog, and is MUCH quieter and MUCH less work! 

 I have a Sibe and two cats in an apartment (finding a landlord who would take us was a pain).  The trick is to figure out a schedule so the dog gets plenty of exercise.

Another important thing is to be considerate of your neighbors, if they get irritated and are constantly calling the landlords, you won't be able to have a dog for long.  We clean up everytime he goes to the bathroom (remember a flash light for at night, nothing more irritating than trying to clean up poo by smell).  Our downstairs neighbor is terrified of dogs so whenever we are out we are careful to keep our distance from her.  Every so often we check with them to make sure that Radley is not barking during the day or that him running through our apartment is not disturbing them. 

dogwatcher

SO does it work having a dog ina apartment??  Which breeds do you recommend for apartment life, I also have a 2 and a half year old.  I live on the ground floor, I could pop the dog over the balcony (sounds bad-but no prob because on the same level as balcony!)  first thing in the morning and last thing at night as long as it wasn't raining to hard.  I would have to climb over the railings though to poop scoop, lol!!!!  Oh, do dogs use litter trays, ok stop laughing!!!!!!

While I am sure that a ton of dog-knowledgeable people live successfully in apartments with dogs, I'm going to say "no" to your first question because it sounds like you're a beginner.  We waited until we owned our home to get a dog and I think that's the best thing to do.  If we ever had to rent again, our dog would be a settled member of our family so we could seek out housing suitable for her needs. 

It's best to get an older dog but most rescues won't adopt to renters.  I was talking with someone who does rescue and she said that 98% of adoptions to renters fail.  The reason?  Even if your apartment complex is "dog friendly", the management (and your neighbors) tend to be "friendly" only until things go wrong.  As a personal example, I fostered a greyhound several years back when I was renting.  Within a month, I was asked to get rid of the dog or move out.  Apparently, a woman complained that the greyhound had barked at her small fluffy dog while we were walking on the leash (this was a retired racing greyhound and they tend to be very interested in small dogs).  I thought nothing of it - the woman was about 50 feet away, I redirected the grey's attention and I didn't even remember the incident!  But people are fickle, and a dog's welcome in a rental property can wear out quickly.  That said, if you have a house-trained, non-barking, non-aggressive dog that can handle any situation with grace and ease (most can't), I would say that yes, you can have this dog in an apartment.

Based on your post, it sounds like you'd be better off with a cat or fish or another pet that doesn't require the level of commitment that having a dog does.  I don't have a fenced yard and so I walk my dog 3-4 times a day - rain, snow, sleet, shine, hurricane, whatever!  Since she's still in the puppy-ish phase, I have to exercise her for a good 45 minute session EVERY day.  If I don't, she'll tear apart the house or engage in destructive behavior due to pent up energy.  A tired dog is a good dog, and dangling it over the railing twice a day (and not at all if its raining??) to relieve itself definitely won't yield a happy and balanced dog or household.  Sorry if this sounds harsh but I just wanted to add my two cents.

I lived in an apartment for 5 years with my three dogs (at the time a Basset, Chow and a Yorkie) It did fine for us..my dogs are fairly low key, and I did have a small yard in front of the apartment (it was a small building, and all were ground floor). It was also a mere block from the large park, so plenty of exercise opportunities.  I also had my dogs before moving into an apartment, though.

I do think it can work, but you have to be completely devoted to your pet's care. You can't put off walking, taking out, scooping, training, etc. My pups are now in a house. It's nice to be able to let then out in the chilly mornings into the fenced yard for their bathroom needs, but aside from that, their lifestyle isn't that much different.