Apartment Dog Breeds

[Lady Flying Furball]

My dog is fine and loves his home/apartment. I got him as an adult and he is great. Papilons are known for being great candidates.

I honestly think yoou should go for a suitable breed and frankly there are some breeds really suitable and others not! Plenty of quizzes on the net to help you narrow it down. Also, even apartments that allow dogs tend to stipulate 'small', in NSW often under 20kg so life as a renter could get hard.

I am on the ground floor and walk my dog out to toilet as he wasn't trained to use pads and he just would never go inside. It is fine BUT next year I move to a ninth floor apartment and at times think OMG I will have to catch a lift etc everytime! I'm hoping he might get litter trained when he sees my cat (looking to get one)!

[Aetherglow]

There are some laid back Lappies apart from Kivi! Often the boys are more chilled, but my girl, now that she is mature, will happily imitate a cuddly toy or a floor mat or be a "sleeping wolf" in her crate (by choice, with the door open) for hours at a time. There are also some Lappies who will circumvent every possible form of training to reduce barking, up to and including changing the pitch of their bark to avoid triggering anti-bark collars, or are in your face all the time for something to do. You definitely want either a very careful selection and extremely dedicated upbringing, or a calmer adult. Adult Lappies are not commonly available, though.

Mirawee, I still have to tell Tarja to stop trying to dig a sleeping hole in the carpet under the bed every night... Lappies do love a hole to sleep in. Or to strategically place treasure in. Or just to have a hole which they can say "here is my hole I dug!" about.

[Purdie]

Here is a list of popular apartment dogs i found.

http://archive.is/jYVK

[Dogsfevr]

The hr walk would be the easiest part,the toilet plan is the one to consider the most.

If your not wanting to commit to "alot" of toilet runs then a small dog that can be trained to use a pet loo.tray is ideal.

If you want bigger then you have a different toilet plan.

Consider the hrs you work & how long the dog would need to hang on for a toilet break especially bigger dogs .If your out from 8/6pm for example that s alot of leg crossing.

Do you have stairs or lifts to get down to the bottom floor??

Some dogs can freak at either so training in this area is a big consideration otherwise little & easy to carry may be better.

I am a person that prefers to think of the worse & then hope for the best so if carrying is the plan early on do a dummy run with something heavy .

If dog must share a lift then i would imagine manners will be very important so training a must early on especially for a happy bigger breed.

These above issues can also be factored inwith an older dog that may never have experienced either .

I handled a Dobe who was terrified of stairs & at a show had to carry it 2 flights up & down ,my worse nightmare.

Like many have said commitment will truly make or break your breed & being honest with yourself will make the decisions easy.

I mean if your a person who works full time but then like to go out in the evenings or similar then that is added time for hanging on to toilet & getting frustrated looking at the walls

[Polecatty]

I too will vote for whippets and greyhounds. They are generally quiet, easy going, tend to not have a strong doggy odour and they really, really enjoy their couch time! An added benefit with greyhounds is that there are heaps of adults available in rescue that are in foster care, so their carers know what they are like around the house. Easy to find something that suits your needs.

[minimax]

Also, if your strata allows dogs they may not be allowed on common property, which which means you have to carry them in the lift, foyer, etc so size of the dog may need to be a factor

[Lady Flying Furball]

Here is a list of popular apartment dogs i found.

http://archive.is/jYVK

That's an interesting link, especially including all size dogs. If I had a big apartment dog I would get a rough collie :D But for my 20 kilos worth I can have a herd of papillons

[Purdie]

Here is a list of popular apartment dogs i found.

http://archive.is/jYVK

That's an interesting link, especially including all size dogs. If I had a big apartment dog I would get a rough collie :D But for my 20 kilos worth I can have a herd of papillons

Some of the comments on the link were interesting too.I had a neighbour with 2 Weimaraners in a unit with tiny yard.He took them on a long walk twice a day and training time and he told me they were relaxed in house the rest of the time.

efs

Edited June 26, 2013 by Purdie

[Lhok]

Beware that Shibas can scream and it is a horrible noise when they do.

--Lhok

[PuddleDuck]

We live in a unit (ground floor with a yard) with a toller and a kelpie x shepherd. Our toller, bear, has lived here since she came to us from the breeder, doof was 6 when we moved here

The biggest issue is if they bark. We have an issue at the moment cos doof has just developed dementia and is barking lately, we only became aware of it this week so I'm trying to stay home or take them out with me until we can get a workable solution (thankfully I'm a stay at home mum so I can do that!). But honestly I don't see that as being too different to living in a house, I'm sure doof would annoy neighbours if we had anything less than an acreage....just with apartments you can annoy far more neighbours at the same time. Also keep in mind that generally you will have someone that thinks its cruel to keep dogs in units no matter how good an owner you are. It's frustrating but seems unavoidable.

[Bubitty]

PD I am curious as to how you got the strata permission for this?

We are thinking of buying closer to the CBD one day and would like to live there if it is possible to drag the kids with us. I think they'd love it since they are house potatoes but strata is tricky!

Edited June 26, 2013 by Bubitty

[corvus]

There are also some Lappies who will circumvent every possible form of training to reduce barking, up to and including changing the pitch of their bark to avoid triggering anti-bark collars, or are in your face all the time for something to do.

When Kivi starts it can sometimes be hard to get him to stop if it's frustration barking. Somewhere along the line he learnt to bark joyously and persistently when we come home. It takes him a minute or so to calm down again. Sometimes if we stuff a sock or toy in his mouth he's happy and starts doing his walk in circles with ears pinned back routine instead. On the plus side, we often get roo-roos, which are considerably cuter and less irritating than barking. Only his special favourites get roo-roos. People love it. He stays indoors when we are not around as he was noisy by himself in the yard. But he's quiet and content inside, and he can comfortably hold it a full day. It would be my preference to let him spend more time outside because he likes it.

Mirawee, I still have to tell Tarja to stop trying to dig a sleeping hole in the carpet under the bed every night... Lappies do love a hole to sleep in. Or to strategically place treasure in. Or just to have a hole which they can say "here is my hole I dug!" about.

Kivi still tries to dig sleeping holes in our floor and we have pulled all the carpet up. He is known to dig holes in the yard and sit in them and bark until someone comes to look at it. He also one time dug a hole at the dog park and quite deliberately pushed Erik into it and then sat on him. Kivi is a dork.

[PuddleDuck]

PD I am curious as to how you got the strata permission for this?

We are thinking of buying closer to the CBD one day and would like to live there if it is possible to drag the kids with us. I think they'd love it since they are house potatoes but strata is tricky!

Well we just had doof when we bought (and a cat). I put together a file on doof, back then he used to come to work with me so I got references from our work vet and directors, my vet and our old estate agent for the rental we were in before we bought here. Sent it to the exec committee (cost me $50 which seemed ridiculous) and they were fine with it. The only issue was the by-laws said pets were allowed but must be carried on common areas. In our case that was changed to 'must be leashed' cos there was no way I'm carrying 27kg of doof around! Then when it was looking like I'd get a pup I went around the exec committee and they were happy to sign off on it as doof's behaviour had been so good. And she's been fine

We've always been a very relaxed unit block though, frankly I couldn't care less about the little things that seem to be issues in other units (blinds need to match, no washing hung on verandahs, etc etc). People can do whatever they want provided it doesn't directly impact other residents 'peaceful enjoyment'. As a result we tend to say 'yes' to most requests that come through :laugh:

[Inka3095]

When I first heard the shiba scream I thought all my nightmares had come at once... such a horrible noise to come from such a small dog! Now I just laugh at Cinder when she lets one rip, and she rarely does it because she HATES being laughed at. Probably my laugh is just as offensive to her as her shiba-scream is to me :laugh:

[smisch]

Like i said, i'm not taking this decision lightly. With the hour exercise, i can do more but that would be a realistic estimate during weekdays. Weekends, im happy to spend thing hanging out with my dog going for obedience classes,etc.

So the general census seems to be :-

(1) very laid back dog (yay for laid back lappies, or is Kivi the only laid back lappie?)

(2) an adult dog (could a samoyed/keeshond/lappie/ dachshund still suit here?)

(3) a westie/ shiba inu / lowchen

Thanks for the feedback on whippets. Like i said, i have not had any experience with the breed and it was helpful to know that they are acrobats. :laugh:

Please keep referring breeds that you think are suitable as there may be some that i have been remised in looking into.

Once again, thank you everyone for being so helpful and honest.

not sure where you are (sorry on mobile so no locations) but if your in Sydney or central coast way always happy for you to come meet some lowchen friends first hand to get a feel as Darkrai said we're always happy for our pups to go to apartment homes providing they're adequately cared for.

[persephone]

3 flights up ?

WHEN ( not if ;) ) your dog gets the runs ..this is going to be interesting

are there lifts ? For leg injuries etc that would be good ..also.

I also suggest a smaller dog , and an indoor dog loo!!

there will also be times when you are unwell , and dizzy or sore, and cannot get dog out to toilet easily .... with an indoor loo a smaller dog will cope :)

Edited June 27, 2013 by persephone

[BlackJaq]

Here is a list of popular apartment dogs i found.

http://archive.is/jYVK

That's an interesting link, especially including all size dogs. If I had a big apartment dog I would get a rough collie :D But for my 20 kilos worth I can have a herd of papillons

Some of the comments on the link were interesting too.I had a neighbour with 2 Weimaraners in a unit with tiny yard.He took them on a long walk twice a day and training time and he told me they were relaxed in house the rest of the time.

efs

I would have to say I agree. My Wei gets a lot of exercise outdoors as well as training (indoors and outdoors) and inside time, to her, is sleeping time. Unfortunately I would say most people would not be able to spend this many hours working their dog and one hour is certainly not enough.

But with sufficient exercise/work/training a Wei will do fine in any size living quarters I believe. Without that they can be (extremely) destructive though and are escape artists when bored. They may also have strong guarding tendencies, so early training and socialization is very important.

[Phyria]

Kivi still tries to dig sleeping holes in our floor and we have pulled all the carpet up. He is known to dig holes in the yard and sit in them and bark until someone comes to look at it. He also one time dug a hole at the dog park and quite deliberately pushed Erik into it and then sat on him. Kivi is a dork.

That. Is. Adorable.

[mita]

[

Kivi still tries to dig sleeping holes in our floor and we have pulled all the carpet up. He is known to dig holes in the yard and sit in them and bark until someone comes to look at it. He also one time dug a hole at the dog park and quite deliberately pushed Erik into it and then sat on him. Kivi is a dork.

Kivi is the most gorgeous dork. Who couldn't love him.... he takes such pride in his 'work'.

We had a Sheltie who behaved like Kivi. We were less charitable than you. We called her our much, much loved nutcase. :) Her long nose always bore clues to her latest criminal activity.

Edited June 27, 2013 by mita

[sparkycat]

I also have a Lappie and she is the most delightful chatter box - she barks, howls and woowoos. She is fairly quiet at home but does talk about food, visitors, other animals and toys. She is happy to lie around all day doing nothing. I think she would be ok in a unit but she loves lying outside in rain.

She also dug herself a snow burrow - it is about 2m x 1m !