Apartment Dog Breeds

[mita]

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

[

That is delightful how the Finnish Lapphunds have their memory of living in snow.... so dig a snow burrow.... even when there's no snow. :)

[Alibi]

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 :)

This!

We live in a townhouse with only a tiny bark garden but our dog hardly is allowed out there as she chews on the bark and gets sick. She is only small and we have an indoor loo which is fantastic for all those reasons above. It would be a massive commitment to have to take a dog outside in all weather to the toilet at anytime of day and night, we have had our fair share of tummy upsets and the indoor loo is a lifesaver!

[dee lee]

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 :)

This!

We live in a townhouse with only a tiny bark garden but our dog hardly is allowed out there as she chews on the bark and gets sick. She is only small and we have an indoor loo which is fantastic for all those reasons above. It would be a massive commitment to have to take a dog outside in all weather to the toilet at anytime of day and night, we have had our fair share of tummy upsets and the indoor loo is a lifesaver!

It can be a real pain, but not much different to having an indoor dog in rainy weather. You just get used to it.

But, the runny poos are why we don't have rugs... anymore...

When we used to do the regular toilet walks, the worst thing was running the gauntlet past the neighbours' houses in my pjs first thing in the morning and last thing at night. :laugh:

[Katie P]

I wouldn't have a Japanese Spitz in an apartment; they tend to be yappy by nature. My best friend's JS lives in a house with a yard, is stimulated mentally daily and gets a huge amount of exercise, but she barks non-stop and if their neighbours were any closer, they would be getting noise complaints.

It would depend on the Japanese Spitz, both mine would be perfectly fine living in an apartment. I do not tolerate barking however except when someone comes to the door. Both of mine just sleep the days away. Keeping in mind that they are both regularly exercised everyday.

[spitzbaby]

It would depend on the Japanese Spitz, both mine would be perfectly fine living in an apartment. I do not tolerate barking however except when someone comes to the door. Both of mine just sleep the days away. Keeping in mind that they are both regularly exercised everyday.

Hi Katie =D

My Japanese spitz stayed with me in apartment and I didnt have a problem at all. If you want to toilet outside,a balcony of some sort could work. If your apartment is mostly carpet, vacuuming can take a lot of time but this would be the same with the other breeds you mention in your first post.

It also depends on the size of your apartment but in general mine had enough space to go do mad zoomies around and well some training goes a long way too :D good luck searching!

eta: oh i had some people (living in the same apartment building) scream when they saw kairu.. when he was a puppy so that might be something you want to consider if you're getting a big dog haha.. especially if you need to share lifts.

Edited June 28, 2013 by spitzbaby

[Arlizng]

I come from a country where 99% of young people not living at home anymore live in apartments. And many, many of these people have dogs. Your chosen breeds are all quite common and I personally know several Lappies, a few Samoyeds and a couple of Dachshunds all happily living in apartments.

The dog does not exercise indoors, so it doesn't matter if your home is small. You shouldn't rely on your yard for exercise either, so the size/existence of that doesn't matter. I lived in 1 bedroom apartment with a rough collie and worked full time. No problems, the dog got his morning and evening walks and we had a fenced off park nearby.

All of the breeds have a tendency to be a little barky, but this is a training issue and if addressed early enough, won't be a problem.

I'm planning on moving overseas again and given my circumstance over there I'll probably end up living in an apartment again. I'm not loving the idea, but not because I'm afraid the dog's not going to be ok with it. I just don't like having strangers one wall away from me. :D

I wonder what are the top apartment breeds in New York and Japan? When i visited NY, it was dogs everywhere! Which i loved. Good luck on your move.

Something to think about, as some of the posters have mentioned, you may have trouble finding a breeder who will sell you a pup to live in an apartment. And that would even go with many rescue groups. I'm not saying its right, I personally think most dogs would be ok in appartments with the proper care, but just be prepared.

We live in a tiny terrace house in the inner city (its like a townhouse), with our 6 year old Golden Retriever. We adopted her at 2 and she took a bout 2 years before she'd toilet in our pocket sized yard, so she's pretty much apartment trained. We exercise at the local parks & she's left inside in the day while we work.

It's been fine, but the (pre-yard) toiletting was hard. Especially the bedtime trip to the park in winter, in my jammies, half asleep & you HAVE to wait til they do something. :laugh: I'd hate to have to deal with toilet training a puppy!!

Have you considered an older dog? It would be much easier with toilet training, energy & being left alone while you work fulltime.

I think an older dog might be ideal in my situation, so i will consider that once i've decided which breed may be good. Pity, because puppy stages are the best.

Could look into a Shiba Inu?

My shiba lives inside during the day, gets walked daily, gets a big run on weekends but that's about it for exercise. She only barks when someone comes to the door and doesn't whinge during the day (or nothing to a volume a neighbour can hear anyway)

She sheds twice a year (at least) which is RIDICULOUS but you get through it lol.

I just youtubed shiba inu scream on youtube..A shiba was being given a bath and was screaming bloody murder. They are veryy vocal!

Here's the link for whoever is interested.

I've known a few Keeshonds. I think they're really nice dogs. There's no getting away from the fact they are also of the spitz variety though. :laugh:

The few I've known will bark but not for no reason, they bark at instances (visitors arriving).

I feel it's really important to look at general breed temperament, you don't want a dog that can't socialise with other dogs when your closest off-lead area is a dog park and you have no yard IYKWIM - just makes things harder for you. I'm not sure Dachshunds are very appropriate if that is the case. Plus 3 flights of stairs everyday is not going to be great as they age.

Whilst exercise is a consideration, you also need to be providing activities that tire the dog out, training session before work, a variety of environmental enrichment toys, rotation of said toys to create novel items each day.

Much hair in the breeds you've chosen - have you had a long haired breed before? I've had short->medium haired breeds before and now I have the Toller whoooooaaaa I had no idea how much hair they drop about the place.

You can join us in the robotic vacuum cleaner thread when you get your post count up. :laugh:

I had golden retrievers at my family home where i spent many an hour happily grooming them. :)

I think a Frenchy would suit :)

Haha, i think frenchies are adorable but not at the top of my list. Thanks for the suggestion.

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.

I met two whippets today! They had the most expressive eyes and silken coats. However, the owner mentioned that one of the two doest like learning tricks...is this a breed trait or down to temperament, i wonder.

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.

Kivi is the cutest and such a darling. Thanks for sharing. I blame the spitz threads for winning everyone over the finnish lapphunds. :)

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:

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.

Thanks. I will consider the lowchen. I live in Sydney. Are there any meet or breeders that dont mind inquisitive people asking lots of questions?

I dont mind excercising/training/grooming my dog. Granted, i know goldens' arent as fluffy as the spitz breeds.

I would love teaching my dog tricks, so preferably a breed that enjoys performing tricks too.

Across my apartment is an offleash park, down the street there is a vet and around the corner there is a fenced dog park. So there are a few opprtunities for excercise and socializing and hopefully dog meets.

Did someone mention that dachshunds aren't dog friendly and i should take that into consideration at the dog park?

So last i checked the breed tally is :-

- Finnish lapphund

- Keeshond

- West Highland terrier

- Low chen

Thank you to Everyone who replied although i did not respond to each one. Hopefully 'we' can lock down to one/two breeds.

[OSoSwift]

My Whippets love training and tricks.

I think it would be an individual personality and training method issue. Definitely not a breed thing

[OSoSwift]

My Whippets love training and tricks.

I think it would be an individual personality and training method issue. Definitely not a breed thing

[Zug Zug]

How about a Tibetan terrier? Clean in the house, nice house dog, quite athletic to get up and down those stairs, enjoy their training.

They are on my 'one day' breed list

[Bjelkier]

I come from a country where 99% of young people not living at home anymore live in apartments. And many, many of these people have dogs. Your chosen breeds are all quite common and I personally know several Lappies, a few Samoyeds and a couple of Dachshunds all happily living in apartments.

The dog does not exercise indoors, so it doesn't matter if your home is small. You shouldn't rely on your yard for exercise either, so the size/existence of that doesn't matter. I lived in 1 bedroom apartment with a rough collie and worked full time. No problems, the dog got his morning and evening walks and we had a fenced off park nearby.

All of the breeds have a tendency to be a little barky, but this is a training issue and if addressed early enough, won't be a problem.

I'm planning on moving overseas again and given my circumstance over there I'll probably end up living in an apartment again. I'm not loving the idea, but not because I'm afraid the dog's not going to be ok with it. I just don't like having strangers one wall away from me. :D

I wonder what are the top apartment breeds in New York and Japan? When i visited NY, it was dogs everywhere! Which i loved. Good luck on your move.

I'm pretty sure the most popular breed in NY at the moment is a Havanese.

[persephone]

If there is no lift .... consider what breed of dog can cope with all those stairs . It rules out the long backed ones straight away, I would think ...

[minimax]

You haven't said if your strata allows dogs on common property or if you have to carry them through the foyer and up stairs, in the lift, etc? That makes a massive difference into breed choice.

[Bjelkier]

If there is no lift .... consider what breed of dog can cope with all those stairs . It rules out the long backed ones straight away, I would think ...

I'd be more concerned with the larger breeds. I'm pretty certain it was the huge amount of stairs in our second floor apartment that made our Lab puppies hips worse

It certainly didn't help the issue

[mita]

[

I'm pretty sure the most popular breed in NY at the moment is a Havanese.

You made me curious. I googled the American Kennel Club's listings of the most popular breeds in their major cities. Here's the listings for New York City for 2011 & 2012.

Very intriguing, they say the Labrador Retriever has taken top spot in NYC, from Yorkies who've dominated in recent years.

http://www.akc.org/reg/topdogsbycity.cfm?page=1#NewYorkCity

Have a look at Newark above NYC for a mention of Havanese.

Edited June 30, 2013 by mita

[Polecatty]

Whippets don't enjoy or do well with certain training methods. I use a clicker for trick training and learning is a big hit in this house. :)

[Staff'n'Toller]

It was me who raised the issue of Dachshund's being dog friendly.

I am happy to be corrected, but obviously in a Vet Clinic context we generally meet ones that want to take off your fingers, and yap at all the other dogs. :laugh:

IF you have a lift, then look at a wirehaired Dachy or a smooth hair.

The miniature long hairs are the ones I personally see with the behaviour issues.

[Bindo]

This is more a story than a suggestion, but maybe for consideration. A friend of mine lived in the USA for a while and she and hubby had a mini schnauzer in their apartment (in a block where dogs were banned - don't ask). That dog was amazing; trained never to bark, used to get into an overnight bag to go downstairs via the lift and outside, never made a noise and never got found out.

From my MS experience, some are yappier than others. One of my girls is a barker when nervous/stressed or the doorbell rings, but apart from that, neither of them are yappers when home alone, either together or apart. Other good points for apartment living are non-shedding coats, a walk a day keeps them happy and good bladders :laugh:

[Bjelkier]

[

I'm pretty sure the most popular breed in NY at the moment is a Havanese.

You made me curious. I googled the American Kennel Club's listings of the most popular breeds in their major cities. Here's the listings for New York City for 2011 & 2012.

Very intriguing, they say the Labrador Retriever has taken top spot in NYC, from Yorkies who've dominated in recent years.

http://www.akc.org/reg/topdogsbycity.cfm?page=1#NewYorkCity

Have a look at Newark above NYC for a mention of Havanese.

I was only going off what Havanese owners in NY tell me and they seem to believe they are some of the most common dogs there.

[Arlizng]

You haven't said if your strata allows dogs on common property or if you have to carry them through the foyer and up stairs, in the lift, etc? That makes a massive difference into breed choice.

Thanks for the reminder. I had checked and dogs are allowed on common property. I have only seen a few maltese looking mixes...and my neighbour is one of them. I wouldnt even know they have a dog until i bumped into them walking their dog. :)

Also, i have attached this link for anyone who hasn't had a look yet...hoping it'll lead to a more dog-friendly sydney. :)

http://news.domain.com.au/domain/real-estate-news/apartments-go-to-the-dogs-20130619-2ojec.html

[

I'm pretty sure the most popular breed in NY at the moment is a Havanese.

You made me curious. I googled the American Kennel Club's listings of the most popular breeds in their major cities. Here's the listings for New York City for 2011 & 2012.

Very intriguing, they say the Labrador Retriever has taken top spot in NYC, from Yorkies who've dominated in recent years.

http://www.akc.org/reg/topdogsbycity.cfm?page=1#NewYorkCity

Have a look at Newark above NYC for a mention of Havanese.

Correct me if i'm wrong but labs are a working sporting breed and they are doing fine in a NYC apartment? :) That is encouraging i suppose.

Whippets don't enjoy or do well with certain training methods. I use a clicker for trick training and learning is a big hit in this house. :)

Certainly clicker training is something i am looking forward to sharing with my dog. I have not yet tried this technique but have listened to dog training podcasts about it...yes..i'm a geek. :)

It was me who raised the issue of Dachshund's being dog friendly.

I am happy to be corrected, but obviously in a Vet Clinic context we generally meet ones that want to take off your fingers, and yap at all the other dogs. :laugh:

IF you have a lift, then look at a wirehaired Dachy or a smooth hair.

The miniature long hairs are the ones I personally see with the behaviour issues.

Oh dear, if i were to be a good fit for dachshund, that is what i would pick. I could attempt to make them vet-friendly since i have one down the street from me. You would want to keep those fingers.

This is more a story than a suggestion, but maybe for consideration. A friend of mine lived in the USA for a while and she and hubby had a mini schnauzer in their apartment (in a block where dogs were banned - don't ask). That dog was amazing; trained never to bark, used to get into an overnight bag to go downstairs via the lift and outside, never made a noise and never got found out.

From my MS experience, some are yappier than others. One of my girls is a barker when nervous/stressed or the doorbell rings, but apart from that, neither of them are yappers when home alone, either together or apart. Other good points for apartment living are non-shedding coats, a walk a day keeps them happy and good bladders :laugh:

Thanks. Non-shedding coats are certainly a plus if your warerobe had a lot of black in it.

[mita]

Correct me if i'm wrong but labs are a working sporting breed and they are doing fine in a NYC apartment? :) That is encouraging i suppose.

/quote]

You're right about Labs. So I was intrigued that the American Kennel Club listings for the most popular dogs in New York City, now have Labs at the top. Most people live in apartments or attached dwellings in that City. I expected the list would be full of 'smallies'.

But I should've guessed. I once got a book out of the local library by one of the top US dog trainers. Called 'Metrodog:Essential Guide to Raising Your Dog in the City'. His clients and their context was New York City. It was a great read, with lots of tips & pics. And he was pretty open about breed & how they could be catered for.

But that's part of the New York City culture to have dogs of all shapes & sizes in dense housing. And they have all sorts of services to support it. As well as more social acceptance. We're well away from having a culture (or even climate!) & environment like that, in Australian cities.

I notice the book is available from Amazon. But I borrowed a copy from a library:

http://www.amazon.com/Metrodog-Essential-Guide-Raising-Your/dp/0446679186

Especially read the Customers' Reviews of the book underneath.

Edited July 1, 2013 by mita