Apartment Puppy!

[CostumeMistress]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 12:44am

I need suggestions... when my apartment contract is up, I want to move into a place that will let me have a puppy. This puppy would be walked daily but would have to be okay with being home alone during the day and living in a studio apartment. I've been thinking about a pugle - does anyone here happen to own one? Also, anyone have any other suggestions for dogs that you've kept in small-ish apartments? Thanks!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 12:53am

I had a friend who lived in a studio. She walked her puppy in the morning and left him all day in a big kennel. The kennel was an eye sore because of it's size and the smallness of the apt. I thought it was cruel but she insisted the dog was fine with it.

[CostumeMistress]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 12:54am

Nah, no kennel for me... just looking for a small but well-behaved puppy.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 12:56am

I responded a bit on the other posting, but it's probably best, if you're going to be gone for long periods of time to crate-train the puppy. It seems cruel, but as long as you do it in a humane way, it's the best way to train the dog, and protect your apartment. When the dog gets older, you can start to extend the time in which it's allowed to roam the house, though.

[BluCat500]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 1:25am

Maybe a Bichon Frise they're bred to be lap dogs, and they don't shed...

[Mamie]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 11:00am

Bichon's don't shed but they do take a LOT of grooming. My fav apartment pup is a Boston terrier. They're very friendly, very small, don't shed a lot, and make nice couch potatoes when you don't feel like running around.




Boston terriers

Updated On: 7/24/05 at 11:00 AM

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 11:02am

Yorkies are adorable! Very well behaved as well.

[AbbaRabbit]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 11:03am

bichons are also very hyper. i would recamend not getting a puppy, but an older dog, like a year old. alot of the cute little dogs that don't shed alot are very hyper as puppies and would not be happy in a small apartment. maybe something like a toy or miniature poodle.

crate training a dog is not horrible... they actually like it. we have a 13 year old lab who's crate trained. she goes in her crate by herself and lies down... we took it out once and gave her a dog bed and she cried all night for her crate.

[Mamie]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 11:10am

Most of the dogs we've had have all been crate trained. At night you tell them to go to bed and they'll go directly to their crate. They think of it as their inside dog house.

I really can't recommend a Bichon because they really are super-hyper. My sister has had 2 and they're practically crawling across the ceiling when company comes. One of them is 13 years old and she's still hyper.

Miniature poodles are a nice size for an apartment and they're so darned smart that you can almost get them to read the NY Times to you in the morning. Problem again is the grooming. Since we never showed ours, we kept him in a puppy cut. This is the simplest and makes them look a lot like a slightly shorn lamb. Even at that, he still had to be brushed every day or he got knots in his coat. The BF's are the same.

Updated On: 7/24/05 at 11:10 AM

[Corine2]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 11:35am

I think you should get a Bull dog. My friend works long hours and her dog sleeps all day.
They are easy to take care of and don't mind being alone.
Terriers are the opposite. They need constant attention.
Last night I went out with some friends for dinner and this woman brought her toy Yorkie to the restaurant. It was the cutest doggie. But, he kept barking and it broke my heart so I kept excusing myself and petting him. I wanted to take the dog and run. He looked like GIZMO from Gremlins and kept kissing me.
Dogs are the best! Updated On: 7/24/05 at 11:35 AM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 11:40am

I'd go with something small and friendly - Toy Poodle, Yorkie, Bichon, Boston Terrier (many have been mentioned already) or even, go to a shelter and find a nice, small, friendly mutt, as getting a very young puppy may not be particularly advisable in an apartment when you won't be home very much.

[KelRel]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 11:41am

I have a chihuahua and she is great. SHe is full grown now and she weighs a whopping 6 lbs. She is very smart, wery well behaved and there are no grooming problems. She is also very protective of her home so if she hears someone knocking on the door she will go nuts until I let them in and she knows that they are "ok". I have crate trained her and she loves her crate. I leave it open al the time so if she gets tired and just wants to go lie down and not have our other dog bug her she will get in her crate. I have some cute pictures of her just laying in her crate with her front paws sticking out as she watches tv.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 11:41am

Ctrate? is that the same as a closed kennel? or is it something the dog can jump in and out of?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 11:44am

Crates have doors, so when the dog is old enough to be trusted, or while you're home to supervise a young dog, you can leave it open so the dog can come at go as it pleases. They're usually made of metal rods, so the dog can see out of it. The philosophy behind it is that the dog begins to see the crate as his territory, and his "house" or sorts, and won't want to mess up this area, like he might see fit to do if he were running rampant about your apartment. Most dogs that are crate trained do end up, even when they're allowed out of the crate full-time, retreating into it at some point during the day, whether it be to eat, to nap, or whatever.

[KelRel]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 11:46am

It is a closed kennel. The trick with a crate or kennel is that you ahve to buy one big enough for the dog to be able to stand up and move around a little and long enough for it to lie down comfortably. Unless you keep them locked up for extended periods of time they are not cruel at all. It acctually proveds the dog a sense of security and gives them their own "home". I let my chihuahua sleep with me once and when I woke up I couldn't find her. I looked all over and I finally looked in her crate and there she was asleep on her blanket.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 11:51am

I see the crate/kennels as cruel but I guess to an animal they aren't. My sister has her puppy in a crate and he seems fine with it. One time when he got scared because of a noise , he ran in the crate. The problem like others have said is that it should be big enough to move around in. I think they sell metal crates that collapse when not in use.

I think it's going to be very difficult on both of you if you let the puppy run around all day in your studio while you are working.....Do you have the option to come home for lunch?


Updated On: 7/24/05 at 11:51 AM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 11:53am

How cruel they are sort of depends on how you use it. There are definitely animal abuse cases that involve the mis-use of crates, but if you use them the "correct," recommended way, they're an easy way to train the dog, both for the dog and for the owner. And yes, you can buy ones that collapse so they don't take up a ton of space; and they come in all sizes.

[DayDreamer]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 12:44pm

Dogs, by instict, like small spaces. If you were to leave a dog outdoors and let it go feral (wild...), it would dig a hole as it's den. Also, leaving a dog with the run of an apt. adds too much stress to the animal... they feel they have to protect the entire apartment, and that's what causes a lot of barking problems.

Crates make a dog feel secure, they recreate that 'den' feeling. It has to be big enough for the dog to stand and turn around. They are also great for house-breaking, as dogs will not 'go' where they sleep.

However, an inside dog should not be left alone longer than 7 or 8 hours, as a young adult. Puppies need a lot more attention, and probably until they're 6 months shouldn't be left alone longer than 4 hours.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 12:51pm

Get a cat!

bwaysinger can tell you MUCH about raising a pug in the city!

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 12:59pm

My friend raises chihuahuas. This is one I ALMOST got, but working on the road doesn't work for a dog.

She's fully grown here.

[Mamie]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 1:24pm

I believe that Boston terriers were originally bred from English bull dogs. They used to be called Boston bull terriers but nobody liked the name so the word 'bull' was dropped. Still they behave more like a bull dog and less like a terrier.

Chihuahuas can be great if they also aren't too hyper. I agree with whoever said to get an adult. They'll be much easier to handle than a puppy and they probably won't mind being left alone during the day.

And PLEASE - adopt from an animal shelter. There are so many good dogs in there who desperately need a good home. DON'T BUY FROM A BREEDER OR PET SHOP!

[morosco]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 1:41pm

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 1:43pm

Mamie made a good point, to which I'd like to add that if you've got your heart set on a specific breed, you still don't have to go through a breeder (which will cost you a ton of money) or a pet store (which is usually unsafe and inhumane). There are breed resuce programs where you can adopt an animal, much like you would from a shelter, but they're certified pure-bred dogs.

awww, cute picture, Morosco. Jack Russells are pretty hyper, though.

Updated On: 7/24/05 at 01:43 PM

[BluCat500]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:45pm

AOL had a picture of a puggle up when I clicked on, amused me...

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 7/24/05 at 2:47pm

It's kind of funny-looking. Cute, though!