Transitioning to apartment life? (Dog)

[Geoffrey]

First of all, do you think it's "fair" to a dog to move them into an apartment if they don't actually need to?

 

I'm a college student and I was considering renting an apartment my last 1-2yrs so I could bring Zeke with me (he's kind of high maintainence and my mom has difficulty with him). One issue though, is that I think he might have some issues living in a confined space. When we go camping he tends to bark and raise a fuss when people walk by the tent (in a campground). Would it be likely that he would do similar things about people walking outside an apartment door? Or would he learn that the hallway = common ground and not bark?

 

The main issue is probably that he's got a mild case of SA - I don't think he barks while I am gone, but I know he will whine and let out a yip or two when I leave (or if he suspects I am standing outside the door). I figure an apartment cannot expect dogs to be 100% silent, but I don't think they'd approve of more than the odd (and infrequent) bark or yip....

 

So....basically, how well would a mature (5yo) 70lb dog transition from indoor/outdoor country life where he can make all the noise he wants - to an apartment?

 

By the way, I am not planning on doing this until next year at the earliest - but I want to figure out if it's worth the effort of searching for apartments and/or roomates.

 

-Geoffrey

[Chesney's Girl]

Chesney moved from a house to an apartment just fine. I had to talk to my neighbors though because when we did first move he did have a problem being left in a new place by himself and would bark. Now he only does it occasionally, and not as long. He's happy and healthy living with me, and gets to the park a few days out of the week. He also makes a transition back to a house just fine when we go home for the summer.

 

I would just discourage him from acting up in the house like that.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

I used to live in a big city - not IN the city but I visited friends there all the time. I constantly saw people walking dogs. The thing about an apartement is of course you've got to be committed to personally providing exercise one on one and making time for it. No "cheating" by just opening the back door. When we first moved here we were treated to a taste of what life would be like in an apartment with all these dogs - no fences, the dogs didn't know the boundaries, and we had to walk dogs on leash almost exclusively - or at the very least supervise closely.

 

Seperation anxiety, mild cases anyway, are almost always cured with a very predictable routine. If your dog knows what to expect, it won't make him anxious when you walk out. and lots of exercise of course, and something wonderful every time you leave.

 

Ed had the worst SA when he came here - he tore apart two crates before we got it under control. But it was nothing but learning the routine. Now he's like, whatever, and doesn't even mind the crate. He's still nervous about the kennel a bit but he's not worked nearly enough, I think.

 

Good luck!

[setsail]

Jackson went from living with 2 other dogs, having someone home most of the day and having a nice fenced yard to living in an apartment as an only dog with us working 8-10hrs. He did fine with the adjustment. He never barked in the house and if he did start while we were home we just told him quiet. We would all drive around town and let him bark/howl in the car, but only with permission. He loved it and it was a great time for my DH and I. The apartment was more like a townhouse so he didn't have to worrry about the sounds from upstairs/downstairs. We later moved into a busier place in town with paper thin walls and VERY noisy neighbors. He was okay unless they yelled. Then he would shake a bit and whimper.

 

The best thing I ever did was look for apartments near schools/parks/fields. Within walking distance. We had middle schools nearby at both places and I would walk him over there every evening. We are now living at another place and I have a state park about a 15 min drive and it is much harder to stay motivated about taking him to run. But I still get him out there every day.

 

So my feral guy adjusted quite well. But he is pretty focused on us and laid back about noises, change, and other people.

[BCMomma]

I lived for years in a studio apartment with my first BC. But we lived near a lake, took daily walks/swims. But when I had to leave her she was just fine and only barked when she didn't recognize a car or person walking out front. As long as she had her daily walks she was a happy camper and good as gold. They will adjust to their surroundings as long as they still have their exercise and fun times and quality time with you.

[sweet_ceana]

We had to leave our house in CO (darn market can't sell it) & rent an apt out here. We found one that has a "dog park" and is very dog friendly. The dogs will bark, but no one gets mad... they are dogs. Ceana has gotten a little more protective of her house, but other than that she did just fine.

[Liz P]

I took 4 BCs to college with me and lived in a tiny apartment. Every day I drove them to a 2000 acre nature preserve for at least an hour of hiking. I missed 2 days in a row (finals + honors thesis presentation) and Luna ate my bed. No kidding, the box spring was trashed.

 

One of my dogs was the barking type, grew up in a big isolated house and defended his territory. BEFORE I moved him to the apartment I started to train him that barking was not OK. He never barked in apartments after an initial training/adjustment period but would bark while at camp sites or isolated houses. I think that had to do with the fact that in an apartment people are always coming and going, but at an isolated place strangers are rare so are reason for concern.

 

I lived on the first floor of a triple decker and the people above me didn't realize I had ANY dogs until I had been there 6 months. My goal was to be a clean, quiet, polite neighbor and not give them any reason to complain about me or my dogs.