must you get a puppy in an apartment?
Yes, if you’re up for the challenge and can be a little flexible!
I live on a 2nd floor apartment, and I have a 9-week-old weimaraner puppy.
This might indicate I’m a little crazy. but it’s really not that bad.
It’s actually a lot much easier than I thought it would be. We’ve had adult foster dogs that were way a lot more challenging than this. So, it mostly depends on the individual puppy and your own flexibility.
Some people in apartments absolutely must not get a puppy, but you could say the same about people who live in homes with fenced yards. It just depends.
Jump ahead to:
gjemme seg
Should you get a puppy in an apartment?
1. Potty training a puppy is a lot more challenging in an apartment.
2. Kennel training & puppy crying.
3. risk of disease from other dogs
Benefits to getting a puppy in an apartment
Hva tror du? have you raised a puppy in an apartment? What was the greatest challenge?
Should you get a puppy in an apartment?
It depends on the individual puppy owner and the individual puppy (breed, predicted energy & size).
Here are some of the common worries about raising a puppy in an apartment:
1. Puppy potty training is a lot more challenging.
2. Kennel training (CRYING!) can disturb neighbors.
3. risk of disease from other dogs in the complex when using “community” potty areas.
4. lack of space. Apartments are normally small.
5. No fenced yard.
6. supplying enough exercise.
These are all affordable concerns. You just have to know if these are things you can manage or not.
For me, a lack of space and not having a yard and still supplying enough exercise (#’s 4 to 6) are simply non-issues. I will walk my dogs.
I will supply enough exercise through running, hiking, training classes, checking out the beach and parks.
This may not be the case with everyone, and only you know if you’re really going to commit to exercising your future adult dog.
If supplying exercise is going to be an issue for you (totally fine), then a puppy is not a good option. Instead, consider adopting a really lazy adult pet dog (they’re out there!) or possibly a senior dog.
Now let’s address the first three on the list.
1. Potty training a puppy is a lot more challenging in an apartment.
This really hasn’t been a big deal for me. I was prepared for it and I’m committed.
The potty training involves carrying my puppy down the hall, down the stairs, through the parking lot and to a “potty area” about every 90 minutes.
I’m on the 2nd floor, and it wouldn’t really matter if I were on the 49th floor. It would just take me a little longer each time.
Are you up for a lot of potty breaks that are a lot more time consuming than opening the back door and plopping him in the grass?
What about a potty break in the middle of the night? We’ve been lucky. Remy has been able to hold it all night but a lot of puppies can’t.
See my post: potty training a puppy in an apartment.
2. Kennel training & puppy crying.
This one has been our greatest challenge and the most stressful for me.
Thankfully, it only took Remy about four days to get used to his kennel and being away from his littermates, but he howled and cried (I’d even say he screamed) for the first couple of nights.
What worked for us to help him adjust was to get him really worn out by lots of playtime and exercise and to step his kennel to our bedroom.
Other things we did:
No water after 6 p.m.
Try to keep him awake all evening
Give him lots of yummy chews in his kennel
Feed him in his kennel
Cover the kennel with a sheet
Ignore his crying for the most part
Only let him out of the kennel when he was quiet for at least 10 seconds
Another aspect is the puppy simply needs time to adjust to his new routine. I was really anxious our neighbors were going to complain the first couple of nights. Thankfully, no one said anything.
Ask yourself, what will you do if your puppy is howling and crying all night or during the day while you’re at work? Can you deal with this?
3. risk of disease from other dogs
A third issue is related to potty training.
You undoubtedly want to take your puppy outside to go potty, but then he’s going to be using an area with a lot of other dogs. This is fine, unless there are sick dogs around, and then your puppy is at risk of catching kennel cough or parvo or whatever it might be.
My technique to this is my puppy can’t live in a bubble. I’m following the recommended vaccination schedule andUnngå kjæledyrhundparker og Pet Dog Beach til hans 3. runde med skudd.
Annet enn det er det ikke mye jeg kan gjøre. Jeg tar ham utenfor for å gå potte og tar ham med på turer rundt i nabolaget.
Det hjelper at jeg føler at vi er i et område der folk vanligvis vaksinerer hundene sine, tar dem med til veterinæren og har lett råd til disse tingene. Likevel er det ingen garantier.
Se innlegget mitt: Å gå en valp før vaksinasjoner.
Fordelene med å få en valp i en leilighet
Til slutt vil jeg liste opp noen fordeler med å oppdra en valp i en leilighet eller en leilighet fordi disse ikke er påpekt ofte nok.
1. Valper i leiligheter får mye sosialisering.
Jeg tar Remy ut omtrent 10 ganger om dagen, noe som indikerer at han ser mange mennesker og hunder.
Han har møtt postkvinnen, lastebilsjåfører, malere, bygningsarbeidere, folk som trekker kofferter på hjul, folk som ruller ut søppelbøttene og barna på svevdater. Han har sett sykler og motorsykler og resirkulering av lastebiler.
Sosialiseringsideer for valper her.
2. Leilighets- eller leilighetshunder får mye flere turer.
Ikke alltid tilfelle, selvfølgelig, men jeg føler at en ansvarlig kjæledyrhundeier som bor i en leilighet eller leilighet er mye mer sannsynlig å regelmessig gå med kjæledyrhunden enn en kjæledyrhundeier som har en inngjerdet hage.
Dette har alle slags fordeler relatert til å oppdra en kjæledyrhund som er i form og sunn, godt sosialisert, har mindre opphentet gal energi og er normalt bare en fin, veloppdragen hund.
Hovedpoenget, det er ikke ideelt å si at noen må eller ikke bør få en valp basert på hvor hun bor. Det handler om den enkelte valpeeier og den enkelte valpen, med tanke på rase, størrelse og energinivå. størrelse er den minst viktige.
Se innlegget mitt: Bor med en dyktighet med høy energi i en leilighet
Hva tror du? Har du oppdratt en valp i en leilighet? Hva var den største utfordringen?
Relaterte innlegg:
Skal jeg gå valpen min før han har hatt vaksinasjonene sine?
Trenger hunder en inngjerdet hage?