Good breeds for apartment living? General Chat

Well I live in a flat with a young Labrador. I have no garden, just a tiny concrete balcony which isn't used for toilet purposes as it takes days to dry when I clean it. I've also had a border collie and what was likely a pointer mix in a flat. None have had issues from it. None have bothered about the lack of a garden, none have been bouncing off the walls or noisy because of not having a garden. Two have gone from a house with a garden to a flat with no garden, one has lived in a flat all his life. I'm what's classed as ground floor here but it's still up a flight of stairs.

I don't see what the big deal about having a dog in a flat is to be honest. I don't see how I'm selfish for having a dog in a flat. Nor do I see how my dog is suffering for not having a garden. I'm sure his quality of life is a hell of a lot better than all these poor dogs who never leave their house or garden.

Well I have now lived in a house with a garden (moved froma first floor flat no garden) for 5 days. Granted the garden isn't properly fenced yet so it's not quite the same but so far I have only used it for a night time toilet. The rest of the time I have been taking her to the park behind the house.

I don't see why people are against dogs in flats. I think it very much depends on the owner and yes; if a lazy person was going to have a dog that dog would be better off with a garden or it will never get any air but for committed dog owners who are happy to take the dog out to the toilet, clean the dog every time you get in from a walk, offer plenty of exercise and stimulation I can't see the issue.

As the owner of two whippets, I would say they could be a good breed to live in a flat but a greyhound would probably be easier. Greys tend to be a lot more chilled whereas whippets (or at least some whippets) do often need to let off some steam. One of my whippets LOVES a good blast running around the garden, but how important this is would depend on whether you have good, safe and (very) secure places to allow them to run offlead regularly.

My whippets will also bark like CRAZY if they see cats in the street from the living room window. It might be worth considering this fact with respect to an apartment: a) would the dog be able to see cats etc from the windows and b) if so and they bark, would it disturb the neighbours. An apartment may well be better than a house in this respect (less chance of them seeing cats etc) but would be worse if the dog does bark. It all depends on the individual dog as to how they react to cats etc.

Whippets (and greys) are certainly excellent house dogs (by this I mean indoors, not house as opposed to apartment). They shed very little, require no grooming other than a firm stroking, don't have doggy odour at all, don't slobber, don't eat much, like to be clean indoors, and love to snuggle up and sleep 90% of the time. I have dog allergies but am not at all allergic to my whippets. They are prone to "attacks of the zoomies" though which could be noisy for neighbours living below!

I believe one of my whippets would be quite happy to live in apartment, whereas the other just loves his regular blasts around the garden too much. If you are interested in an older rescue dog then chances are you could find one well matched to apartment living.

Exactly. It takes a bit more commitment from the owner but I really don't see how it's selfish or unfair to have a dog while living in a flat. And surely a dog living in a flat and taken out for regular walks is better off than a dog living in a house with a garden it never leaves.