I wondered what peoples opinions are on keeping a dog in an apartment? We live in a large, 2 bedroom flat on the first floor, with large communal gardens. We are planning on getting a puppy as soon as we have a house with a garden but my next door neighbour has a small puppy that she has in her flat, and I wondered if this was possible to get one sooner, or if it is really better to wait untill we have direct access to a garden?

The puppy would not be left alone at all during the day as she will go to work with my partner, she would be able to go out into the communal gardens whenever she needed to, but obviously this is not as ideal as the flat is not directly attached to the garden?

Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

What size breed are you looking for? Only you will know if your flat is big enough for you to live comfortably with a dog.

If the pup is going to be out all day with your OH I can't see it being an issue, the only thing I would do is speak to my neighbours that share the garden, letting them know that there will be a dog using it as a toilet, but assure them that you will pick up any mess as soon as itss done. If it seems like people will get hacked off by this I would maybe wait. Even though the garden is communal, is it secure? You also need to think, is it a safe place for the pup to go to before it is jabbed up?

We are thinking of getting a Japanese Spitz puppy - small to medium sized. I have read on some websites that they are happy to live in an apartment as long as they have adeqate excersize.
our neighbours are friendly and some of them already have dogs so it wouldn't be a problem - the garden is completely secure as well.

One of my pups went to a couple who live in a flat. The girls Mum had a Flatcoat and a rescue Golden, so she knew the responsibilities of having a dog. She worked a few nights a week and her husband worked days, so someone would be with the puppy all the time, which was more important to me than where they lived. Also, they had wanted a puppy for two eyars, but had waited until they had done their flat up (just in time for a puppy to wreck, she said! ) so that also went in their favor. They booked the pup just after the bitch was confirmed in whelp and already had a name, bed, toys etc, as they had been buying gradually.

However, despite their preparation, the girl did admit that at times she had wondered what on earth they had been thinking!

I would be more worried about the work situation. Whilst your OH might be able to physically take the pup to work, will his boss be ok that it isn't toilet trained? Will his colleagues? Will he be able to give it the attention a puppy needs?

A Japanese Spitz isn't the quietest of breeds from what I know. Will your neighbours be Ok with noise a dog might make?

I personally wouldn't see it as a problem, so long as it gets plenty of play time with you, excersise & training classes. And as it won't be left alone, thats all the better.

A dog that is never left alone in an apartment is better off than a dog left alone for 9 hours a day in a mansion!

One of my puppies went to a couple who lived in a flat - the man of the house was retired so at home all the time and the lady was so devoted to dogs and had wanted one all her life. They were both very active people and had thought about all the issues, talked to their neighbours and spoke to their vet (had had a house rabbit in the past). I think he was a very lucky to go to them, she rings me and texts me every week with progress. We agreed that he would only go to them after the vacinations to solve this problem, it also meant he was close to toilet trained by then but they had decided they would allow him to go in the flat on pads. I was happy to keep him longer and help in anyway because I knew they would make good owners plus at the end of the day if it really didn't work out (very unlikely) I would quite happily take him back anytime.

No problem we had our Briard when we lived in a 2 bedroom apartment, I was at home all day so she went plenty of walks and I took round to my Mom's as she has a large garden and Amber could play there. We now live in a one bedroomed bungalow and have a small garden, and we have no problem having a large dog, she may get away with more things, as you can't keep moving her when you go from one room to another, so we are always stepping over her, but it works well and as she is the boss most of the time we just work round her. As I'm 6ft and Hubby is about the same height so if we ever have another dog it will be another Briard, but that won't be for a long time yet, I hope. I just could not walk down the road with a small dog.

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Slave to Amber (Triskele's Orageaux)

As long as the dog gets regular outdoor time and exercise, I see no problem.

Can I suggest a Shiba inu?(ok, little bias cause I have 2) But they are a spitz if you like that look. Dont need as much brushing as a japanese spitz and are well suited to apartments. In fact, one of the reasons they are so popular in their homeland (japan) is due to this fact. Ok, they will twist you around their evil little paws, and if you want a dog that will blindly follow your directions they might not be for you. But I love them! Also, they arn't too over bread and tend to be healthy little beasts.