Hi
Can anybody help. My husband and I live in an appartment with access to large communal gardens, surrounded by beautiful parks and heath land. As I am at home all day I would be able to give the puppy plenty of attention and exercise. We have our hearts set on a labrador retriever and would like to know whether you think it is possible to have a labrador in an appartment such as ours. I appreciate any help and advice. Thanks.

hi,
i would make sure that you are allowed a dog in a appartment first wether you rent or it is your own property there maybe conditions to you having a pet, think about toilet training are you ground floor or top floor, are you happy to go up and down stairs several times a day or in a lift think about when you have bad wether even if you do not want to go outside in the rain and the cold the dog will still need the toilet and i do not think the residents will appreciate you opening the door and letting a dog foul over the communial garden, also check with neighbours that they are dog friendly, regards tina

I'm highly unqualified to give advice, but my view is that as long as you are prepared to put the work in, anything's possible. I guess the key thing is to ensure that you or whoever will be at home will have the time and inclination in the long term to take the dog on regular toilet trips. Would also be a good idea to do lots of reading up about your breed of choice to ensure you are familiar with most potential aspects of its personality and the likelihood of it being able to adapt to apartment life. Then suss out the practicalities - are dogs allowed in the communal garden area for instance? If not, toilet training a pup might be problematic.

I spent two years in Belgium, and it's very common to keep medium/large dogs in apartments over there - four or five floors up. Got no idea how one would manage to toilet train a puppy in that situation though, but maybe I'm just unimaginitive. Stair-lift perhaps?!

Hi Van -
We have a labrador, and we live in an apartment. I think that it is definitely possible to keep a lab in an apartment as long as you're comitted to making sure that he can run off lead several times a week somewhere. Labs are people-dogs, and although it's wonderful for them to have giant yards to themselves, I think that they'd prefer a small yard with people than a big yard with no one! They definitely need some time to run in an open space at least 2 X a week (depending on age & energy level). We take ours to a dog park 3-4 times a week where he can run his heart out, and an hour or two of running tends to tire him out for the next two days! Apartment labs also need some extra walks, but as long as you get them on a schedule, they're usually fine (at least mine is). Good luck!

I think there are truly very few dogs that you really couldnt keep in an apartment!
I used to keep 3 crossbreeds in a bedsit (just one room, and a bathroom adn kitchen) but it takes A LOT of work, lots and lots of exercise, and making sure the dog knows the house rules, mine were not allowed to play silly games in the house, as it was just too small, so they had more walks than most, to make up for that!

Em

Hi Sammy
Thanks for your reply I have had so many positive answers to keeping a labrador in an appartment. There is no way we would even consider it if we didn't have the time to take it out or to exercise it, there are plenty of beautiful walks and parks around. How did you toilet train your dog though. We have a balcony and I am wondering whether to put the puppy on the balcony whilst it is young before and after meals and sleeping etc or whether to just go straight out to the park. Also my husband would like to know as he is more practical than I am whether Labradors have a strong odour and if the flat will smell of dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What do you think?

Hi

A puppy will need to go out, on average, every 20 mins for a wee at first - so training him to use the balcony would be more practical.

Yes, your place will probably smell of labrador - but you won't notice it (only other people!) :D

HTH
Chloe

Regarding the possible smell - some dogs do, some don't! I've noticed that entire males tend to smell 'doggier' than others, no matter how often they're bathed; but so can bitches or castrates.

Pups can be trained to use the balcony (at least it's outside and you're not trying to train in to 'go' inside and then train it to forget that!) especially if you can put some turf on top of plastic for it in the absence of lawn. How many flights of stairs is it to the ground - you'll be doing a lot of carrying up and down, as many people recommend that dogs don't use stairs at all till they're at least 6 months old, to avoid damaging their joints.

Labs don't smell too badly, but your carpet will be unrecognisable - they shed. alot. :-) Invest in a good vacuum cleaner and be prepared to use it!!!

Perhaps an older dog would be better than a puppy, although they might still need some housetraining, they should have some control?
I know you're after a lab, but greyhounds make great apartment dogs, very lazy and loving :)
Had to get a plug in there for the greys, sorry!
Lisa
xx
Ps. All dogs have a doggy smell, all part of the package, but I'm weird, I like it :D

Our apartment does smell a little "doggy" occasionally, and there is some hair around, but to be honest, not loads and loads of it. Leaving the window open for an afternoon clears the smell out quickly, and as long as the dog isn't rolling in filth, you shouldn't have any more of a problem than you would with any other dog. Our lab was fully house trained by the time he was three months old, but only because we CONSTANTLY took him outside. I spent a month not working and settling him in before ever leaving him, and he picked up very, very quickly that he was supposed to go to the bathroom outside. As long as you realize that they need to go out soon after eating or drinking anything, most labs (at least ours) learn very quickly that they're supposed to go outside, and giving them a treat every time they do is an easy way to train them. If you can, I would avoid using newspapers all together because they just hinder the process. I didn't sleep through the night for at least two months, but it's the price you pay for unsoiled carpets!
Bottom line is that labs are very smart and love training, but they also love exercise. If you are willing and able to give the appropriate amount of time, I don't see any reason why you can't keep one in an apartment. I'm not a trainer, so this is just my opinion, but I do know that my lab is a happy dog. Plus, no one says that you can't play fetch in the apartment -- you just have to clear a space and throw it more often! :)

Just another note on housetraining -- I found that taking our pup out on the hour, every hour (he could last up to 3-4 during the night) was a good rule. And yes, if you have stairs, you will have to carry him up and down for a while, but we lived atop a HUGE flight of stairs, and I found that I loved carrying my pup around while he was still small enough to do so! Take advantage of it -- they get big very quickly!