Hi

I Really need some genuine honest advice. I have a 5yr old staffie dog whom i love to death and who loves me to death. due to unforseen circumstances i am having to move out of my house in with my grandmother. She lives in a bungalow and has no back garden of her own only 1 she shares with 6 other bungalows. as my grandmother is quite old and friel and my dog as very friendly and playfull i would not be able to leave him running free in the house while i'm at work incase he knocks her over trying to play or incase he gets under her feet and she falls over him. i have asked the council if i can build him a run of some sort for whle i am at work and that is not allowed as it's a shared garden, the only thing i could do is leave him in my room with the door open and a babygate stopping him from being able to get under my grandmothers feet. obviously he would have plenty of toys, water and food and i would pop home from work on my lunch to let him out. i have spoken to a few of my friends about this and they are not too pleased with this, i know it's not ideal and it would only be for a couple of months but i'd like to know what everyone else thinks.

you're dog is a very lucky dog I think, you obviously care alot and I know Staffs are the most loving animals as we have one. Some circumstances arise and they are out of our control and not planned, your circumstances sound like this. Some people would immediately think of rehoming and yet your concern is only for your dog's wellbeing not even for yourself. I'm sure that for a few months he would cope so long as he has cuddles, toys and lots of long walks, perhaps before you leave for work in the morning. That way he might sleep most of the morning

He comes with me to see my horse in a morning and spends a good 1/2 hour running around the field with her, i think all he does is sleep all day while i'm at work as there is normally a dog shaped dint in my bed and a bit of doggie drowl on my pillow when i get home so i really don't think it would be that much of a change for him. my main concern is that he may think it's his fault i'm shutting him away as at the moment he has the run of the house. i could never re-home him unless there was no other way and it was the best thing for him but i don't think sending your dog to live with strangers is really in there best interests.

It seems obvious that you love your dog and as long as you give him lots of attention i think it would be ok as a temp measure.

sounds like he'll be fine, nice to see a Staffie owner with an understanding of what the breed needs, best of luck!!

I think he'll be fine :D after all he'll be with the person he loves :) and his routine won't have changed that much.  He may well bring a lot of pleasure to your grandmother too :)

Sounds like he will be fine to me too - leo is the same if we leave him we come home to a lovelly warm patch on the sofa and a very energeic dog because hes been sleeping for hours. Sounds like the run he gets in the morning probably wears him out anyway - buy him a new toy or two and im sure he wont notice hes shut in a more confined space...as long as he still has your bed to sleep on lol