What's a good type of dog for Apartment living with an active lifestyle?

Question

Hey I was just wondering what would be a good breed for apartment living as I am moving into an apartment next month and was planning to adopt a dog if possible from a shelter. I have owned dogs before, but all of them were large dogs, Husky and Rottweiler.

I have a fairly active lifestyle, and I love to run outside for exercise. I'm also a big park person and adventurer. I like to go walking in parks and doing various activities, from hiking, backpacking, watersports and snowsports.

Answer 1

Get a healthy dog with a temperament that best suits your active lifestyle. Since you have an apartment, you should avoid the hounds, terriers, herding and toy dogs that tend to bark a lot. English Springer Spaniels, Vizslas, Golden Retrievers, German Shorthaired Pointers and English Setters are great if you've got the time and energy to exercise them regularly. The bigger the dog, the longer they can go between walks and the easier they are to housebreak. And they can carry their own backpack on your hikes!

Irish Wolfhounds, Greyhounds and Whippets are terrific apartment dogs, as long as you can take them out for a long daily run. They ARE couch potatoes (like our Borzoi - Russian wolfhound) and you won't even know they're around most of the time. They are quiet and easily housebroken and much better than most small dogs. Be careful if you're adopting a racing greyhound off the track. They are often fine, but many have behavior problems (like destructive chewing) from being locked in a cage with little socialization. Also, remember that sighthounds are hunting dogs and some will kill small animals (cats, rabbits, toy dogs) if they haven't grown up with them.

BEFORE you get any dog you should read some great books on training. (Try not to pick books randomly - there are a lot of bad books out there also!) These are some of my favorites and you can get them on Amazon.com
What All Good Dogs Should Know – Volhard http://www.volhard.com/
Good Owners, Great Dogs - Brian Kilcommins
Dog Tricks : Eighty-Eight Challenging Activities for Your Dog from World-Class Trainers by Haggerty and Benjamin
Don't Shoot the Dog - Pryor
Training Your Dog: The Step by Step Method - Volhard
Dog Problems - Benjamin
Cesar's Way - Cesar Millan
Also, watch the Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel. Cesar Millan is the best trainer I've ever seen on TV.
http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/

Find a good breeder by going to www.akc.org or talking to people at dog shows. You can also find info about the breed clubs on the akc site - they probably have a rescue group where you can get an older dog for less money. The best breeders will be members of their breed club, promoting healthy dogs with great temperaments. They should ask you a bunch of questions to make sure their puppy will be getting a good home. If all a "breeder" seems to care about is whether your check will clear, you can be sure he won't care a week later when the pup is dying from distemper or parvo and you want your money back.

Whatever you do, DON'T go to a pet shop, a flea market or buy one sight-unseen off the Internet!!!! You'll pay top dollar for what is usually a poor quality puppy mill dog. And you'll be supporting one of the cruelest industries in the country. The breeding animals are often kept in deplorable conditions - spending their entire lives in small wire-bottomed cages. They probably haven't been vaccinated against contagious diseases or tested for any health or temperament problems or genetic diseases - that costs money and cuts into their profits. A female is often bred every time she comes into heat. When her poor little body can't take it any more, she is often clubbed in the head and tossed into a dumpster or an open ditch. Most puppy mills ship their pups to pet stores at wholesale prices and many pups die before they even get there.

These so-called "breeders" have now figured out that they can use the internet to ship a dog directly to the customer and thus make more money by cutting out the middleman. If you buy a dog from out of state, good luck getting your money back if there's something wrong with the pup. These people count on you becoming instantly attached to the poor little guy and being willing to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars at the vet to treat whatever is wrong with him.

Answer 2

Bichon Frise (French, meaning curly white lap dog, pronounced /ˈbiʃɒn ˈfriz/ or /ˈbiʃɒn frɪˈzeɪ/), is a small breed of dog of the Bichon type. They are popular pets, similar in appearance to, but larger than, the Maltese. Appearance The Bichon Frise is a small dog that weighs approximately 5 – 10 kg (10 - 20 lbs) and stands 23 – 30 cm (9 – 12 in) at the withers, but slightly larger dogs are not uncommon. The skull is slightly rounded and the muzzle is not pointy. The tail is groomed to be long and curly and is carried over the back. It has a black nose and dark round eyes, and its white hair consists of a curly and coarse outercoat and a silky and dense undercoat, although many of the breed do tend to have less curly hair than others. A small amount of buff, cream, or apricot color may be seen around its ears, snout, paws or body, but normally these colors do not exceed 10% of its body. Coat colors are solid white, apricot, or gray. A white coat is preferred in the show ring. The head and legs are proportionate in size to the body, and the ears and tail are natural (not docked or cropped). The coat is trimmed often to make the hair seem like an even length. Bichon Frises can have a medium-high intelligence. Temperament A popular characteristic of the Bichon Frise is the Bichon Buzz, also commonly referred to as the Bichon Blitz. These terms describe the sudden bursts of energy that a Bichon Frise will sometimes exhibit. Once in buzz mode, the Bichon will start running frantically at full speed throughout your home or yard. This is almost always accompanied by constant growling and barking. The buzz can last anywhere from 30 seconds up to 5 minutes.The buzz or blitz sudden bursts of energy are usually not predictable and can happen at any moment throughout the day. In addition, the Bichon Frise's path is unknown, as he will go from one room to the next, jumping on and off couches, beds or chairs. Once the Bichon has spent his energy, he will lie down and collapse from exhaustion. Bichon Frises are very obedient if training is started early and continued consistently. It is best to have your Bichon Frise groomed approximately every three months. One should keep up with daily brushing of the coat to prevent matting. If you let a Bichon's coat get severely matted, they may develop a hematoma, most likely in the ears. That is the dog i think would fit your style it is french, and is very hansom. Here are some other breeds of dogs...... The Yorkshire terrier The Chinese crested dog The Chihuahua The papillon The Russian toy terrier The English toy terrier (black & tan) Or the Pomeranian I really hope this helped :)

Answer 3

I'd say a Rat Terrier or a MinPin. The Rat Terrier is better if you like to run. My best friend had one and it'd jog 3 miles a day with her and had this crazy rippling muscled chest. A MinPin has more personality, though, b/c the Rat Terrier is crazy with playing "catch" and more into being physical ALL THE TIME. It's almost neurotic. The Min Pin does alright with jogging, but b/c of it's dominance issues likes to pee on every tree, shrub, hydrant, etc. that you come across.

Answer 4

If you are an active person and would be doing a good bit at the park on a daily basis, I would recommend an austrailian shepherd or other herding breed. They are very intelligent, athletic (think frisbee), adaptable, and have lots of stamina. They would go jogging with you, play fetch, are easy to train, love to do tricks. (but then I am a sheltie person and love all the herding breeds - I learned to walk holding on to a border collie)

Answer 5

I would recomend a Shiba Inu, they are small (20-25 pounds) high energy dogs. They have a duble coat so they will be fine coming with you out into the snow. They have a big dog personality in a little dog body, they generally arn't big barkers unlike beagles, and they dont have the nippy yappy little dog complex that a lot of terriers do.

Answer 6

I used to live in an apartment before. I would recommend a dog that's the size of about 20-35pounds.A beagle would be nice since you are really active, but make sure you train it or say goodbye to your furniture. Or... a jack russel terrier is cute and smart.

Answer 7

If you are really as active as you say you are Jack Russel Terriers are great apartment dogs. They are small enough to live in an apartment but big enough to still be a dog,smart, loving, faithful and they LOVE being active!!!!!!!

Answer 8

a little dog would be good for an apartment if you want to take your dog with you one you trips a medium sized dog would be best . but if you don't take it with you a small one that can ocupie
it's self or maybe 2 will be best .

Answer 9

Jack Russel, Schnauzer. Look at the AKC website and you'll find a listing of all breeds and their traits.

Answer 10

Battery Operated...No messy clean ups....lol