Have a big breed dog? Or maybe you’re thinking of getting a big pup but not too sure if big dogs in apartment will do? No worries! In this article, we’ll go over whether or not big dogs can live in an apartment!
Big Dogs In Apartment, Can Big Dogs Live In An Apartment? The Simple Answer:
Big dogs can live in an apartment provided that you train your dog while also giving your pup sufficient physical and mental stimulation.
A Big Dogs Energy Level
If you expect to live in a smaller space like an apartment you can’t have your dog bouncing off of the walls disturbing your neighbors
Knowing your dog’s energy level begins to show you exercise requirements for the given dog which brings us to our first point big dogs and energy levels!
The energy levels go big dogs vary depending on a combination of breed, genetics, and training
As a potential big dog owner you have to do your homework on the following Breed, Genetics, and training in these specific order, we’ll cover the importance each play in a dogs energy levels
Breed
When it comes to having a big dog in an apartment one of the most important aspects to look at is what breed are you interested in?
Dog breeds as a whole have common traits and tendencies, that includes common behaviors and energy levels. For instance, a german shepherd has a high energy level compared to a labradoodle.
Both the german shepherd and labradoodle are big dogs yet both have different behavioral tendencies and energy levels.
German shepherds as a whole have high energy and are very vocal while Labradoodles have less energy levels and are less vocal.
So it’s important to understand your specific breed and their tendencies to ensure that there suited for apartment life
Genetics
The next factor to consider is genetics within the specific breed are you getting, for instance, if you adopt a puppy from a working line meaning the puppies parents have a specific task to do, you can bet that you’re getting a very high energy dog.
Once you have a specific breed in mind the best way to get an understanding of how your puppy or big dog might do in an apartment life is to look at the puppy’s parents.
If both of the puppies parents are calm natured there is a high probability that your puppy may come out the same.
Ultimately do your research on your specific breeder, shelter, or rescue and ensure that your dog is not from a working line because working line dogs truly need a job and task todo and won’t do well in an apartment.
Physical And Mental Stimulation
Now that you understand what breed your getting and the specific genes within the breed you can access the requirements of physical and mental stimulation for your big dogs in apartment
All dogs require mental and physical stimulation some more than others, depending on breed and genetics.
As a rule of thumb of you apt to get a non-working-line dog you should be fine satisfying your pup’s mental and physical needs with playing fetch tug at a park and casual walks.
You want to provide enough physical exercise that your dog is panting, too little exercise will leave your pup a little restless and too much will increase your dog stamina,
Training
The next portion is training which is crucial regardless of what breed you end up getting, training is essentially you teaching your big dog what is and isn’t acceptable such as constant barking running inside the apartment and destructive behavior.
When training big dogs in apartment one of the most crucial things you can teach your pup is that there is a time and place for everything.
That includes playing and running, essentially you never want to play with your big dog inside the apartment because you’ll begin to associate the “living room” with high energy.
Instead, save playing with your pup only when you are in an appropriate location like a park.
Dogs learn based associations what we are ultimately doing is associating indoors with calmness and parks with the appropriate location to play and run.
To learn more read our 5 big dog training tips
Set Your Big Dog To Succeed At Apartment Living
Here are 3 simple ways to set your big dog up to succeed in apartment living
1. Provide your big dog with a structured routine
Providing your dog with a structured routine will ensure that your dog begins to understand what’s expected, begins to create habits in your dog and start achieving consistent behavior from your pup.
2 Be consistent with training
If you want your dog’s behavior to be reliable and consistent you have to combine both providing a structured routine and being consistent with training.
Dogs are a reflection of there owners of you’re not reliable and consistent your dog won’t be either.
3 Use Puzzle Toys
When you are leaving the house a good way to keep your dog busy while not at the apartment is a good puzzle toy like a beehive kong.
You can fill the Kong with peanut butter and leave it in the freezer overnight when you leave your dog alone in the apartment just toss him the kong and your pup will be rewarding himself and entertained
For more information on ways to keep your big dogs in apartment busy, read our article where we give you 10 ways to keep your dog busy when your not home!
Conclusion
Ultimately when considering big dogs in apartment, a big dog can live in an apartment if you understand your specific dog’s natural needs for physical and mental exercise paired with a proper consistent training routine.
You know your dog better anyone else if you begin to notice that your big dog is getting to be overwhelming investing proper training will ensure you teach your big dog how to behave in an apartment.
To awaken your dog’s true potential contact us here or Give us a call!
Receive your free dog training consultation and set your pup up for success!
