we're thinking about moving from the house we rent to an apartment in the fall but i have never had a dog in an apartment before and am a little worried. The benefits of moving are that the area will be safer and we'll save rent money. The obvious negative is we wont have a yard for kiba anymore and sqr ft will be smaller inside. 

What potential problems with apartment living should i be aware of at this point? Also, do you think its worth it to lose the yard to save some money? I'm really worried and nervous about this decision. 

ps. i did look through older threads about apartment living but still had concern- hence new thread : )

Kibahope wrote:

What potential problems with apartment living should i be aware of at this point? Also, do you think its worth it to lose the yard to save some money? I'm really worried and nervous about this decision.

Huskies can do fine in an apartment. All it will take is a bit more "pro activeness" on your part. You won't be able to just let the pup out anymore to go to the bathroom, or when ever they just want to sniff the flowers.

Instead you'll have to leash up and going for a walk more than normal, or I would.


The other thing you might have an issue with is a lot of landlords or building owners tend to have Huskies Blacklisted as destructive of vicious dogs. One of your first questions should always be if they allow dogs in the apartment, and if so will they allow a Husky.


The only other thing I would really worry about is if I had a vocal Husky. Living that close to multiple people, I wouldn't want them complaining my pup was too loud while I was at work, so I would work on training quiet.... which is easier said than done.


Logistically speaking Huskies don't need all that much "Room" to be happy and Healthy, and a lot of our members have had Huskies in apartments. I know my 2 girls would be 100% fine. They stay around us all the time. If we are in the living room they are sleeping beside us. When we go to bed they follow us into the room and sleep there. If I'm on my PC I have one curled up by the door and one under my desk.

For me the only real downside to living in an apartment over a house stems from laziness and the ease at which I can open a door and have mine run into my yard when they need to "go". Apart from that there is no real difference.

Good luck,
~Chris~

thank you i appreciate that insight. The vocal part does concern me. she doesn't woo or howl (never has)  and she doesn't bark at things she sees outside. She does bark first thing in the morning and she will bark if she is in the crate and hears/sees us moving around (just to say "let me out!"). that is the part im most worried about. That she will hear neighbors during the day while im gone and bark in her crate. Im not sure how to test out how she would do in that situation. 

This place im looking at is pretty dog friendly and from what i understand allows any breed under 50lbs and she's 34 right now at 9 months.

..

Kibahope wrote:

This place im looking at is pretty dog friendly and from what i understand allows any breed under 50lbs and she's 34 right now at 9 months.

I would still make sure they are Husky friendly.

The General Public tends to think of Huskies being large breed dogs that can be vicious. I would make 100% sure it was clear from day 1 I owned a Husky. 

~Chris~

true. haha most people think she's about 4 months old or some sort of mini husky because of her size right now. the general public definitely does think huskies are "large" dogs.

If the apartment is dog friendly, a few barks and woo-woos shouldn't be a problem. Especially if it isn't at 3am. 

And I'd definitely check on the breed. I had all-but moved into a place, signed the lease and everything when someone in the office found out I had a husky. They aren't on their restricted breed list, but someone decided a husky was "practically a chow." So. Definitely check!

I haven't found being in an apartment to be too much trouble. Taking her out all the time gets fruatrating some days, especially when her stomach is upset, but it's not terrible!

I would say, that your decision whether or not to move into an apartment should be mostly based on what is best for your family and your financial situation. I think dogs adjust pretty well to new situations and Kiba is pretty young so she should be fine.   Some things to consider as potential problems would be:

- finding a building that allows huskies and doesn't have breed/size restrictions. 
- neighbors: if Kiba has an adjustment period where she is howling or crying while you are gone and she is crated, you might have to deal with unhappy neighbors, and unhappy neighbors = unhappy landlord
- exercise: you'll just have to commit to more walks and park time everyday. Even if she doesn't run around the yard a lot now, you probably will need to give her more outside time.
- potty training: she might regress, so be prepared for that. If she is used to going right out the front door, she might have a few accidents if she has to go down stairs or wait for an elevator. I have to really anticipate Dizzy's needs because by the time he asks to 'go' he can't make it down the stairs (I live in a third floor walk up). So if I wait, I have to carry him so he doesn't have an accident on the way. 
- moving and deposit costs: i'm not sure what the rental scene is where you are, but here in NYC, you need to have about 4 times your monthly rent saved to rent a new place. Usually, first and last months rent, damage deposit, pet deposit, pet rent, and possibly a broker fee. We think about moving every year, and when we realize we will need an extra $5-10k to do it, we just renew our lease. So sit down and do the math to include these costs to see if its really worth it over time. also, evaluate how long you plan on renting, or if you have a goal in mind for when you want to buy a place. say you want to buy something in 2 years, average the savings and extra costs over 2 years so that you can decide if its justifiable or not. 
- depending on the apartment complex, most apartment landlords have management companies, and most management companies are way more up in your business than a house owner looking to rent, and they don't know you personally in the same way a house owner would be. We're pretty lucky, in that our landlord doesn't care what we do as long as he gets his check. 

Those are a few things that popped into my head right off the bat, I'll add more if I can think of them. But honestly, I think she would probably be fine.

huskyowner7 wrote:

I have two huskies in my apartment right now, and we are just saving like crazy to be able to move to a house with a yard. I'm used to it because its all I've ever known, but taking them out on a leash over 4 times a day can be a pain in the ass!

I agree with this. It is a TOTAL pain taking three dogs outside, separately, four to five times a day. I'm making 20 to 25 trips. I can't take more than one out for a normal potty break as they'll try to play with each other and its easier to take one at a time out, but its still a pain. I am also saving like crazy to be able to rent a house with a yard. My dogs are always going to the dog park and get two walks a day, however I do wish that for potty breaks I could just open the back door. Plus to have a secure place for them to play alone without having to go to the dog park. Other than that apartments are fine, I had to clear the breed with my landlord first and the dogs get plenty of exercise so they don't seem to mind, its just a pain for me.

We are in an apartment and have had no problems. 

It's a dog friendly community, so our neighbors expect a few barks here and there-as long as it isn't continuous for hours, or at 2 in the morning, no one cares.

The biggest thing is being proactive about exercise. We take ours for 2 half hour walks a day (these are just exercise walks, she goes out a few other times a day for potty breaks), and we do take her to the dog park for a half hour/hour most days. After the walks or the park, she usually just curls up and sleeps, or chews her toys. 

The only pain is on rainy or snowy days-I can't just let her out in the yard, I have to get a raincoat and take her out myself. 

For the winter, I just can't stand being outside in the prolonged cold, so we surfed Craigslist for a while until we found an older electronic treadmill for $75. A few days working with treats, and now our pup happily hops on and runs for 30 minutes when it's gross out. It's a small treadmill and slides under our bed when folded up, so maybe that's an option for you too?

treadmill is intriguing because i also hate the cold weather. we very very rarely skip a day for walks and that's usually because its pouring down rain outside/thunderstorming. This past winter i just wore reflective gear, grabbed a flashlight, and walked in the freezing cold dark in my sketch neighborhood. i hated it.

^Amen. The treadmill is a godsend for winter. We had a blizzard here this past winter, and it took all my self control not to kiss the treadmill for savings me from having to spend hours in the cold. 

It's really nice in the summer too-it can get over 100 here with heavy humidity, and she gets bored sitting in the house all day. We walk her early in the morning and late at night, but even then it's so hot for her. With the treadmill she can jog in the comfort of air conditioning

well i do suppose that in a dog friendly place hopefully we wouldnt be the only ones with a little bark now and then. she certainly is quiet at night and in general. its just when she gets bratty and watns something or wants out of her kennel that she does her horrible high pitched bark.

its definitely convenient to just let her out in the backyard for a bit when she's underfoot or the weather's nice and every time she has to use the bathroom. It would be nice to score a floor level apartment!

currently the place we are in is just a little pricey and my neighbors are weird/crazy and the neighborhoods iffy. usually we dont even walk our neighborhood b/c of the weird people around here.