Dogs in flats

bagginslover

Greyhound!!
They are incredibly lazy dogs, our grey cross (who is very greyhoundy in looks and ways) sleeps all day, and only need 2x 20/30 min walks a day (he actually gets 4, 30 min walks as I feel bad not giving him that, and much longer at weekends). We work all day, but are able to pop home at lunch time to pop him round the block for a toilet break.

There are hundreds of ex-racing greys in rescues all over the country, just begging for a home. They are wonderful, loving pets. We got ours from GRWE (they are on the web) and he is wonderful.

elsien

Person_one wrote: »

How did you manage the initial house training with no garden? This is the bit I think would be the hardest, you can't just put them out you have to take them downstairs and to a suitable point and hope they don't have an accident on the way!

She wasn't a puppy, she was probably 1 ish but completely unhousetrained - the first thing she did when I got her home was in through the door, up the stairs and wee all over the carpet!
House training wouldn't have worked if there hadn't been someone there all day. She went out every hour starting at 6 through till midnight, and there were puddles on the floor overnight for at least 6 months, possible longer.
Then it was just building up the time between "outs" until now she go 7 or 8 hours if she needs to. It was a messy process, but we knew she wasn't trained when we got her so we knew what to expect and she stayed in the dining room on the lino where it was easy to clean up unless someone was with her.
A lot of rescue dogs are already trained - I just fell for one I knew would need a lot of work, so don't let me put you off rescues. The one I didn't have was apparently a perfect gentleman.

TBH though, nipping out the front door for the necessary doesn't take much longer than standing at the back door and waiting for them to mooch round the garden. A bit of a nuisance when it's raining or subzero, but it soon becomes part of the routine. I quite enjoyed my midnight 10 minutes round the block - helped me sleep.

If you're going out to work, if it were me I'd consider an older dog and not a puppy, regardless of whether it's a house or flat. Too long for a pup to be on its own even with a walker going in, not just for housetraining but for socialisation, boredom etc.

gratefulforhelp_2

Person_one wrote: »

How did you manage the initial house training with no garden? This is the bit I think would be the hardest, you can't just put them out you have to take them downstairs and to a suitable point and hope they don't have an accident on the way!

We started housetraining our (9 weeks pup) when she was sleeping in our bedroom. She spent a fortnight there before moving to the kitchen. Picking her up and carrying her downstairs and going out in your dressing gown is not much different from doing it in a flat, I would guess, unless you're on the 5th floor? They tend not to do anything when you're carrying them.

She is now 14 weeks and going out last thing, first thing, and then once in the night. No accidents for a while, and I can't remember the last time she did a poo in the house.

The woman who does "its me or the dog" sorry mental blip can't remember her name, has a section in her book on house training dogs in flats.

Greyhound rescue = a very good idea.

cjmumto2

I think being in a flat is not a problem but being at work all day is. Definitley an older rescue dog for you I think. And really it is not fair too leave a dog all day alone even if they can hold on for 6 hours, normally rescues wont give you a dog if they are going to be left for more than 4 hours. Puppies shouldnt be left for more than 2 hours.

As long a you get a dog walker who walks for a full hour daily then I think that is OK as long as you go out morning and evening too for a bit. Otherwise life for the dog is not going to be so great.

UKTigerlily

I live in a small flat & 2yrs ago took on a rescue dog, she's now aged 7 so wasn't a Pup but she has been totally fine, we do have a large communal garden & are on the ground floor so letting her out for a wee is quick & easy. Also we have a park right next to the flat & fields plus a country park close by & i'm home almost 24/7. Mine sleeps most of the day so maybe a laid back breed or dog (Greyhounds?) mine's mostly Staffie & may have a slight bit of Whippet in her. Pick the right dog it'll be great x

gettingready

I live in a flat. Got Zara ate 16 weeks and she was already house trained - still, took 2 weeks off work when I got her just to get the timings right for her, she only ever had 2 accidents in the flat ever since I got her.

One pee on the floor when she was a baby on the first day and one massive poo later on when she had an upset tummy.

I guess a lot depends on a dog, not just the owner, some dogs learn faster than others.

jaynes2326

I have a staffy in my flat and can't recommend them enough - plus the rescues are overflowing with them.

I do know someone who house trained a puppy in their second floor flat but I went for a two year old who was already clean in her kennel. The first few days after I got her I whisked the poor dog out about every hour for a walk round the block. We quickly worked out that she needs to go out every four to five hours.

Be careful if you change your dogs food - I changed hers too quickly and had a bout of diarrhea to deal with which really was a pain. I would also recommend buying some puppy training pads (even for an adult dog) then if there are any accidents your dog should use those instead of the carpet. Trying to get diarrhea out of my cream carpet is my least favourite thing to do!

Good luck!

jaynes2326

Oh and if you do go for a rescue you will probably need to put a bit of thought into your application because there is a bit of a bias against rehoming to flats without a garden. I spent ages on mine and we got approved by Battersea and a couple of others so we hit the right tone. Pm me if you want any help.

katie1234

i took 2 weeks off work and my partner took a further one off after that. she held it all night right from the start at 8 weeks but would occasionally ask out for no2 at night. during the day we used puppy pads. although not favoured by all they worked for us. at around5 months when there was only1 pee a day on the pads we lifted them for good and that was her clean frm then on.
we trained her normally when in the house though ie picking her up and taking her outside when it was time to go. we also crate trained her but again only used it during the night. she loves her crate and at 11 months still wants to sleep in it at night!

Person_one

Thanks so much for all the advice.

I've been looking into greyhounds as well as perusing the rescue sites and reading up on guide dog training. I really think a pair of greys might be ideal, and they're so cute and funny looking!

Something's come up recently that means my situation might be a bit more suited a to a new dog later this year so I'm going to hold off until then but I'm bookmarking this thread for all the great tips and experiences.

I really appreciate all your help.