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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that you shouldnt have a big dog in a little house

41 replies

sherbetpips · 10/06/2014 12:34

Our neighbour was proudly showing off there new puppy last night - its a bull mastif. Already huge and its only 4 months old. They like us live in a small 3 bed semi with a small garden.

I have never owned a big dog but have always harboured the thought that keeping an dog that big in such a small area is very stressful for it (they also work full time) and surely it is this sort of treatment that leads to stressed out dogs attacking people.

I would love to have a dog and I know my DS would but I always thought they should have a garden to run around in and woods and fields to lollop through, not a walk round the block and be shut in the kitchen all day whilst I am at work?

OP posts:
picnicbasketcase · 10/06/2014 12:36

YANBU. I don't think people should have dogs they don't have the space for, especially those living in towns and cities. Most people don't agree though.

AmenGirl · 10/06/2014 12:37

Agree. I would love a big dog but I know my flat is too small and it would take up too much leg space and feel cooped up without garden access. So I go without and wistfully dream of my bigger future house and big husky... Envy

Objection · 10/06/2014 12:40

You're making a large assumption. Just being in a "small" house (3 bed semi isn't that small. The title implies a 1 bed flat) doesn't mean you are going to lock.the dog in the kitchen and only take it around the block.

We have a border collie and live in a 3 bed terrace with a smallish garden. Our dog goes on at least two hour off lead walks round the local fields and woodlands every day and probably 3 + hours on weekends.

Even when we had a huge garden, he was rarely in it.

If they are treating their dog properly then, within reason, the size of their house doesn't really matter.

YABU to be so immediately judgemental (unless you have witnessed them being neglectful)

wheresthelight · 10/06/2014 12:40

Yabu to be using the size of the house as justification, if they are happy then it's none of your business.

Yanbu to be concerned that they are out at work all day

mistlethrush · 10/06/2014 12:42

I can understand where you're coming from, but SOME big dogs don't actually need that much space to rush around whilst some small dogs do - it depends upon their size. For instance, a greyhound, which might not be you immediate thought as an ideal dog with a smallish garden and house, may well be ideal as they like lying around and perhaps pootling around a garden but given them a walk a day and they will normally be quite happy.

What worries me in this situation is the fact that they both work fulltime - what happens to the dog during the day and unless they're with it in the day they will really find housetraining difficult.

D0oinMeCleanin · 10/06/2014 12:42

Depends on the dog(s)/owners.

My Dad has three huge, great lurchers in a two up two down, terraced with no garden.

They have a 3 seater sofa of their own and are walked off lead for a minimum of 2 hours a day. They're very happy dogs.

insanityscatching · 10/06/2014 12:43

I think it depends on how much the dog is going to be exercised. We have a big house and a small dog but he would be bored stiff if he only had access to the house and the garden. He spends at least two hours (quite often three and more at weekends) a day out of the house on trails and in parks being walked and running free so the size of the house doesn't figure all that highly for him I suppose.

Original poster
sherbetpips · 10/06/2014 12:52

Exactly Objection you do the whole woods and fields thing, there are none near us so no chance of that for the poor pup. Oh well lets hope they stick him in the car at weekends and go to to a nice big space.
Amengirl ooh husky lovely

OP posts:
mum11970 · 10/06/2014 12:52

Bullmastiffs don't need a huge amount of exercise. One long walk a day is sufficient. There is no reason they cannot be kept in a 3 bed semi.

WhatsTheEffingPoint · 10/06/2014 12:54

I have a dog (Staffy) we are in a 2 bed bungalow, reasonable sized garden and both my other half and i work full time. Mutley has been trained over 4yrs to be left in our reasonable sized kitchen/conservatory with windows open while we are at work, sometimes our neighbor will pop in to let him out. When we get home from work we open the conservatory doors so he can go out to the garden to roam about.........where does he choose to go.......straight on to our bed where he will stay for at least half hour before he goes out to the garden. We then play, go out for walks etc.

Dogs can be quite lazy and some are quite happy in their own company and space. As long as the dog is happy and healthy then the size of the house it lives in isnt really relevant as long as it is being taken care of.

greavsies · 10/06/2014 13:06

I have a huge bull mastiff/ridgeback cross. We have a small, two up two down house but a huge garden. I'm currently a stahm so the doors to the garden are open pretty much all day every day. Dog goes outside, if I put his bed out. Otherwise he sunbathes in the kitchen doorway. Not all dogs want a lot of exercise, the trick is to get the dog that is right for your situation. There is not one spare ounce of fat on my dog, we have plenty of sorry walks throughout the week. He never barks or stresses and is very happy. Best to see how the dog gets on before you judge x

greavsies · 10/06/2014 13:06

*short walks :-)

Chattymummyhere · 10/06/2014 13:13

We have three large dogs in a small 3 bed house but we live a 30minute walk from a national park and also have access to over 4 ac of secures fenced in land with a lake to exercise the dogs off lead. Don't judge already they may get a dog walker in mid day and do long walks in the evening and weekends. One of mine if a right lazy git who given the chance would pick laying on his back legs akimbo in the sun than running around. Although I have long coated breeds so they really slob out in the warmer months and make up for it in winter.

DogCalledRudis · 10/06/2014 13:19

Yabu. House size isn't a problem

sparechange · 10/06/2014 13:45

Yes and no...
Dogs are den animals, so are happy in a small space that is their den. Some guarding breeds actually get more stressed in big houses because they have more to 'patrol'.
Hunting breeds would love woods to explore and snuffle around in, but other breeds would have no interest at all and be just as happy trotting along a path to get their exercise.

The problem is them working home, unless they've got some sort of arrangement for the dog to be looked after in the day. At four months, the puppy shouldn't be left for more than a couple of hours at a time, and when it is fully grown, maybe 4 or 5 hours. So it needs to have someone around most of the time now, probably in the form of dog daycare (yes, it exists!) maybe moving to a dog walker when it is a bit older, assuming it is happy with that. Some dogs HATE it and get really stressed

canweseethebunnies · 10/06/2014 14:24

We have a big dog in a small house and it's not great. He's always in the way! He's my dp's dog, and before he moved in with us, they lived in what was basically a glorified garden shed (!), but the dog had free access to the garden, day and night. Obviously, me and my daughter couldn't a move in there, and we can't afford to move somewhere bigger at the moment.

However, my dp takes him to work with him everyday, and we do live near lots of field, woods and streams and he usually gets a long run on the way home.

BumpNGrind · 10/06/2014 14:37

Yanbu, we had a Westie which had three walks a day and we lived opposite a field, he also had a dog flap to go in and out as he pleased. It was a conscious decision to have a smaller dog because we couldn't have given a larger dog the same freedom and quality of life. I know of very few dog breeds which are happy with just one walk a dog too. They move their bowels more than that!

I also get really annoyed with neighbours who have small dogs and see that as a reason to never walk them. I feel so sorry for them all cooped up inside!

dingalong · 10/06/2014 14:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

shrunkenhead · 10/06/2014 15:52

Bet the house looks/smells lovely when they get in from work.......

Xcountry · 10/06/2014 15:58

depends how often the exercise it and where. if they intend on keeping it in the house and small garden then yes - if its going to be out all day like mine all are, running around a field or wood then no, the house is just a place to sleep.

extremepie · 10/06/2014 17:17

We use to have 2 Great Danes in a smallish house but they were very lazy and slept on the sofa most of the time :D

In some cases too much exercise can be bad for them especially when they are growing as it puts too much stress on the bones/joints - depends on the dog and the owners IMO

jellybeans · 10/06/2014 17:19

YABU surely they can take it to parks etc.Good loving home more important than big house.

emms1981 · 10/06/2014 17:20

People shouldn't have a dog at all if they work all day.

expatinscotland · 10/06/2014 17:27

People are daft about dogs in the UK. Plenty live in flats with no gardens, with people who work all day, who don't get walked 5 hours a day ad live perfectly happy lives the world over.

It's an animal, not a person.

Topseyt · 10/06/2014 17:50

House and garden size is largely irrelevant.

What matters is that the dog is properly cared for, fed, watered and taken out for exercise every day.

Big dogs don't always need the masses of space that you might think. I have taken my labrador on holiday to a small cottage which just had a tiny fenced in yard out at the back. Yes, he did get walks on the beach most days, but other than that he was more than happy wandering in and out at will.