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Original poster

Anyone live in a flat with dogs ?

26 replies

LadyNell · 07/03/2022 19:32

I'm currently pondering on putting my house on market and buying a 2 bed flat for financial reasons. Not much here on market, I'd really like a ground floor flat with a bit of outside space for my 2 dogs but they are like hens teeth here..

My question is how practical is a flat with no outside space with dogs ? I mean I'd take them out twice a day but what if they need to go in the middle of the night etc ?

Opinions please

OP posts:
Movingonup22 · 07/03/2022 19:36

It is an absolute pain. I’ve just been on holiday for a couple of months in a flat with a garden. Absolute pain to do the nighttime wee. But also my pup had a dodgy tummy for a whole week so it was up every hour in the middle of the night walking up and down in the street. One night there was a dodgy guy that walked past and I ran all the way back and was really scared. So for me is a flat no. If I was in a couple so could drag someone else up to do a night walk it might be less of an issue. But it’s much more of a pain then you’d think….

Movingonup22 · 07/03/2022 19:36

Sorry on holiday in a flat with NO garden!

Original poster
LadyNell · 07/03/2022 19:40

Thank you. No I'm already thinking it's a no to be honest. It's seems I have two options, a flat with no garden and a parking space or no parking and a small garden. Round here though parking is a nightmare.....

OP posts:
Movingonup22 · 07/03/2022 19:42

I’m looking at flats at the moment and my friend is on Intervention Alert if I look at somewhere without a garden….

Simonjt · 07/03/2022 19:43

We live in a flat and have a dog, it’s fine, next door have three.

abbey44 · 07/03/2022 19:48

I live in a house (not a flat) with no garden and I wondered whether it was going to be practical, since I have a dog who's always been used to having a garden to run about in, but it's worked out ok. It helps that I'm just across the road from the beach, so I do have easily accessible space, and it's well lit, so I don't feel unsafe. The
first couple of weeks I was out about every hour during the day and sometimes during the night, but she soon seemed to understand the new routine, and now she's fine with one long walk and three or four shorter loo breaks. So yes, it can be a pain, but it is doable. I think I'd rather have a parking space than a garden, if I had to make the choice.

Unmute · 07/03/2022 19:48

I live in a 3rd floor flat with a dog. It's not ideal, but I was able to buy it without a mortgage and it works at the moment. She gets three proper walks a day (morning, lunch and after work) and another quick pee last thing at night. We have no garden, but there's grass nearby so we don't have to go too far in the dark.

There have been a couple of times she's had a dodgy tummy and needed to go out in the night, which is a pain but so infrequent it's not worth worrying about.

I definitely want to move closer to the ground before she gets old but at the moment I'm happy to have minimal housing costs.

In our building there are 8 flats and 5 dogs, so obviously loads of people make it work.

liveforsummer · 07/03/2022 19:55

I do, it's fine. I got her when I lived in this flat so I knew what I was getting in to. She needs out more than twice a day tbh but just for a pee. Twice is fine for a run and a chance to poo (she won't poo in our street) It was a bit of a pain at puppy stage as expected but since then no problem at all. We live in a very dog friendly city near the centre so thousands of people have dogs in flats here

ComtesseDeSpair · 07/03/2022 20:02

Everyone I know with a dog doesn’t let it toilet in the garden anyway, they always take it out to the park or wherever for that. I assumed that was normal. Doesn’t seem to be an issue.

Do people with gardens actually just let their dogs out to crap in them? Isn’t that a bit gross if you don’t spot it and it just festers there, especially in summer?

FastFood · 07/03/2022 20:03

I had a dog in a flat, it was perfectly fine.
We had long walks, and short loo breaks in between (a LOT towards the end of his long life). Even house training wasn't hard at all when he was a pup, despite us being on the third floor (that was a full time job for two weeks though!)

The only thing for me are the stairs. I need a dog who's small enough for me to carry it in the stairs. Stairs are not great for them and they might get injured or just too old.

I plan to have another dog in a year or so, I don't have a garden but I live very close to a big park with loads of dog-friends, its quite ideal for a dog.

I agree that it can be a pain sometimes, there are rainy days when you just want to stay in bed, but its the owner who experiences the pain, not the dog, if adequate care and affection are provided of course.

Woollystockings · 07/03/2022 20:03

Completely fine.

liveforsummer · 07/03/2022 20:10

Do people with gardens actually just let their dogs out to crap in them? Isn’t that a bit gross if you don’t spot it and it just festers there, especially in summer?

If we had a garden (well we actually do it's just not fenced so can't just let ddog out due to cats and foxes) she'd never dream of pooing in it. We have to take her out of the street and on to the other before she'll even consider it. She'll only pee there if really desperate too

DogsAndGin · 07/03/2022 20:33

We did it and it was fine (including toilet training!). In fact, even now that we have a garden, she doesn’t like to go to the loo in the garden and we have to take her out on her lead down the road anyway. We were ground floor, but there was a park about 10 footsteps away tbf.

ItsSnowJokes · 07/03/2022 20:34

Check with the freeholder that you are allowed dogs. A lot of flat leases do not allow dogs.

I personally wouldn't do it, but I know it has worked for some.

Iheartmysmart · 07/03/2022 20:41

I do. Been in my first floor flat with my spaniel for three years now. It’s hard work and you need a good routine but definitely doable.

Our is:
7am for a 45 minute walk
Mid morning for quick five minute wee break
1pm for a 30 minute walk
Mid afternoon another wee break
6pm for a 30 minute walk
10pm last 10 minute walk around the block

He’s elderly now so we go out little and often.

1990s · 07/03/2022 20:42

People who’ve replied that it’s fine, when they were puppies did you just carry them down every half hour or so?

How long did that but until they could go out last?

Blush Sorry for thread highjack OP

liveforsummer · 07/03/2022 20:53

@1990s

People who’ve replied that it’s fine, when they were puppies did you just carry them down every half hour or so?

How long did that but until they could go out last?

Blush Sorry for thread highjack OP

Wasn't quite every half hour but pretty regularly but that was only for a few days and she went much longer at night. She was sleeping through the night at 9 weeks
1990s · 07/03/2022 20:57

Thanks @liveforsummer Flowers

Original poster
LadyNell · 07/03/2022 20:59

Comtesse my dogs go out twice a day but yes they do toilet in the garden, I have a paved courtyard garden it gets cleaned up daily

OP posts:
Original poster
LadyNell · 07/03/2022 21:01

Thanks for all the replies, a lot to think about

OP posts:
liveforsummer · 07/03/2022 21:04

Do you mean you walk them twice a day but they still go in the garden for the toilet in between times? You might just need to take them down a couple of extra times. If they'll go in the garden they will probably go just outside the flat in the street too. My dog only needs to poo once a day or 2 tops so it's never been a huge issue

Original poster
LadyNell · 07/03/2022 21:28

Yes they do go in the garden between walks

OP posts:
FastFood · 07/03/2022 21:28

@1990s

People who’ve replied that it’s fine, when they were puppies did you just carry them down every half hour or so?

How long did that but until they could go out last?

Blush Sorry for thread highjack OP

Not every 30 minutes no, but as I said, it was a full time job for the first two weeks. You have to read signals eg. after a nap or when they calm down after a play session, if they start sniffing around...in that case I was being proactive and running out as fast as possible. Sometimes it was a bit too late and I had to interrupt the dog to carry him outside and he resumed his wee outside and then had the big celebration 🎉 sometimes it meant staying outside for 10-15 min. Hence why its a full time job!

Seriously, within two weeks he got the principle of poo and poo = outdoors.
There were plenty of accidents of course, because he wasn't able to hold for long as a puppy but that was fine, because they were just that, accidents.I reckon he was perfectly house trained and able to hold for a full night when he was around 5 months.

He was my second dog but my first puppy, its possible that I've been very very lucky, but I really found that pretty easy. Dull, boring, but easy.

LoveFall · 07/03/2022 21:43

We have a little dog in an 8th floor apartment. We do have two balconies and he goes out on them fairly frequently to look around and enjoy the sun. He is about 10 years old.

He loves to lie on the back of the couch that is right in front of a window and look down to watch the comings and goings.

He was already trained when we moved here. I take him out in the morning, usually between 8:30 and 9:00. He goes for a longer walk early afternoon. That usually is enough until 9 pm when he goes out for a quick wee before bed.

We have to use an elevator. He is very used to it and knows exactly where our apartment is.

We have had a few incidents over the past 5 years where he has had a gastro upset and done some messes in the apartment overnight. I don't know actually if he tried to wake us or not as wear earplugs usually.

Not the end of the world as we have a little carpet cleaning machine that works great. You would never know.

He is very content and happy. But he is not a lover of long walks and hates the rain or snow.

There are people in our neighbourhood with bigger dogs. I am not too sure I would want a big dog in an apartment.

allfurcoatnoknickers · 07/03/2022 21:49

I live in NYC so most of the dogs I know live in flats without gardens. It's absolutely fine. Waiting for the lift when we lived on the 16th floor was a pain, but otherwise it was a total non-issue. We kept to a pretty strict routine, so the dogs always knew when they were going out and they adapted really quickly. I've always had adult rescued though, I def couldn't do it with a puppy.

I live in a garden apartment now and GirlDog absolutely HATES weeing out there, as for pooing forget it. Not a chance. We end up taking them out all the time anyway.