Some advice on flat friendly dog breeds

[straya]

Hey MNers,
Wondering if anyone can recommend apartment friendly dog breeds?

My DP and I live in a large 2 bed flat in SW London with access to a communal garden, and are looking for a small dog as the landlord has just said yes!

We had our hearts set on a miniature wire haired daschund but aren’t sure because of the barking. But we really love big dog personalities and would otherwise have a big dog. I don’t mind a bit of cheeky in a dog and like cuddly dogs with a personality.

We’re quite active and can take the dog to work if needed so it won’t be on it’s own too much. We’re also experienced dog owners - we’ve had labs, Jack Russel Doberman and Staffies between us. I’m confident we’d be stringent with the training.

Most important is that it doesn’t bark excessively and that it gets on with our in laws staffie (incredibly laid back and great with other dogs) who will mind ours if we have to go away. Similarly we look after the staff when they’re abroad.

One of the things that concerns us about daschunds is that they’re not great with kids and we’re looking to ttc in the next 2-3 years. That and the back issues.

We’ve written off jack russel as bad previous experience but looking into Boston Terriers, King Charles, corgis and mini sheepdog. Not huge on pugs personally.

Any advice I’m most grateful for. I love French bulldogs but DP isn’t big on them due to breathing (and bum?) issues.

We’re also on the 2nd floor which isn’t great for toilet training but oh well. We’d also consider a mixed breed if it’s on the small side.

I might be overthinking the daschund thing - every dog is different regardless of breed. I met a lovely wire-haired one a few months back at a cafe that was very friendly and no worries about strangers. I also had a lack lab who also had Zero recall (would just run off and never chase balls) and kept to himself - but they’re known for being retrievers who love being with owners!

Sorry for waffling. We’re very excited and will love the dog regardless... Thank you!

I tend to agree with @motherofgod2 - In uni I cared for two different cockers and they were extremely high energy and I wouldn’t want to keep one confined in a flat.

My rescue dog would be perfectly happy in a flat. He is of entirely unknown heritage - 8kg, fluffy, looks like a corgi with a Pomeranian's tail but must be a load of other things too. I got him at about 4, toilet trained and calm. He gets a walk every day but gets too tired if he has a long walk every day! He'll come in the garden if we're in the garden but although he fits through the cat flap he isn't too bothered. He never barks (apart from very quietly when he's dreaming, which is simply adorable!). I know a lot of rescues are funny about flats - but if you can find one who isn't, you get to meet the dog & see their personality, and the centres can usually recommend a good match, too.

We adopted a rescue from the Dogs Trust when we lived in a city centre flat. They never had any concerns with the fact we were in a 5th floor flat. He was 18 month old mix (Lab/ Collie maybe) and had lived with young kids and was mostly housetrained. He had some accidents due to separation anxiety initially (the DT had warned us so we were prepared) but that was sorted within a few weeks.

If you want the cheerful big dog personality in a small package you probably won't get that from a whippet.

@straya I have a couple of friends with shoppers and they’ve always been great pub garden dogs but maybe they are lucky?

Whippets not shoppers!

I toilet-trained my working cocker in a first-floor flat and carried him up and down the stairs until he could reliably not wee on them! We threw a coat on over pyjamas when he needed out in the middle of the night and didn’t use puppy pads and after we moved his crate into the bedroom he started sleeping through from 10 to 6 pretty quickly. One tip - pick the puppy up as soon as you think he might be thinking of weeing and THEN put your shoes on! There isn’t time to do it the other way round! Or keep shoes on all day. Mine never peed on me. By 5 months I‘d put the rugs back down. But I’ve also heard that bigger dogs are easier to housetrain as they have more bladder control. Also, are you reasonably agile? Running downstairs with a wriggling, biting puppy is a bit of a feat sometimes!

@MaryLennoxsScowl that’s exactly what I did with my previous lab. He was housetrained within a couple of weeks just by picking him up and running outside when we thought the moment was coming. I was amazed.

We’re both healthy and agile (early 30s) so I’m not worried about the up/down stairs at 2am in the beginning.

@Wetcappuccino I’ll deffinitey look into dogs trust. Thanks! We recently saw a lovely small terrier cross corgi looking unknown mix for rescue but the centre said no because of the flat. So frustrating. I had a bit of a tantrum on the way home...

We’re both healthy and agile (early 30s) so I’m not worried about the up/down stairs at 2am in the beginning.

It's not so much the health aspect, it's how quick you can be. Mine wouldn't have been able to hold it in for the amount of time it would take you to get ready, down two flights of stairs and into the garden

He peed on me a few times and our garden is right out of our living room door! Just something to be aware of - obviously it's not a phase that lasts forever but it's certainly worth bearing in mind!

@motherofgod2 maybe we've just been very lucky. All our show cockers have been very laid back.

Greyhounds are actually the best apartment dog you can get. Small doesn't always mean the most suitable to a flat. Greyhounds just curl up and sleep for most of the day, only have short bursts of energy so need short walks rather than very long ones, they are generally quite placid unlike many small breeds.

@user3274826 yeah I know. So many of the larger dogs are quiet and lazy so would work great for apartments. Sadly landlords don’t agree necessarily.

I have a mini dachshund in a flat and he barks when the neighbours come and go.

We’re working on training so I am able to stop him but it means keeping on top of it literally every time. So if I’m busy/elsewhere when the neighbours go in/out then he’s likely to bark.

I’ve been to a lot of dachshund events and sometimes the noise is immense! Some daxies are just don’t stop barking!

Properly bred staffs are small dogs. The great big bruisers were bred that way because arseholes wanted them to look menacing.

Laid back and intelligent and not yappy.

I think a dog that will need carrying up and down the stairs for its whole life will become a complete PITA when you have a baby/toddler and you are also carrying baby/bags/buggy/car seat etc, so I would avoid breeds that will struggle with stairs.

That’s a good point, HardAsSnails. Maybe think about how much exercise you’d like to give a dog and approach it from that direction? If you like to walk a lot then some small dogs won’t manage that, but if you just want to stroll round the park or walk to the pub then a dog with lower exercise needs would be good. I’ve found my supposedly hyper spaniel is fine and calm in a flat, but we walk him four times a day - first thing, lunchtime, after work and ten minutes last thing at night because we can’t just open the back door and let him out. I can’t leave him unsupervised in the communal garden and we live next to a park so it’s less hassle to go to the park than to stand about in the garden. And if you’re also looking at walking a dog that regularly then you could have one with higher exercise requirements than you might think - half an hour/45 mins 3 x daily plus bedtime stroll for a wee adds up really quickly and equals a dog that likes two hours a day - you just don’t do the two hours all at once.

Dachshunds were bred as hunting dogs so are not necessarily averse to a long walk! That length houses huge lungs. Obviously ours is full size but he's climbed mountains and has done 20km walks. However, he doesn't need walking like big/obviously 'active' breeds ... and certainly not in bad weather.

Actually greyhounds can be great dogs for flats (as long as you get one that can handle stairs!) Their size makes them unsuitable for OP but otherwise they generally act very much like cats. Most greyhounds rarely bark indoors, sleep most of the day and are calm around the house.

Have a look at Havanese...
My brother and his partner live in a 2 bed flat in central London with a ciommunal garden and their Havanese puppy has been an incredibly easy (and cute) dog to train.. he's very cuddly and portable as he's only 6kg. He toilet trained quickly but they did spend a lot of time taking him down to the grass in the night
Not particularly yappy and as they travel for work a fair bit they got him settled with a dog boarder for necessary trips and he loves it!

Terrier? Norfolk or Border?
How much grooming are you prepared to do?
If you want big dog in a small body then a Glen of Imaal terrier looks like a tiny wolfhound!

I was going to say terrier as well! great personalities and cheeky! we have an Irish terrier which is a good size for us but if you want smaller, a border terrier would be perfect

Small dog with big personality?

I'm thinking Yorkie or bichon frise.

Thanks to everyone who replied. You've given us lots to think about and it's much appreciated!

We have a whippet / terrier lurcher that we got when we were in a (1st floor) flat. He is the perfect apartment dog. Doesn’t bark (except when senses someone at the door), sleeps / cuddles 99% of the time, and can also cope with quick toilet walks or very long hikes. He is incredible with kids and very bright, so quick to toilet / recall train.

Downsides are that he is an absolute food monster, so we have to be careful what we leave around (although he’s got a lot better with age), and sees beds & sofas as his domain as much as ours. Both of these are very common breed traits, so training out of them takes more perseverance than I have... he also can’t be around small furries, although I’ve got friends who have sighthounds & cats, so it is possible.

Always had big dogs before (Labrador / retrievers) but wouldn’t hesitate to fill my house with sighthounds if OH would let me...

Oh, and re your pp- he loves people and is happy in big groups, and generally adores all dogs - Staffies are so sweet anyway