Moving from a big house to a small rented flat - worried about dog well being

[GoingDownLikeBHS]

Due to divorce I'm moving from a big 3 bed semi with garden to a rented flat with myself, DD21 and DDog. Got keys today and it's much smaller than I remember and was stiflingly hot. There's no garden but quite a bit of grass around so planning to take him out say 4 times a day or more to offer at least a wee, with one substantial walk in the woods in the early evening. But I just feel he will be so miserable. 8 year old cockerpoo; his big airy house with garden, picture window and sofa he lives on has been his entire life.

I think he will miss ex-H, will be hot and bored in the one main room of the flat (kitchen living room combined plus 2 bedrooms) and he can't look out of the window all the time because that's the main reason he barks a lot so we're moving new sofa away from the flat window. He'll be left alone for a few hours at a time some days - say 2/3 hours - and then one day a week he'll need a dog walker.

I started a similar thread recently and I think a couple of people came on and said "he'll be fine" but I am still thinking "how?"

I was in the same situation a few years ago after separating from my ex. It was surprising how quickly DDog adjusted to his new living environment. I think as long as they are with someone familiar, dogs are very adaptable.

Yes we had to go out a lot more often for walks because I couldn’t just let him out into the garden, but I think that actually improved his quality of life. We did a longish walk first thing, quick toileting break mid morning, a 30 minute walk at lunch, mid afternoon toileting break, another walk just before dinner and a late night toilet trip.

I also had to arrange the furniture so he couldn’t see out the window! And got a fan for when it was hot. We lived quite happily in my little 2-bed place for over four years. Sadly the old fella had to be pts last year.

Autumn is coming, but maybe over winter you might think about getting one of those portable AC units for next summer. We bought one for our old dog 2 years ago and it made a lot of difference. He will be ok because you care about his needs and clearly love him.