Can a Doodle live in a one bedroom City apartment?

[Joann Valerio]

I live in Chicago and have fallen in love with the Labradoodle /Goldendoodle. There are a lot of them
in my neighborhood. I know most of their names, the names of their breeders and their weights.
With the exception of two or three, the majority of them are laid back and well behaved.
That said, I am torn because although I think I would like to get one, I am reluctant to do so
because my space is small and my apartment is not "dog friendly" (e.g., I have wool carpet in my bedroom and to be brutally frank, I am afraid my apartment will get "trashed"). a
Also not a lot of space
for dog crate, etc. I've never been a Mom and wonder if I'm up for all that responsibility (e.g., used
to doing whatever I want whenever I want. Am retired and have lived alone for a long time.)
Thoughts from anyone (especially those in similar situations)? Thanks!

[Patty, Duffy & Oliver]

Just a suggestion, but what about checking a local shelter and see if you can foster a puppy first? Puppies usually are the first to be adopted out so you shouldn't have a long length of time to have to foster the puppy. (At least around here puppies usually adopt out fairly quickly).  That would give you a chance to see how working with a puppy would work for you and your apartment and at the same time give a little puppy at a chance at a foster home until it was adopted. I've never lived in a city, so I'm not sure what all is involved. If I did ever move to a city environment , even as a person who has had dogs all my life, I'd probably want to do a trial run. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I don't think any shelter would let someone foster who is not dog savvy - not fair to dog or human.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Good point; any rescue or shelter that has a fostering program is going to want previous dog experience and vet references. Shelter dogs often come with issues; DRC's foster application is almost identical to the adoption application; previous dog ownership is required. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I really don't think a Doodle puppy is a great choice for someone who has never owned a dog and has no experience taking care of one.  Puppies are lots of work and require so much love and commitment for them to grow into well behaved and balanced dogs.  I have a mini Doodle, and although he requires less exercise than my Standard, he still needed to be housebroken and trained.  He was a "chewer" and had to be carefully watched and taught what he could and could not put into his mouth.  I love the idea of fostering for a rescue to see if having a dog in your life is for you.  If you're already worried about the carpet in the bedroom and where you would put the crate, then you may not be ready.  Even after they're housebroken dogs get sick on occasion....I had my carpet cleaning company on speed dial when my guys were younger and we climbed over the crates for the first year we had them.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

There's a post on my (now abandoned) blog about this very topic. I think as long as you are committed to exercising your dog then it's fine. I even think there are some advantages. http://mustlovepaws.ca/dogs-living-in-apartments/

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

Great post!

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

Hi there and welcome to DK! I live in a small two bedroom apartment (approximately 900-950sqft) in a downtown area as well and would say it is completely doable, but not with out its challenges. I have to very large doodles (both are around 90lbs and one is still growing) the one is a complete couch potato and the puppy is still fairly high energy although not as high energy as other pups his age. For me I don't really have an option to live anywhere but an apartment and I knew I was going to be getting at least one dog so it was a matter of making this work. Couple things that helped:

1- with potty training the puppy, since they can not be in areas that other dogs are (this translate to any area if you live in an apartment) I took a very large skinny storage bin and put some top soil and sod in it and stuck that on my balcony to use as a make shift yard, also when I brought the puppy home the dog flue was spreading around so we had to be very careful. You can also by fresh patches, they are pieces of sod that do not require dirt and you just throw them away. They last around two weeks and you can set up an auto delivery. 

2- find a good park/dog park/ neighbors yard/neighbors yard + neighbors dogs... These dogs typically need more than just a walk to count as "burning energy". My one could be content with just two small walks and a little wrestling time with his brother and they other needs some long fetch sessions or big walks to make a dent in the puppy energy. I have found that puzzle treats are great for when we are stuck inside due to weather, they mentally exercise them and do not require lots of space. Would it be way easier to open the back door and let them run around the fenced in yard- absolutely! But thats not an option for us so I have to budget more time into my schedule for dog care.

3- get creative with the crate! when I had my first puppy I was living in a 450sqft studio and I used his crate as my nightside table. I bought some plywood wrapped it up in cute fabric and laid it on top of the crate to act as a table top. Now that I have two crates, they have plywood tops and I have them as "end caps" to my entertainment unit and have picture frames, small decorative storage bins (for their grooming things and such) and a plant on them so I can still use the space in a functional way.

4- have a designated "play area". They both know if they are in my bedroom this is to relax and snuggle so nothing gets too crazy in there, but they also know that the main room floor is where they can wrestle and have fun. This means in my main room I have nothing "valuable" or important on side tables or coffee tables and the nice pillows and throws are kept in cubbies or bins were they can't be gotten to. If your concerned about the floors being ruined I would order some big cheap rugs, maybe Ikea or wayfair, and lay them on the ground to save your floors. 

I truly think my guys have a good life and do not feel deprived that they don't have a giant yard to run in, but that's just not possible in a busy downtown area. We use the dog parks (some people are opposed to them) and large parks for adventures and visit family and friends outside the city for doggie play dates in their yards or parks. As far as trashing your house, it only happens if you let it. Loki was my first dog and I had no clue what I was doing, this is before I found DK, and I left him out of his crate  figuring at 4 months he would be fine for a half hour and came home to find he had eaten a hole in my wall... not cool, but fixable.

I do think there is a difference between "trashing" and "normal dog wear and tear". For example. Your apartment is going to be more dirty and need for cleaning with muddy paws running everywhere but, if you wipe the paws and keep the nails trimmed then you may have to swiffer the floors more but not have to replace them from nail damage. Even though my guys do not shed ( the puppy is still going through a coat change so not sure if that will be for good) I am constantly vacuuming just because they track all sorts of stuff inside with their furry paws!

Training is going to be your best friend, it's great for bonding and you really don't need large spaces to do it. We worked on our "wait" command by simply increasing the space between us in the main room and then to make it more challenging (for the CGC and therapy dog test) I would tell him to wait in the main room and go into a bedroom were he couldn't see me. 

I think the ideal set up for owning a dog, especially one that has lots of energy, would be a house with a large fenced in yard, but since I have never lived in that setting  and don't know all the great things I'm missing out on, I think I'm ok. 

Good luck! Please feel free to message me if you have other questions!

Jess, Loki, and Moose

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Great advice Jess and I have nothing to add other than our first dog, ever, was Murphy and we brought him "home" to our 38' RV that we were traveling the country in. He was crated, potty trained and learned how to not chew in that little RV and in every imaginable place, weather and surface.  For most of his first 3 months with us he learned to potty in parking lots or gas stations or Campgrounds. So anything is possible.  As for the size of the apt. I know that my two would live in a box as long as they had their people nearby and with them. They are never more than 3-4 ft away from me most of the time anyway.  

But heed all advice and Karen's points are very valid and real.  Personally, after having doodles, if I were in your shoes, I would have to have one ( although smaller than my two), as the comfort, companionship, love and fun they bring to a home is invaluable. 

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I think this is doable but with a lot of work. I had a puppy in a third floor apartment and I did wrap up and go out every two hours in the first few months in the rain and the snow. That was definitely the hardest bit. The home I live in now is very small and I have two large dogs though we do have a walled garden. This idea that you need loads of space is a bit of a red herring because even if you have a very large garden you do have to go out with them and play ball etc to give them a work out becuase you can't just leave them there and expect them to exercise themselves. There is one issue that can be a problem and that is the possibility of the dog barking and causing a nuisance whilst you are out and this is where a crate and lots of training is very important. I would suggest a mini or medium dog if you can get a good breeder who knows their stuff rather than a very large dog if you are going down this road. 

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

That's exactly it. I never understood why people say dogs needs tons of space. Dogs need to get out a lot, and that's true regardless of the size of your space. My dogs will cram themselves into whatever tiny space I'm in, including the bathroom. They definitely don't make full use of the space in the house.

[Leslie J]

Perhaps you should consider an adult dog instead of a puppy. You'll know more about factors such as destructive habits and/or energy level. It sounds like you're accustomed to order in your life, and a puppy will definitely disrupt that!