Let me preface this by saying I don’t like dogs. I don’t hate them—I grew up with them until I moved out—but, well, if I wanted to look after something obnoxiously energetic and desperate for attention, I’d have kids by now. That said, however, I hate it when people living in an apartment (call it a condo all you want, you owning it doesn’t mean you aren’t still sharing walls and ceiling and floor with strangers) buy a dog. Not because the dog annoys me personally, though they do, but because it’s cruel to the animal and disrespectful to your neighbours.
When it comes to your neighbours, unless your dog is trained at the level of a professional service dog, they will bark and run around and just generally make a racket at some point or another when you don’t want them to. This is bad when it’s in the house next door; sharing a wall/floor/ceiling with it can be, and often is, even worse.
As for the dog itself, dogs aren’t meant to be kept in small spaces. Even keeping them in too small of a house can have them constantly over-energized without a proper yard or something for them to run in. Apartments are obviously even worse, unless you decide to buy out an entire floor of your building so your dog can have space. Taking them out for a half-hour or an hour walk isn’t enough to burn all that energy off unless your dog is hella lethargic or just really old.
So even if you don’t care about your neighbours, you should care about your dog. If you have a dog, buy or rent a house instead of a cramped 2-bedroom apartment downtown, and if you’re planning on getting a dog while living in an apartment, don’t! Not until you’re ready to give them the space they need! Considering that a good number of dog owners treat their pets better than other humans, it baffles and infuriates me that this simple point of care is ignored by so many of them.
—Living with a pent-up pooch is no fun for anyone
This article appears in Jan 10-16, 2019.
It’s no different than those people who let their dog run free down the street off a leash, never considering broken glass bottles, vehicles on the road or any other hazard their dog may face. Because it’s all about what they want, never mind the poor dog or anybody else’s feelings. Some (note not all) pet owners don’t see their pet as a living thing, but as a security blanket which offers “unconditional love” and cannot run away, so they keep it in a cramped living space and treat it like a toy. Poor things.
You’re kidding, right?
It seems like there are more ‘apartment’ buildings that prohibit dogs than permit them; at least that was my experience when shopping for an ‘apartment’. You likely should have done some research before moving into the building you have. Getting pissy at your neighbors because you didn’t do your research is a great example of half the problems in this world.
Depends on the size of the dog. A small lap dog in an apartment is one thing but keeping a dog the size of a Labrador Retriever in an apartment all day on its own is downright cruel.
Everyone really doesn’t understand dogs at all. It’s always physical activity they crave, it’s mental stimulation. That can be outside sniffing on long walks or taking your dog to the dog park. If you’re just going to leave your dog home alone all day without any stimulation during other hours, of course they are going to go ballistic. But if you work with them (not necessarily professional dog training), they can be perfectly happy and not stressed when you’re gone. Big dogs are often more like large cats, after less than an hour of activity a day they just want to lay down. So unless you’re some sort of animal psychologist/behaviourist, please educate yourself.
P.S. By your own logic kids shouldn’t be kept in apartments either 😉
@Men Aren’t Funny that may be true if the owner(s) take that level of time and care every day to look after their animal in that way and give it outdoor exercise on a daily basis, but in this case here it sounds like the dog is just getting left cooped up in an adjacent apartment condo to the OP and making a loud racket because either A) it’s bored as hell or B) something in the apartment with it, maybe a child or another pet or something, it getting the dog worked up and noisy. As a courtesy to others living in the building who find this to be a nuisance, the owners of the dog should either control their pet or move to a location where that type of noise is universally accepted – I think the better thing for everyone would just be if, like you said, they take their dog out for a walk every day. It’s not that difficult and if the owner is working such long hours that they are neglecting their dog, they shouldn’t own that dog.
Sorry manhater, I. Am. Hilarious.
As someone who owns a dog and lives in a condo, I have a problem with this post.
I do feel that if you don’t properly take care of a dog and have them in a condo all day, then yes that is certainly a problem. But some people who own houses keep their pets cooped up all day, or let them out in the yard without giving them the proper exercise that they need, such as a walk. So space is ultimately not the issue, but the pet owner and their level of responsibility to their pet.
Getting back to my own situation, I live in a 1 bedroom condo with a 70 pound dog. My dog has never known life in a house and is quite accustomed to living in a condo (that being said I work very hard to be able to get my dog a yard of its own). Each morning they get a walk around the block to relieve themselves, and an hour plus off-leash after work walk to run and play with other dogs in the area. Weekends are often reserved for hour long hikes around the area to ensure plenty of physical activity, and my dog also has a group of dog friends they regularly play and burn their energy with. During the work day, my dog has access to a window to watch everything going on and keeping them entertained. As well I keep the TV on for noise and comfort.
As a condo dog, my dog has a very happy life. More so, in some cases, than dogs that have homes and yards.
I do agree that if a dog is kept in a condo and not given the proper care, then yes this is cruel. But a dog can also live a very happy life in a condo. Ultimately, I reiterate, space is not the issue, but the owner.
Nobody should live in an apartment.
I can’t agree more with the original bitch here. Adding, once bitches and male dogs are allowed to leave the apartment, go outside to “do their duty”, too many irresponsible owners leave their deposits hanging from trees or on the edge of the path in little green, blue or brown single use plastic bags. Any playground, park or trail I’ve visited around Halifax is littered with dog droppings neatly wrapped up in plastic.
You should buy a house, I think. Problem solved