Tips for Apartment Dwellers My husband and I live in an apartment-style condo. We recently adopted our 3-month old yorkie puppy from an animal rescue and are looking for tips specifically for apartment yorkies. We hope we have not committed an inhumane act by adopting a dog while working full time :confused:. Our plan is to confine him to the kitchen during the day while we are at work and have him use the litter box. Our concerns are the usual: barking, crate/confinement training, doggy daycare, etc. One major concern is whether to crate him AND confine him to the kitchen or to choose one and go with that. Any tips are greatly appreciated.Thank you! :animal-pa |
I will tell you that both of my dogs chewed kitchen cabinets when confined to the kitchen area. lol Maybe a little x-pen to keep him in the kitchen, and also keep him away from cabinets, baseboards, and other things that might be tempting to chew on when they get bored. |
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Would you recommend moving the ex-pen to the living room of the apartment when we are at home? Will that confuse him when it comes to the litter box training? Thanks so much! |
I like the idea of confining him to the kitchen, you could keep his crate in the kitchen, with the door open, and have pee pad, and food outside the crate, or if crate doesn't fit, just another type of bed, but the idea is that the crate is a safe haven, not a punishment. I think it's easier to housebreak if you crate overnight, and place the puppy on the spot you want them to go in the morning. A young puppy might need to get up during the night once though, and the crate can't be too big or they will pee on one end and sleep on the other. They can hold it 1 hour for every month of age, and a little longer at night. I like "Pennies in a can" to reduce barking, and you must be consistent, and never show anger at barking as this agitates the dog more. I used a Christmas tin filled half way with coins and it made a louder noise than the aluminum cans. Say no and shake the can, repeat every time they bark. Never let them have the last bark. The coins in a can is good because they don't associate the noise aversion with you, like they would a water spray bottle. So barking is reduced even when you are not there. There are also various devices you can buy, they make an aversive sound only a dog can hear and are said to stop the barking, and are "bark" activated to go off when they hear a bark; I'm not sure how well they work, they seem to have mixed reviews. I should add it's very difficult to litter box train dogs, many don't like to use the box, a pad is much easier. Also there are sprays that eliminate chewing on things, bitter apple spray works very well, and some people suggest clear deodorant. |
I am a professional apartment dweller/yorkie owner, haha. Been living in apartment condos with dogs for years. If you are not able to come home during the day or have somebody to come home and let him out while he's a puppy, you CANNOT crate him during the day. He can hold it in for no more that 3-4 hours at this age, and by confining him in the crate for longer than that you basically force him to go against his instincts and get used to peeing/pooing where he sleeps. That will make housetraining much much harder later. I would go with a puppy pen. It'll keep him (and your cabinets and baseboards)safe, and you can put a bed, water/food, and his litterbox in it. You don't want it to be too big though. It shouldn't have much more room after you put the bed and the litterbox in it, so he would have no choice but to go IN the litterbox. Daycare is also a good option, ONLY if you are 100% sure of the quality of the supervision/training that he will be getting over there. Whatever he experiences, good or bad, during those critical months of puppyhood will have lifetime effects on him, sometimes irreversible. You have to be VERY careful with who you trust your puppy with. Good luck, and keep us posted on his progres. And don't forget cute puppy pictures :) |
Thanks! Do you hide when you shake the can or do you let them see you shake it? |
I just love the pennies in the can. Since I got Pixie, Daisy has been barking for everything and I was at my wits end with her. I am going to try pennies in a can!! Thanks for that I think you just helped my problem!!! |
[quote=Nancy1999;2864274] I like "Pennies in a can" to reduce barking, and you must be consistent, and never show anger at barking as this agitates the dog more. I used a Christmas tin filled half way with coins and it made a louder noise than the aluminum cans. Say no and shake the can, repeat every time they bark. Never let them have the last bark. The coins in a can is good because they don't associate the noise aversion with you, like they would a water spray bottle. So barking is reduced even when you are not there. [quote] Thanks! So, having the run of the entire kitchen is too much space? That might explain some of the accidents. I have also noticed that if I confine him to the kitchen and he starts barking, when I come back, there will be a puddle. Is this because he is frightened? Can I do anything about this? |
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About how long did it take to paper train your pups? |
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I don't have advice for you but just wanted to welcome another MD'er to YT! :) |
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you can also try this https://www.pottypatch.com/ver12/index.asp this is now available at Petco in the store I would also suggest the kitchen, my puppy never chewed on cabinets , just keep alot of chew toys available to him. I would not crate when you are working that would be way to much for him expecially if you plan to crate over night then the 8 hours you work during the day would be excessive!! I would also suggest a TV or Radio.. maybe even a dog walker to come over at lunch time for a walk if you or your husband dont work close enough.. Once your puppy has all its shots I would be sure to take him for a good walk before you leave for work to get some good excersise.. or a 1\2 hour play session.. Just always remember to give GREAT GREAT treats when he goes where he is suppose to !! |
Our daughter's Morkie chewed the drywall while she was at work. So she crates her while at work now, it's just a young pup a few months old. |
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Thanks for these helpful responses, everyone! Okay, so if the litter box is in the kitchen and we are playing in the living room, should I move the box until he is fully trained/older or would that confuse him? Should I get additional boxes? |
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Has anyone had to deal with complaining neighbors? How did you deal with them? |
I have an apartment puppy! When I'm not able to make it home on my lunch hour, Minnie stays in her crate from 8:45-3:15. She has no trouble holding her bladder, and she's four months old. During our first month of training, I came home every day for lunch, and she had only two accidents in her crate. In the last month, she had only one accident in her crate, and that was when I didn't come home until 4:15. Minnie sleeps with me. During the first month, she had about four accidents on the edge of my bed--it was too high for her to jump off and get to the pee pad. She quickly learned to wake me up at night, and has since learned to hold her bladder or jump off the bed (though she can't get back on yet). She's a wonderful dog. Pee pads have been great, too, though she does sometimes miss the edge of the pad. I've never had a problem with neighbors. Shaking the can reduced Minnie's barking dramatically. I turn the radio up when I am gone and play a white noise MP3 on repeat on my computer. I also make sure that she gets enough exercise so that she isn't up late at night. Welcome to Yorkie Talk! |
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I didn't have a can, so I put about 20 pennies in a small plastic tupperware container. Minnie doesn't really go on barking fits, but she does bark at loud noises or when people walk past the door, and when that happened, I would get the tupperware container and give it a quick shake (like three times back and forth). She was scared of it and hid under my blankets. Hope this helps! |
Moral Question: Is it inhumane to keep a puppy in an apartment all day? I work yet I want a dog. I am noticing that a lot of people come home during the day to play with thier dogs or take their dogs to work with them. I cannot do either of those things. Is it inhumane of me to have a dog AND go to work all day? My building manager is saying that he thinks it is, but I swear there are people out there who do it. Are those dogs at some sort of disadvantage healthwise or personality-wise? Do they suffer? If so, I am going to give my puppy to my aunt when I return to work full time. I don't want him to suffer. :( |
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