Yes - You Can Have A Dog If You Live In A Townhouse Or Apartment

There are many items you need to be aware of if you are bringing home a dog and you live in a townhouse, apartment, etc. Everyone should get to have dogs regardless of where you live, but?I'm a 9 year old Labrador Retriever so I have to think that.

These are the things you need to be aware of before bringing a dog home to your apartment or townhouse:

Can you have dogs?

Is there a pound limit?

Are there rules on pet waste disposal? How will you handle it?

Are you willing to get exercise for your dog?

Are Dogs Allowed?

I don't understand why, but it seems that there are some places where you can live where they don't want you to have dogs. Ensure that it's legal for you to have dogs before you find the perfect dog only to find out you can't keep it.

Size Regulations

Something else you need to keep in mind is what kind of regulations there might be about the size limit of the dog. Many townhouse and apartment complexes will now let you have dogs, but most of them won't allow dogs over a certain weight. Size can be a little tricky. All dog breeds have average sizes, but it抯 good to remember that each dog is different. We have two female Labradors in our house but both of us are runts. Instead of the average size of 65 pounds we weigh 50 pounds and 45 pounds. Based on our puppy size we didn't think we would get over 40 pounds and 30 pounds but we luckily stopped growing just before we went over the 50 pound restriction at our complex.

Handling Your Dog's Poop

Dealing with your dog's poop is one of the main issues for dog owners who live in an apartment or townhouse. It is important that you have a idea for how you're going to handle your dog's poop before you get the dog home and realize you don't know what you're doing. Some of the choices are keeping it in a container until trash day, flushing it or using fake grass on your balcony. This concern doesn't need to stop you from having dogs anymore, but you just need to make sure you're willing to follow through with dealing with this problem. Even if your townhouse or apartment does not have requirements about how to handle this issue it's crucial to be respectful of your neighbors who live so very close to you.

Getting Enough Exercise

If you don't commit to letting your dog have a chance to exercise, bad things are going to happen. Some of the options are underground fences/shock collars, letting them run on a really long leash/rope or letting them go to parks and public places. You have many available options to exercise your dog, you just have to be committed to making it happen.

Summary

It is possible to have dogs in an apartment, a townhouse or a house without a yard, it just takes a little preparation and additional effort.