Tips for Transitioning from house to apartment?

[SunnyNJazzy]

So I am moving from living at home with my family in a house with a fenced yard to an apartment with my two dogs. I'm really stressing out about the transition as my dogs have never lived in an apartment. Jazz is older other than having to learn to be on leash all the time she should do just fine. Mysti is loud and super hyper and loves her outdoor time so I am super concerned she is going to struggle ALOT.
Do you guys have any suggestions on how to help make this an easier transition and ways to make apartment living work? I've never lived in an apartment and don't have a clue what to expect.

 

[release the hounds]

Loud and super hyper need to learn that crates are for quiet and calm. How do they react to random noises? It's not such an issue when you're around, but for when you're gone. All my dogs learn that about crates because we travel a lot and stay in hotels, similar to apartment living. I can't have them barking at things that go bump next door.

I remember going to nationals a few years ago and the dogs next door barked the ENTIRE time. Whenever they left, they barked. And the judges dinners and things last a long time

When I leave, I can put them in a crate and know they are quiet. It's important for me.

Other than that I didn't do much different with my dogs when we lived in an apartment. They generally adapt to most anything pretty easily. we don't play in the house anyway, so an area to play outside would be my biggest concern.

 

[SunnyNJazzy]

Ok good to know. As far as I know they are good in crates when I leave. When I'm home they are quiet in crates.... Will have to test that I guess. They do bark at "bumps in the night" a fair amount when I'm home but when I tell them to quiet down they do.... Hopefully it can just be a learning curve for them

 

[release the hounds]

bark and quiet isn't a big deal, it's bark, bark, bark all day or night long that gets to be an issue. That's why crates are a STFU zone in this house because when we travel or if we'd ever find ourselves in an apartment again, it would be invaluable for keeping everyone happy and us in our home.

 

[Elrohwen]

For work, I am currently living 2 hours from home during the week in an apartment with my retired parents (back home on the weekends). My dog has only ever lived in a house until I brought him up for the past two weeks. It took him a couple days to settle into a new place and new routine, but overall he's been great. He tends to be loud when we leave him at home, but he's been very good about being alone in the apartment. Obviously part of that is that my parents are retired, so he's only left alone for a few hours at a time, but I think just being in a new place has helped break the patterns in his mild SA. He was already much better at home recently than he was when he was younger, so I think finally moving to a new place got rid of it. He also doesn't counter surf at all in the apartment, but does it like crazy at home. Haha. Clearly I just need to move to fix all of his bad habits!

He barked a bit the first few days at people walking buy, squrirels, etc, but that passed quickly. Now he spends most of the day watching people and dogs out the window for entertainment, but without any barking. I was concerned about this, since our house is extremely private and he's never seen dogs and people walking past before, but he adjusted very quickly.

So hopefully you have as much success as we did!

 

[amberdyan]

Hugo came from a shelter and was picked up as a stray. We live in an apartment and he's done really well. The only thing is that if he's left in his crate with the blinds open (we live on the second floor and there are two sliding glass doors out to the balconies, so this might not even apply to you) he would bark at the outdoors. He adapted really quickly though. I'm sure your kids will adjust!

 

[noludoru]

Do you guys have any suggestions on how to help make this an easier transition and ways to make apartment living work? I've never lived in an apartment and don't have a clue what to expect.

What's your timeframe? If you have a month or two, you can start by having friends walk around the house and thump around to get them used to it.

Middie didn't bark much at noises, so we worked on his separation anxiety and closed the blinds so he couldn't bark at things walking by. I set him up on my bed with a radio on WTOP (news, traffic, and weather) because I didn't have a TV, and gave him tons of chewies.

One thing I recommend, especially if you have a balcony or patio, would be to take the dogs out individually and when you see a person or dog feed them treats. Constantly. Middie figured out that the stream of cookies meant there was a person, car, etc, and it was a Good Thing that they were there. After a month or so of daily work, he could sit out on the patio unsupervised. A bark meant he came inside, and we worked harder on it.

 

[pinkspore]

Brisbane did really well when we spent a couple of years in an apartment. One of the things that helped a lot was rewarding him for things he would bark at. See/hear a thing, get a cookie whether he barks or not. It really helped him bark less and worry less about what was happening outside or next door.

Another important thing for apartment living is making sure that pottying doesn't end the outside fun. For people it totally makes sense to leash up the dog, go outside, walk, and then go in once the potty mission has been accomplished. Dogs that love being outside quickly learn to hold off peeing as long as possible to avoid ending the outing. It really helps to have a routine or schedule, or to teach the dogs to pee on cue and have them go before playing, or to have a set walking route for potty walks.

 

[Ozfozz]

Having them well accustomed to crates is a huge help in house-to-apartment transitioning.
That way even though everything else is new and potentially scary, they brought their own "houses" with them.


In our first apartment Cobain and Rigby transitioned beautifully. (Cobain had lived the previous 7 years of his life in a house with a large yard that he had unlimited access to, and very few people in the neighbourhood. Rigby was picked up by the shelter as a stray 1 year prior to move, and lived in the same situation as Cobain between then).
In our first apartment, we were across from the 24 hour laundry room, central to all 3 doors and across from the elevator. So needless to say, they were a little on edge for the first few nights. They eventually settled though, only barking if the door itself was touched.

As has been mentioned, barking to alert and then quickly stopping really isn't much of an issue typically.

In the end, it turned out that my dogs actually seemed happier in the apartment than at the house. Just because every time they went outside, I went with them and interacted with them. Every trip outside held something stimulating, even if it was "just a walk."

 

[SunnyNJazzy]

This is all great info thank you guys! You're easing my fears. They are accustomed to their crates so the whole bringing "their homes" with us makes sense. Also Mysti's most excited about going outside if I go with her so hopefully she will like that part of it also - every time we go out I'm involved so it's a win. Also our balcony (second floor) faces a wooded area so hopefully that won't provide too much chaos.

I will work on the knocking around thing that's a great idea. We have 3 wks. I also plan on walking them around at the new property so they get used to the place.

 

[release the hounds]

In the end, it turned out that my dogs actually seemed happier in the apartment than at the house. Just because every time they went outside, I went with them and interacted with them. Every trip outside held something stimulating, even if it was "just a walk."

That is a great point.