What is the best breed of dog for an apartment?

Most mutts work well, but also consider a, pug, italian grey hound, poodle, corgi, chihuahua, dachsund, miniature doberman pincher, saluki, bulldog, Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen (pbgv), puli, portwater dog, Brussles griffon, havanees, wheaton, beagle (contrary to belief they don't all bark alot), shelti, and thats all I can think of off the top of my head. I would suggest one of the smaller breeds for an apartment, because while they may have alot of energy, they're easier to play with indoors since they'll have more room to run for their size. But all of the above mentioned are wonderful dogs, it just depends on how you raise them as to how they will turn out. A good tip for dog energy reduction, chew toys! Its a great way for them to burn energy and you to put out less effort.

If you can provide the exercise and your distance from the ground floor will not interfere with housebreaking then any of the dogs you want will work. People say huskies, pointers, etc are poor apartment dogs. This is because these people assume you will fail to provide consistent training and exercise, and fail to realize these breeds DO NOT SELF EXERCISE as they simply have too much energy and no matter what size your house and yard, it will never, ever be enough. Get the high energy jogging and biking partner you want, provided it isn't restricted by property management or insurance. If you jog 8+ miles a day a husky will be JUST FINE. I kept huskies in a 300 square foot apartment and also dogsat a friend's belgian malinois for several weeks. The dogs were fine, as they got an 8 mile bike ride or two every day. [Add] Look at this. Just look at these answers. These people have some sort of serious logical disconnect going on. It's like they think if you live in an apartment you cannot possibly be an active person capable of providing ample exercise. You've owned a German Shorthaired Pointer, you know how much exercise they need. So can you realistically provide that where you live now? If so, get another one.

Well, the barking at night shouldn't be a problem as you will be home at night? Just shake a soda can with some pennies in it when dog barks and say no bark. Should work pretty good.

How much time and energy do you have to walk your dog? Small dogs are frequently active enough inside an apartment that a short walk a couple of times a day would be enough. A larger dog would need longer walks.

Maybe visit a shelter and check out the dogs there. The folks at the shelter might have some useful info about whatever dog you are considering.

Don't automatically assume that the smaller the place, the smaller the dog should be. Some small breeds are very hyperactive (like jack russels) and require as much, if not more, exercise than a bigger dog. Obviously, you probably want to avoid the huge breeds (danes, mastifs, etc) out of sheer space as well. Look at what the breed's original intent was. Bird dogs and hunting dogs are bred to run for hours and can take a long time to wear down. Same goes with herding dogs like collies who can go nuts if they don't have a bunch of livestock to chase around.

Your best bet may be a racing dog (like a greyhound) who is used to sitting around all day waiting for that one sprint, or a guard-dog type who is used to sitting around defending an area.

Two important things to keep in mind: for the barking, that's up to you. A barking dog is more a sign of poor ownership/training than a sign of the dog itself. Correct your dog when it barks, like you would when it tries to knock over grandma. The other thing is make sure you get it to a dog park often so it has room to run around and can socialize with other dogs. This is especially important when its a pup.

Good luck!

I lived in a one bedroom apartment (very small) and I have an Italian Greyhound(Pippin) He's not a teeny tiny dog but he is skinny and weighs about 13 lbs. I crate trained him for the times that I wasn't home. He took a little longer than most dogs to potty train but it was worth it. He just loves cuddling under the blankets and enjoy sitting on the back of the couch. He doesn't play catch but he likes to play tug of war. He hardly ever barks. One day his bone fell behind the bed and he barked at it. That was the first time I heard him bark! Somehow using the bone, I trained him to "speak" on command. Then I made him speak before we went out to go potty and now he'll bark at me if he has to go out!

When we moved into a house, we adopted another IG(Hayden). He is more vocal and no one had potty trained him. He is learning and is just as sweet as Pippin, they cuddle together all the time and I even crate them together in a very large crate when we aren't home!

OK you can probably tell how much I love these dogs! They are just so great! Let me know if you have questions~

I would sudgest getting an old dog that is calm and doesn't bother very much. An old dog would be so athetic as a chiauhauh will be and it will problley just lie around all day.

As for the barking, well it depends on the dogs behavor, can't promise you anything there.

So lets say your fav kind of dog is a great dane, that is going to be way to big for an appartment. Especially if it is still young it will want to run around the place, but...if it is older it will be lazy. See it works for are kinds of dogs. :-)

You probably would want to avoid getting a terrier - they tend to bark a lot, and are fairly active dogs that need a fair amount of exercise.

Go to the AKC website Breed information found here: http://www.akc.org/breeds/index.cfm?nav_area=breed... Look at the lists of breeds, and read about ones that look interesting. That will give you some idea of the dog that you're looking for.

The answer to your question really depends on how often and how much you are willing to spend time with the dog and exercise it. Lots of dogs can adapt to apartment living, both big and small. A small toy breed may be best if you don't want to exercise much but all dogs need lots of your time and attention.

I'd recommend a bulldog. They usually don't bark and need very little activity. Also, their short hair is easy to maintain. They're also amazingly funny, loyal, and always an attention getter. Downside is that they can be expensive, are prone to breathing problems (as with most short faced breeds) and they don't usually live as long as other dogs. Overall, once you own a bulldog, you'll never want to own another breed.

I would suggest going with a rescue. An older, more calm dog, may suit your needs. If the dog gets bored or feels lonely, they can become a nuisance barker.

If you want a laid back dog, a rescue can usually tell you the dogs personality, how much excercise it needs and so on.

Just a thought.