Should people with no yards own dogs?

United States
March 19, 2010 11:25am CST
People often want to own dogs who live in apartments or condos but most of those places have no yards. Should the resident still opt to get a dog?
3 people like this
9 responses
• United States
19 Mar 10
I think it depends on the dog. For example, some dogs are bred for the primary purpose of human companionship, and are indoor dogs for not only that reason, but also health confines. Pugs, for instance, can die if left outdoors because their short little snouts do not handle temperature change well; so when it suddenly gets cold (e.g., at night, when the temperature drops fast), or suddenly gets hot (e.g., around Noon, when the sun starts really heating things up) the pug can have fatal respiratory issues. And again, they need to be indoors with people or they get lonely and sad. So yea...just research the breed first. If it's a dog that needs lots of room and exercise, then NO - you shouldn't get a dog if you don't have a yard. That is my opinion. Even if you say, "But I take my dog on long walks morning and night, so that is good enough for exercise...." -- OK, imagine that YOU, as a human, are forced to stay in your office all day long. You cannot go outside to bask in the sun, or get some fresh air, or run around to work your muscles....nada. You can ONLY go outside when your boss dictates that you can, which is for a long walk morning and night. Other than that, you are a prisoner in your office. Imagine that you spend your ENTIRE LIFE like this. Sucks, doesn't it? I know you can view a yard in the same way -- as a type of confinement. But at least the dog and pee and poop when he darned well wants to, and can run around and get some fresh air and sun. It's depressing to be confined inside a house all day!
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
20 Mar 10
actually it's very dangerous to keep dogs out in yards all the time and unsupervised. Many dogs are stolen either to be sold to labs for experimentation or stolen to be used as bait for dog fights. I can't begin to tell you how many dogs have been stolen in my area--and usually the smaller the dog, the more likely it will be stolen
@Olivine (11)
• United States
23 Mar 10
I think it is okay for a person in an apartment or home to own most dogs. The local animal shelter requires you to live in a house if your dog is a large breed, and I think that is a good guideline. However, if you are only planning to live in an apartment temporarily and are able to take your dog out whenever it wants to go, I think it's okay to own any type of dog. If you are a loving owner who is really looking out for the dog's best interests, you will know what it needs to be happy.
@laglen (19759)
• United States
21 Mar 10
There are small breeds that are appropriate for this. Large dogs, no. But a chihuahua or shitzu, ok
@shamsta19 (3224)
• United States
21 Mar 10
People who do not know how to clean up after their dogs (or any pets) should not be allowed to own them!!! Want to know why this issue gets me so steamed up? Perfect example of this is my apartment complex. First of all I don't own dogs, don't like them and honestly am not allowed to have one in this apartment. Though several of my neighbors own dogs. There is a specified area for dog owners to let their pets "do their business" at the back of the complex. Yet these &^#(%$@%($@)!! persist on letting them just go anywhere they see convenient to them. So the way our lot is set up there is a patch of grass separating the two sides of the parking lot. It stretches from the front to the rear of the complex basically leaving a long strip of landscaping behind (or in front depending on how you park) of our cars. I so hate it when one of our neighbors at the back of the complex walks their dogs all the way to our end to drop their turds behind our cars!!! Mind you we aren't even allowed to have pets in this particular apartment, yet EVERYDAY I find myself scraping my nice shoes off, and I don't even like dogs!!!! I hate that they do that. I hate that they just leave it there and the bad part is we all have our own little fenced in yards as well!! I am so tired of stepping in it!!!
• United States
20 Mar 10
i see you are new to mylot. welcome to mylot. i think that people with dogs should keep the dogs on leashes. so that the dog wont run off. a yard with a fence would work also. but if the dog can behave itself than i am sure that it would be alright to have a dog or some other pet inside the house.
• Canada
22 Mar 10
yes dogs are a companion they should only get one if they are willing to take care of it
19 Mar 10
There is no reason why someone who lives in an apartment shouldn't have a dog. It is easy enough to take a dog for a walk outside to do his business, a little dog is a wonderful companion for someone living in an apartment and they are easy to train to behave.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
20 Mar 10
There's no reason why a person living in an apartment shouldn't have a dog just because there are no yards. Plenty of people have dogs in my area have dogs and I'm surrounded by apt. buildings. Of course, depending on the size of the apt, most people in apartments have small dogs rather than a larger dog
@snoopyfan (1312)
• United States
19 Mar 10
Yes you can have a dog without a yard. Right now I am renting a room and I have a dog that stays in my room. You can have a small dog or a medium dog in a apartment. Dogs are great friends and give people a lot of joy and happiness. As long as they take them for long walks and can also take them to the dog park where they can run around and get exercise that way.