I recently moved to a new place that allows dogs. I am a big animal of all sorts fan and especially a fan of dogs. I have had dogs in the past and loved ever one of them and still miss them.
But the places I have lived recently did not allow dogs. My new place does.
My issue is the place is not big (about 1,000 sq. ft. give or take) and I am single and work 9-5.
As a result I am on the fence about getting a dog. It’d be alone a lot which is not really fair to any dog (cats sleep 18 hours a day so alone time for them is fine). That said I would have a dog walker for afternoon walks.
So, I figure if I got a dog a lazy breed would be best. Getting something like a Border Collie would be nuts. The dog would chew through the walls trying to relieve its boredom.
The only lazy breed that comes immediately to mind is a Great Dane. That is a mighty big dog for a small apartment but that doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is their short lifespan.
But something like that would be good. A couch potato. A loafer.
I have friends who have a rough Collie, like Lassie. They work 9-5 and until recently lived in a small flat. I didn’t think a dog was a good idea for them until I met the dog. Next level lazy.
They got a pet cam to see what she does when they’re away. They sold the pet cam. She does nothing.
Needs grooming, though, which is not my cup of tea.
But she’s my Potato and she comes running when I call “Potato” and gives me a tiny, very sweet licky kiss. She’s a sweetheart.
Forget breed and go for age. What you need is a nice mellow senior or middle-aged mutt. Something a little more settled than a puppy, already housebroken, often with some kind of manners, and overlooked in the shelter. Dogs are individuals (I know some who are chill as heck at 2 and some who are still bouncing off the walls at 12), but about age 5 is a good place to start.
Definitely check with your landlord/check your lease for specific pet restrictions before looking. If there are breed restrictions, find out if mixed breeds count (e.g. pit mixes, German shepherd mixes) and how they determine what the dog’s breed is (is it looks or paperwork?) because if you go the shelter mutt route, it will help in your decision-making to have that all completely ironed out.
Oddly enough, I’ve heard that Greyhounds are rather lazy dogs that don’t need anywhere near the amount of exercise you’d think they would. I don’t know anything else about them, but you might want to take a look at that breed.
Regardless of what you get, it be it a little terrier or a golden retriever, if it’s less than a year old, it’s going to be hyper. Even traditionally calm/laid back dogs are still pretty active as puppies.
If you want to do the adopt/rescue thing instead of a breeder, just tell the rescue place what you’re looking for and they’ll point you to a specific dogs. A lot (most? all?) of those dogs are in foster homes and the foster parents keep notes on their behavior for just this reason. If you look through the website for a local rescue, you’ll find plenty of, say, terriers that are calm and sleep a lot and just as many big ‘lazy’ dogs that have notes like ‘she’s got a lot of energy, not recommended for an apartment setting’.
Also, taking the dog for long walks, multiple times a day will help burn off some of their energy so they don’t do things like eat through the walls.
In fact, that was the specific advice I got from my aunt* when I asked her for advice for a friend having almost that exact issue.
*my aunt was the president of Illinois Doberman Rescue. I see you’re in their area. You might want to check out their site. Go to the ‘plus’ section for dogs that aren’t dobies.
I’ve also heard that greyhounds tend to be lazy, and there are a lot who get dumped after their racing days are over. A rescue greyhound might be worth checking out.
Retired racing greyhounds definitely tend to be lazy. My boy Gozer sleep more than the cat. He like to zoom around for a few minutes a day, but that’s it.
Greyhounds are much bigger than most people think. They take up a large amount of space including their own furniture. And since they’ve never been fed food with other dogs any food they see they assume is for them. It doesn’t matter if it’s on the counter or on the table they will eat it. So you do need a minimum amount of space and some control.
Why is that? One of my upstairs neighbors has had two rescue dachshunds (well, one is clearly only mostly dachshund) and they’ve been fine except the one was abused and lived on the streets and haaates black dogs - the best guess is he was harassed by one.
The obviously correct answer is a basset hound. They will play as puppies but even then they would rather sleep. They don’t have the health issues of bulldogs. They are still large enough to do dog things like go for a hike or a run (slowly) and they are ridiculously cute. I had one in a 1,000 sqft apartment almost 20 years ago and he was so awesome my wife keeps trying to talk me into another one.
The down side is the noise. My dog Elvis wasn’t much of a barker but hounds tend to like to talk and make noises in general but when Elvis played he barked non stop like one bark per step every step he was chasing a ball or running in a circle. Its about an hour of incessant noise but the pure joy of it made it overwhelmingly cute.
Why is that? One of my upstairs neighbors has had two rescue dachshunds (well, one is clearly only mostly dachshund) and they’ve been fine except the one was abused and lived on the streets and haaates black dogs - the best guess is he was harassed by one.
I vote middle aged boxer. We are on our second boxer and they have both been loving and very low maintenance. As said up thread, if you adopt one past puppyhood they will love sleeping on the couch all day, yet be full of pep when you come home.
Yes, greyhounds are larger than many people realize, but all large dog owners get used to stepping over the big furry mound on the floor. I have no idea what is meant by “their own furniture”. Even a huge dog bed can be placed in an unobtrusive spot.
The part about food makes no sense to me. The vast majority of dog owners have only one dog, so very few of any breed are accustomed to eating with other dogs after they leave their littermates as puppies. Greyhounds are no more likely than any other dog to take food that they shouldn’t unless the owner makes the mistake of giving out scraps while people are eating. Any dog that comes with that habit it can be trained not to do it.
Having had two greyhounds in the past, I would endorse them as the kind of ‘lazy’ dog the OP is looking for, with a couple of caveats:
1: The bit about them usually not liking stairs is true, but most will overcome that. If stairs are part of the layout the OP might not have the ability or patience to carry a 70 lb dog up and down stairs until the dog can do it on his own. And going down, IME, was the hardest part. When I lived in a two-story house it took three or four(?) months before my greyhound would do it on her own.
2: Except in fully enclosed areas you can never let a greyhound(or any other sighthound) off lead. The game pursuit instinct is very strong.
I have had two greyhounds over the years and they were both lazy couch potatoes (metaphorically - they weren’t allowed on furniture) and loving family pets.
The officiant at our wedding had 4 rescue greyhounds, and we got to meet them during the run up. They each had their own recliner style chair and would lounge on them for extended periods of time. None of them liked beds on the floor. They couldn’t leave any food on the counters or tables or the dogs would eat it without hesitation. Two of the dogs were big enough to eat food off the top of the fridge so they could only leave food in the fridge, oven, or microwave.
They were amazing dogs, and they may not be indicative of all rescue greyhounds, but they required some work.
Contact foster groups in your area to see what dogs they have that might work well as single, calm dogs. The foster dogs live with the person and the host will be able to tell a lot about the personality. It’s hard to tell the personality of dogs in a kennel. How they act at home can be completely different from how they are at the kennel.
I wouldn’t get stuck on certain breeds. Although certain breeds may be calmer than others, each dog is an individual and may be more or less energetic. Older dogs will likely be a better option, as they will likely be more comfortable being on their own all day. Also consider that a dog in an apartment will frequently be around people in close quarters and should be more calm and obedient. Large dogs can pose problems just because of their size alone, and people who are fearful of dogs may be more fearful of larger dogs. Smaller dogs are better for many reasons in these kinds of environments. Often landlords will set a weight limit on dogs of 35 lbs. Try to stay well under that to avoid any issues if you end up moving to a new place.
If you have windows they can see out of, you may need to keep the blinds closed if they bark a lot at people walking by.
