Do you know any of your neighbours to talk to them? I would ask them if they have heard the dog barking or whining when it is alone and if they have, either encourage them to tell your roommate themselves or repeat what they say to your roommate.
To be honest, given his irresponsible behaviour regarding the poor dog, your roommate sounds like he might not respond to a simple discussion with you about whether the dog should be there or not, especially as he knows you will be leaving soon. Perhaps he would consider it more carefully if he knows that his neighbours can hear the dog, even if it is just to avoid being confronted by an angry shift worker who doesn’t want to be woken by an unhappy dog in the middle of every day.
If it is the case that pets are not allowed in the apartment, you might also want to mention that if the neighbours can hear the dog, the first time it really starts to annoy one of them it may well result in a call to the landlord/building admin. He might respond to that. If you come to the conclusion that the dog is really being poorly treated (I think this is likely, based on your posts so far) - call the landlord yourself. I know this is somewhat confrontational and doesn’t make for good inter-roommate relations, but you will be leaving soon anyway, right? And it sounds like it would give you some peace of mind to know the dog was OK.
Assuming you’re leaving in 90 days it really isn’t your problem in terms of being something you can do anything about. You’re sub-letting, assumedly without a formal lease, at his sufferance and so he gets to do obnoxious things and your main option is basically to leave if you don’t like it.
You’re kind of powerless in this scenario so best to simply close your door and let him deal with the dog. I would begin my apartment hunting ASAP. Hanging out any longer than necessary is essentially a choice you are making.
More toys, attention, and especially exercise may alleviate this problem enough to make it bearable. It will take a lot of dedication from some human, though. if roommate’s boyfriend has taken in the dog because he cares deeply, he might be able to become that human. If he has the dog more casually, or even accidentally, you or roommate might have to become the dog’s exercise partner. Of course it’s unfair if it falls on you, but in practical terms at least it could solve the problem, and exercise outdoors wouldn’t be the worst possible thing that could happen to you. I lost 18 pounds in 3 months or so when we adopted a seven-month-old stray.
Retreivers love to retrieve. A lab’s dominant train of thought is essentially. “Hey! Is that a ball? Is that a ball? Is that a ball? Is that a ball? Hey!” You may be able to find an off-leash dog park nearby.
A tired (exercised) dog is a happy dog, and may become interior decoration instead of a neighbor problem.
I have two pugs, and earlier this year lived in a 900 square foot house for about 2.5 months. House included a fenced in yard.
By the beginning of the second month, I could tell my dogs weren’t doing well because it simple wasn’t enough space for them.
They need room to play and wrestle. Our real house lets them run full speed and chase each other for exercise; the smaller placed didn’t allow that. We made up for it with daily walks, but that just barely made it.
Pugs are WAY smaller than labs, and the house we were in sounds WAY bigger than your apartment. No way could a lab be happy there, unless it got out for at least two long (30-60 min) walks a day, IMO.
After the walk last night she pretty much zonked out for the rest of the night, and my roommate has been home to deal with her this morning.
It won’t be my problem once I move out, but I would feel a lot better knowing that the dog is being taken care of properly, and I don’t mind helping with that while I’m still here if I can. I don’t doubt that my roommate and his BF like the dog, I’m just not really sure they’ve thought this through…
If the crying and barking thing continues during the day next week, I have no doubt we’ll hear about it from somebody.
My pit bull does fine with three walks a day minimum, one of them quite long. Bored dogs pace back and forth, and whine, so if he’s doing that he’s not getting enough exercise. It sounds like he could use a crate while you’re out but you might not have enough room. Local dog walkers are a great idea.
A friend of mine once lived with her boyfriend and her dog (which was the size of a small pony) in a van, for quite some time, so it is possible. You just have to walk it a lot.
Practical tip: if you have any space at all, get a bed just for the dog - a cushion that she can lie on. A folded up old blanket works well, especially one that smells like her people. Make her sit there whenever you can - when you’re getting her food ready, patting her, putting her leash on, giving her toys, etc. She’ll soon learn that it’s her place and she’ll stay there (especially if it’s softer than the floor). This should cause her to take up less space.
For some reason, when my dog is upset he calms down if I make him sit under a table. So I put his mat under my kitchen table and he hangs out there all the time now. It keeps him quiet and out of the way.
Also: there’s a kind of toy that many labs love and keeps them very busy. You fill it with food or treats, and the dog has to roll it around on the floor in a particular way in order to make a piece of food drop out. Dogs that are highly food-motivated (mine isn’t, but most labs are) can play with this for hours, because it requires a huge amount of work for a tiny bit of food. Check out your local pet store, there are several different varieties.
Thanks! She does have a cushion right in front of the TV (the only place it’ll fit, frankly) that she sits on when she sleeps, but doesn’t seem interested in otherwise. I’ll see if I can get her to gravitate toward that a bit more. We really don’t have anyplace that would fit a crate.
My roommate and the BF were making a token attempt to keep her off the couch at first, but that seems to have fallen by the wayside.
No tables nor room for one, unfortunately. She does seem to like sticking her head under the couch while I rub her belly.
This sounds fantastic. If I do wind up springing for a dog toy, I’ll definitely look into this.
The buster cube? My dogs love this. The lab rolls it, and the beagle follows behind her and eats the food she missed. He had his own, but decided it was easier to let her do all the work. If I could find the unused one, it’d be yours if you wanted it. Steer your roomates toward hide a toysand kongs too.
Thanks a bunch for the links. The dog has pretty much mangled her little bone, so I might pass these links along.
Similar circumstances yesterday afternoon - came home to find the dog alone, crying, and barking. This time, however, my being there was enough to get her to stop barking (though we’ll have to work on her jumping up on people and generally exploding with excitement whenever someone walks in the door) and she seems more comfortable in general.
No consultation with you about bringing a dog into the apartment. Tell them it has to go now. Tell them tough shit, you don’t care why it was brought there get rid of it.
