Doberman in a Apt Risks

[coletteslove]

Hello! Future first-time Dobie owner here!

I just wanna start by saying I’ve been lurking on the forum and other forums/websites a LOT as well as reading books, watching videos, and basically doing all the research I can for a Doberman puppy.

My only setback or “fear” was that I’d be raising her in an apartment. It’s a property in Georgia that I located specifically because I knew I wanted a Doberman and wanted her homing process to be as smooth as possible.

They have no breed/weight restrictions and are happy to provide “landlord approvals” for breeders or rescues or shelters that want confirmation the dog is allowed to be there. They have DNA poop screenings that resident reviews have said successfully keeps the property clean of dog poop because it enforces owner responsibility. There’s a lake with free paddleboard rentals, direct access to walking trails, local parks, and it’s also within close driving distance of a mountain that I hike often.

In every video, forum, etc. that I watched, it made it seem like owning a Doberman was impossible without a fenced yard, but I see that there’s an influx of successful Dobie owners here that live in apartments, townhouses, and metro/urban areas. That really calms my anxiety!

My one question is, how do you stay safe with potty training before they receive vet-approval to be around more dogs after their vaccines? I intend with speaking to a vet about local Parvo rates, but I still want to be safe. And if any other Dobie owners without fenced yards want to share any other tips, feel free! I think I was also a bit nervous because I wasn’t sure if a breeder or a rescue would be willing to sell me a puppy unless I have a fence and private acres, and I still am a bit worried about that aspect honestly.

Thanks.

 

[Ravenbird]

My one question is, how do you stay safe with potty training before they receive vet-approval to be around more dogs after their vaccines? I intend with speaking to a vet about local Parvo rates, but I still want to be safe.

I'm going to assume with this question that you are not on a ground floor with and outdoor private patio area? This does make it more difficult to potty train because when urgency to go happens, for best results you must be quick to get your puppy outside. Pee pads only teach a puppy it's ok to go potty indoors. They are better than nothing but then you have to wean them off peeing indoors on a pad, so double training. Generally speaking, if all the dogs in the apartment complex are properly vaccinated and the property/potty area is not available to stray dogs, there should be no exposure to Parvo. Exceptions being if someone picked up a stray or backyard bred puppy such as those offered free or for $10 at a parking lot and brought it home to your apartment complex. I don't know how your place screens for that.

All that said - yes, it can be done. You will have hardships that add to puppy raising, but it can be done. Your other challenge will be finding a reputable breeder who will sell to someone in an apartment. It doesn't have to be acres, but a fenced area connected to the house (or apartment/condo) is almost always required by breeders who are concerned about quality of life for their puppies. I looked at many contracts when I was searching for a puppy and I think all of them mentioned a fenced area and if there wasn't one, they asked for details on how you would be potty training and what you would do for exercise.

Welcome to Doberman Chat - I hope you succeed in your puppy quest - I can see already that you are purposefully thinking ahead and that's always a good thing! If you haven't already, read through the puppy section and the training and behavior sections regarding a Dobermsns first year, potty training, whining/barking, crate training etc. to further prepare you for the ride.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Dobermans CAN be raised and kept in apartments! I have done it! This breed is known to be compatible with apartment life. You just have to do the work of meeting their physical and mental stimulation needs.

House training when you don't live on the ground floor is hard though. How do you get the puppy out to an area where they can do their business if you have to go all the way down some stairs? It's not easy. I'll be honest: With my first Dobe, I knew very little about the finer points of dog ownership at first, and my roommate and I let our puppies (he dad a GSD pup at the same time) do their business on the balcony on top of the snow. D'oh. I also tried to train my Dobe puppy to go to the bathroom on a piece of cardboard inside the apartment.

Anyway, moving beyond that...

I have lived the struggle to try to find places to rent that would take a dog, let alone a large dog, let alone a Doberman! It was hard and stressful! At one seedy apartment complex, I just told the landlady that he was not a Doberman. He just looked like one. At another place, a rented upstairs of a house, i had to pay money to see a listing of rentals that would accept dogs. The place I found had the homeowner living downstairs from me and my Dobe would use the backyard shared with her male black Lab. I rarely used that yard though, choosing to walk him and play frisbee in the nearby park. It turned out to be a bad rental situation, with the homeowner using my rent to do frequent home improvement projects. I worked 12 hour overnight shifts, and needed to sleep during the day.

For a few months, I stayed with my sister and brother in law in the house they were renting. The owners got all kinds of mad about my Dobe being there, and about me being there.

For some weeks, I (must admit) stayed with my Mom and her boyfriend in a trailer park. The management had a banned breed list and Dobes were on it. When I went to work I had him fenced in a small area with a dog house. Sometimes kids would tease and throw rocks at him. I had makeshift fencing doubled up to prevent fingers being bitten.

Dobe life can be hard.

 

[JanS]

Welcome from Minnesota!

We've had quite a few members here with Dobermans in apartments and it worked out well as long as you're willing to put the time in to give the pup plenty of physical and mental exercise. One guy even lived in an apartment in NYC and successfully brought his pup up.
Potty training could be a bit more of a challenge so patience and persistence is the key. We live in a split entry house so it took a bit to get them down the steps and outside but they caught on. Many breeders train the pups to use a litter tray so that might be a good backup until the pup fully gets the idea of going outside.

My one question is, how do you stay safe with potty training before they receive vet-approval to be around more dogs after their vaccines? I intend with speaking to a vet about local Parvo rates, but I still want to be safe.

That's another tough one since our pups get carried everywhere in public areas until they've had all of their parvo vaccines. They say concrete is relatively safe compared to grassy or soft surfaces but a lot of pups don't want to go on concrete either.

 

[coletteslove]

I'm going to assume with this question that you are not on a ground floor with and outdoor private patio area? This does make it more difficult to potty train because when urgency to go happens, for best results you must be quick to get your puppy outside. Pee pads only teach a puppy it's ok to go potty indoors. They are better than nothing but then you have to wean them off peeing indoors on a pad, so double training. Generally speaking, if all the dogs in the apartment complex are properly vaccinated and the property/potty area is not available to stray dogs, there should be no exposure to Parvo. Exceptions being if someone picked up a stray or backyard bred puppy such as those offered free or for $10 at a parking lot and brought it home to your apartment complex. I don't know how your place screens for that.

All that said - yes, it can be done. You will have hardships that add to puppy raising, but it can be done. Your other challenge will be finding a reputable breeder who will sell to someone in an apartment. It doesn't have to be acres, but a fenced area connected to the house (or apartment/condo) is almost always required by breeders who are concerned about quality of life for their puppies. I looked at many contracts when I was searching for a puppy and I think all of them mentioned a fenced area and if there wasn't one, they asked for details on how you would be potty training and what you would do for exercise.

Welcome to Doberman Chat - I hope you succeed in your puppy quest - I can see already that you are purposefully thinking ahead and that's always a good thing! If you haven't already, read through the puppy section and the training and behavior sections regarding a Dobermsns first year, potty training, whining/barking, crate training etc. to further prepare you for the ride.

Hello and thanks for the welcome,

I’m not yet at this property as I’ll be moving in early next year and I plan on spending a few months in my new place without the puppy settling myself in, learning all the ins and outs of the property, and really doing the last bit of personal preparations I need. The property itself is also gated, so the only pets within it should be the vaccinated pets that have been approved to be there. I should’ve explained that I hadn’t moved in yet!

I’m going to try and push for a ground floor because, yes, it really would make a lot of the hardships easier. If not, I know that’s a challenge I’ll have to overcome but I know it’s not impossible.

I think one of the biggest parts to owning a Dobie (as someone who doesn’t have one yet) is having the confidence to believe you can successfully raise one, and this forum definitely has already raised my confidence a lot. Thank you for the advice! I’m looking forward to recording my Dobie journey with people who also love and respect the breed.

 

[coletteslove]

Dobermans CAN be raised and kept in apartments! I have done it! This breed is known to be compatible with apartment life. You just have to do the work of meeting their physical and mental stimulation needs.

House training when you don't live on the ground floor is hard though. How do you get the puppy out to an area where they can do their business if you have to go all the way down some stairs? It's not easy. I'll be honest: With my first Dobe, I knew very little about the finer points of dog ownership at first, and my roommate and I let our puppies (he dad a GSD pup at the same time) do their business on the balcony on top of the snow. D'oh. I also tried to train my Dobe puppy to go to the bathroom on a piece of cardboard inside the apartment.

Anyway, moving beyond that...

I have lived the struggle to try to find places to rent that would take a dog, let alone a large dog, let alone a Doberman! It was hard and stressful! At one seedy apartment complex, I just told the landlady that he was not a Doberman. He just looked like one. At another place, a rented upstairs of a house, i had to pay money to see a listing of rentals that would accept dogs. The place I found had the homeowner living downstairs from me and my Dobe would use the backyard shared with her male black Lab. I rarely used that yard though, choosing to walk him and play frisbee in the nearby park. It turned out to be a bad rental situation, with the homeowner using my rent to do frequent home improvement projects. I worked 12 hour overnight shifts, and needed to sleep during the day.

For a few months, I stayed with my sister and brother in law in the house they were renting. The owners got all kinds of mad about my Dobe being there, and about me being there.

For some weeks, I (must admit) stayed with my Mom and her boyfriend in a trailer park. The management had a banned breed list and Dobes were on it. When I went to work I had him fenced in a small area with a dog house. Sometimes kids would tease and throw rocks at him. I had makeshift fencing doubled up to prevent fingers being bitten.

Dobe life can be hard.

Thanks for sharing some stories with me. I’ve read that Dobe life certainly can be hard with one of the reasons being that so many places don’t allow them. Then, even if they do allow Dobies, there’s still such a stigma around them that other people will still try and ruin the experience for you and your dog because they think that all Dobermans are aggressive, wild, etc.. I think it’s such a shame, but my passion for the breed has made me realize that I would go to extra mile for a Doberman, even if that involves cutting down any of my future housing options by basically 80%.

Your Dobe is extremely lucky to have you!

The potty training situation definitely won’t be “ideal” (I’m sure every dog owner everywhere wishes they had a private fenced yard for those first few months or so), but I do know that it gets easier and I’m willing to put in the work. Thanks very much for the advice!

Welcome from Minnesota!

We've had quite a few members here with Dobermans in apartments and it worked out well as long as you're willing to put the time in to give the pup plenty of physical and mental exercise. One guy even lived in an apartment in NYC and successfully brought his pup up.
Potty training could be a bit more of a challenge so patience and persistence is the key. We live in a split entry house so it took a bit to get them down the steps and outside but they caught on. Many breeders train the pups to use a litter tray so that might be a good backup until the pup fully gets the idea of going outside.

That's another tough one since our pups get carried everywhere in public areas until they've had all of their parvo vaccines. They say concrete is relatively safe compared to grassy or soft surfaces but a lot of pups don't want to go on concrete either.

Thank you from Georgia!

I think I’ll have to try and use different textures with her growing up so that I can see where she likes/wants to go pee. Sometimes it’s just because they’re unfamiliar with a texture and it can scare them. It’d be… very helpful to me (lol) if me future puppy doesn’t really care where she pees, but I’m also pretty certain I’ll be able to find a grassier area that I feel safe enough with letting her pee in. It’ll just take some searching from my part!

The complex itself is also full of a lot of dog-friendly people. I’ve spoken to a couple of the residents myself, and since the building is very open with their pet policy, the people that live there usually don’t mind/don’t care about barking or whining and understand what they got themselves into by moving there, and I’d feel comfortable talking more with neighbors or other people when I move in to see if they have any advice on areas for puppies.

But as for now, the breeder search continues! I know it’ll take a bit longer for me to locate one that will sell to an apartment, but they’re out there and I’m willing to put in the patience. Hopefully, by late next year, I’ll finally be able to take the “Dobe-less Doberman lover” off of my ‘resume’ and change it to “Doberman owner”! Thanks for all the words of welcome, guys!

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Thank you for your kind words. Yes, it was him and me 'til the end. He was a once in a lifetime dog. I can't even tell you.

Oh, not to be a further downer, but even as a homeowner we found out our home insurance would not cover Doberman ownership. We had to switch companies. If's so stupid, as there are many breeds that are much more dangerous than the Doberman. For one thing, Dobes don't maul people.

You will find out that many legends still persist about the Dobe. In a way, I actually like it. I like people to fear my dog. Just not when I'm looking for housing or insurance.

So, did you say the place you're looking to move to does DNA testing on dog poop in order to pinpoint who failed to pick up after their dog??

 

[coletteslove]

So, did you say the place you're looking to move to does DNA testing on dog poop in order to pinpoint who failed to pick up after their dog??

Yep. It’s a system they said they have where all the dogs in the complex are basically “registered” and if dog poop is found on the property, they can run a DNA test and find out whose dog it is and what unit they live in.

I was unsure if it was actually a system that worked because a place can say that they have a solution, when in reality nobody actually follows it, but apparently it really does keep the property clean and when I toured I didn’t see it all over the place like I did with other places I found with an open pet policy.

 

[Ddski5]

No doubt you can do this.
Dobermans need a lot of 1:1 attention and training anyways, so to be honest, a big back yard will only be space…it’s not like you are gonna open the door and let him out by himself for 30mins to an hour. If I did this to any of mine, they would just sit by the door waiting for my individual attention.
It’s the same idea but gonna take a little more attention and work on your part to find a good location to go walk, run and train.
Make it a point to tell the breeder you previously posted here and asked questions and doing research. It will let them know you are serious and conscious of making a solid plan.
Good to hear you are aware of Parvo in the younger years….just because one has a yard does not mean Parvo is not out there. Birds can carry it and poop it into anyone’s yard- gets on pups feet and then they can get it. Not 100% but is possible. I know a reputable breeder in which her entire brood got Parvo from her back yard.

Good luck and ask more questions if needed.

 

[coletteslove]

No doubt you can do this.
Dobermans need a lot of 1:1 attention and training anyways, so to be honest, a big back yard will only be space…it’s not like you are gonna open the door and let him out by himself for 30mins to an hour. If I did this to any of mine, they would just sit by the door waiting for my individual attention.
It’s the same idea but gonna take a little more attention and work on your part to find a good location to go walk, run and train.
Make it a point to tell the breeder you previously posted here and asked questions and doing research. It will let them know you are serious and conscious of making a solid plan.
Good to hear you are aware of Parvo in the younger years….just because one has a yard does not mean Parvo is not out there. Birds can carry it and poop it into anyone’s yard- gets on pups feet and then they can get it. Not 100% but is possible. I know a reputable breeder in which her entire brood got Parvo from her back yard.

Good luck and ask more questions if needed.

Yes!! Parvo is so, so, so dangerous and so easy to spread. I already plan on halting my shelter volunteering at LEAST a month before the baby comes home and not going back until a little bit after she has all of her vaccines, because I absolutely don’t want to risk her getting sick. I’ve seen puppies die of parvo at the shelter and it’s so so so heartbreaking to lose such a precious life so early.

Thank you very much for the words of encouragement. I plan on lingering around the forum a lot and making some more threads as I go through this journey. A community is just as important for raising a puppy than it is for raising a human baby (even if it is an online community haha).

 

[Two Dobes]

Welcome from Tennessee! Look forward to your journey in the future!