can I keep a rough collie in a small apartment?

January 6, 2005 1:19 PM

Is a 900 sq. ft. apartment too small for a rough collie?
posted by Mean Mr. Bucket to pets & animals (16 answers total)

As long as it is given sufficient and regular exercise (as any working breed needs), it should be fine.
posted by Specklet at 1:25 PM on January 6, 2005

I was going to make a joke about smooth collies being fine, but lo and behold, the linked page actually discusses smooth collies.

Learn something every day.
posted by Captain_Tenille at 1:33 PM on January 6, 2005

I think that it can work, if you're committed enough, but here are the problems that I would be concerned about:

1) Collies need A LOT of exercise. It's probably going to need a minimum of two looooong walks a day, and somewhere to run off leash at least occasionally.

2) Herders tend not to love strangers. If you have a lot of strangers around in your building, be prepared to do a lot of socialization work.

3) They can be quite destructive if they don't get the exercise and mental stimulation they need.

4) That's going to be a whole lot of hair in a little apartment.

I would say that if you're a pretty avid runner or something like that and if you've had a dog (especially an apartment dog, and especially a herding breed) before, you've got a good shot. Don't fool yourself about what you're willing to do and what's practical for your household. If you're not all that active already, look for another breed.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 1:33 PM on January 6, 2005

Having lived in a 900sq.ft. condo for about a decade, I vote "No."
posted by five fresh fish at 1:36 PM on January 6, 2005

Yes, I will say no as well, especially, if you will be leaving it in the apartment alone for extended periods. My dog is part collie, gets walked everyday, can go outside via the dog door whenever she wants, plays fetch with me when I come home for lunch almost everyday, and is still kind of a crazy nut.
posted by trbrts at 1:50 PM on January 6, 2005

The size of the apartment is irrelevant. Dogs don't need their own space, or a little "me time," or some goddamn privacy please. They want to be right on top of their persons, 24/7. Time is the real issue. If you regularly work 10-12 hour days at an office, this might not be the right moment to poochify your life.

The dogs I've encountered who seem to really suffer from urban apartment living are both very smart and very energetic, e.g., Australian shepherds. They need more exercise and more interaction than most city people can give them.

I've lived in a small apartment with at least one big dog for over ten years and it works fine for me. Them, too, as far as I can tell. I also have a biggish outdoor space and I work at home, mostly. Unless you have at least one of those resources, I'm not sure I'd recommend it.
posted by vetiver at 1:54 PM on January 6, 2005

Yes.
posted by rushmc at 2:05 PM on January 6, 2005

Depends on what the dog thinks. My dog, a cattle dog, is a herder and should not be happy in an 800 sqft. apartment, but she is. Mostly that's because a) it's where I am and b) I try to get her outside as much as possible. Actually, in her mind, a) trumps everything. It works out for me (and the neighbors) because she's not a barker, because the weather in Southern California is not too oppressive for regular dog walking, and because she's beloved by the neighbors who are happy to walk her if I need to be away. So we've worked things out.
I had her in a house with a backyard before I moved into this apartment so I was obligated to try to make it work, and happily it did; I would never adopt a new dog, especially a herder, into an apartment this small. I also may just be lucky in having a relatively lazy cattle dog so YMMV.
In summary, so much depends on the dog, the pre-existing relationship, and your willingness to compensate. It's probably better than the humane society for most dogs, but not necessarily better than another home with a yard.
posted by dness2 at 2:11 PM on January 6, 2005

I also have a herding breed and I agree with LMC and dness2 - the size of your house isn't the issue, the amount of exercise your dog gets is. Dogs rarely truly exercise themselves anyway (unless they have another dog to play with), so the size of the home/yard is fairly irrelevant, as long as the owner is prepared for dealing with the hassle of not having a fenced yard for late-night bathroom excursions. As long as the dog gets plenty of exercise (both mental and physical - herding dogs have been bred to work, and think about their work, you have to find an outlet for that brainpower - correctly-done clicker training is a very useful way to tire out your dog's brain, and doing something active along with your obedience work, like agility, takes care of both the mental and physical exercise). Dogs like this need a job to do on nearly a daily basis, if you don't give them one, they'll find their own, and you may not like what they choose. Also keep in mind that herding breeds tend to be barky - you will need to adequately acclimatize your dog to your absences (by doing it gradually to minimize the amount of distress the dog experiences - herding dogs are bred to work with people for the most part, and they tend to be hard-wired to want to be with you all the time: my dog is lying under my chair as I type this), and may need to consider a spray collar to keep your neighbours from hating you. I would also choose an adult dog over a puppy unless you can arrange for yourself or someone else to come and walk the dog at least twice during the day while you're at work until the puppy is six months old or so (once during the day after that). If you're truly prepared for the work this will entail (and do not forget the amount of grooming a rough collie needs), I see no reason you shouldn't have a collie in your apartment. Collies are lovely dogs, be careful to choose a good breeder who does hip, eye and von Willebrand's Disease testing (at very least) on their breeding stock, and educate yourself about their breed-specific health issues (especially with regard to bloat and ivermectin - don't assume a vet will know about the latter).
posted by biscotti at 3:10 PM on January 6, 2005

You might consider rescuing an older dog. Often, laziness comes with age.
posted by trharlan at 3:43 PM on January 6, 2005

LittleMissCranky, dness2, and biscotti are wise. Plenty of Japanese families have Akitas in some pretty small homes, so size alone doesn't matter much. Akitas have a pretty different temperament from herding dogs though, so there will be more work for you. I second the idea of getting a slightly older dog. Also adding hand signals can be really helpful in training.

You can get information about genetically testing your dog for drug sensitivity at the Washington State Univ. site. We did it for our mixed breed dog--it was easy and not very expensive. Collies(about 3 out of 4 have the mutant gene), Aus. Shepherds, and several other breeds have shown sensitivity to these drugs:
* Ivermectin (antiparasitic agent)
* Loperamide (Imodium®; over-the-counter antidiarrheal agent)
* Doxorubicin (anticancer agent)
* Vincristine (anticancer agent)
* Vinblastine (anticancer agent)
* Cyclosporin (immunosuppressive agent)
* Digoxin (heart drug)
* Acepromazine (tranquilizer)
* Butorphanol (pain control)
posted by lobakgo at 3:47 PM on January 6, 2005

I have a collie mix, and she was just a big pile of PLAYWITHMENOW!!! until she was eight or so. After that she quieted down enough that I'm sure she'd do okay in a small apartment. If you do it, an older dog would be a good idea (there are older dogs in rescue that really need the homes).
posted by Jeanne at 5:01 PM on January 6, 2005

The size of the apartment is irrelevant. Dogs don't need their own space, or a little "me time," or some goddamn privacy please. They want to be right on top of their persons, 24/7.

That's why I think 900' is too small. You'll never, ever be able to get away from the dog.

However, I'm not at all a dog person. I've only met a single dog in my adult life that I liked, so my advice should be viewed as suspect.
posted by five fresh fish at 5:39 PM on January 6, 2005

You'll never, ever be able to get away from the dog.

fff, I'm imagining you (a large trout with four koi in his pants) wiggling under the sofa to evade your dog.
posted by vetiver at 6:45 PM on January 6, 2005

An option: consider a sheltie instead...very similar to collies in intelligence, temperament, and appearance, but only 1/2 the size.
posted by davidmsc at 9:23 PM on January 6, 2005

No; if you get your dog enough exercise, then the only thing it needs to do in the apartment is sleep, which doesn't take a lot of space. But if you want to have a happy dog (and a happy relationship) in this much space, you must commit to getting the dog the exercise it needs.

(My Siberian husky is perfectly happy living with me in an apartment. She also gets miles of running alongside my bicycle every day.)
posted by Wolfdog at 11:28 AM on January 9, 2005