Good townhouse dogs?

December 22, 2018 4:31 AM

What's a good cat-friendly dog breed for a first-time owner with lots of space and a semi-fenced small yard, but who shares walls with other homes?

I recently bought a row house (yay!). It's reasonably sized (~1400sqft) and has a backyard (albeit not fully fenced, because townhouse), so I feel like this might be a more dog-friendly setup than the small apartments I've always lived in. I like All The Dogs, so I don't even know where to start with narrowing down breeds. Here are the parameters I'm working with:

• I'm definitely getting a cat again at some point in the near future, so cat-friendly breeds are a must
• My HOA approves large and "dangerous" breed dogs on a case-by-case basis; they're specific about no St. Bernards or pit bull mixes, but there's no list of what's considered large and/or dangerous but I assume they mean the usual suspects
• I have a good amount of time to exercise doggo before/after work and on weekends, but he/she will be left alone or with another pet while I work full-time
• I live somewhere with cold winters (think -25 Celsius mornings)
• Some of the local rescue organizations won't adopt to homes without a fully fenced yard
• I share walls with other houses, so I'm a bit concerned about yappiness
• Toy breeds are probably a no-go for me - I've had problems with my previous mammoth-sized cats playing a bit too rough with friends' Chihuahuas and such
• The previous owners had what appears to be a medium-sized dog based on the size of their dog beds and crate, but I've never seen their dog and don't know what breed he/she is

I'm leaning towards a rescue Greyhound, but what are some other good choices for a single first-time owner? I have a soft spot for Spitz-type breeds but I doubt something like a Samoyed would work well in this situation. Help?

posted by blerghamot to Pets & Animals (14 answers total)

Do not get a greyhound. Greyhounds -- particularly rescue (which here at least means ex-racing) -- are bred+trained to chase+hunt small moving things. Like a cat. I would go so far as to say trying to keep a greyhound and a cat in the same place is very, very risky -- you might get lucky, or you might come home one day and find your dog has attacked your cat.
posted by bagheist at 4:54 AM on December 22, 2018 [11 favorites]

Best answer: Individual dogs' personalities vary widely within breeds. Try to adopt an adult dog from an organization that has a "trial period" during which you can see if it works well. Or volunteer to foster rescue dogs and essentially get that on your own. Or adopt a dog with a known history of being good with cats, etc.
posted by metasarah at 5:08 AM on December 22, 2018 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Fwiw my family has had lurchers (mongrel of whippet/greyhound descent) cohabit with cats with no problems. Not sure how common they are in the US but they are a breed that is overrepresented in shelters/rescues here, and I may be biased but they make the best pets. Super chilled, couch potatoes, but still like going out and are very friendly and good with kids and other animals.
posted by mymbleth at 5:13 AM on December 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

You also can never let a greyhound off lead in an unenclosed area. Never. So unless you are willing to always walk the dog on lead for its entire life you do not want a greyhound.

They get up to 45 miles per hours in three steps and can’t be trained out of the instinct to chase things so if they’re off lead and see something they will run and you will not be able to catch them.

Some greyhounds can be trained to be tolerant of cats but it requires consistent training and they’re still animals so accidents can happen. If I wanted cats as well as a dog I would not risk it, personally.

I’ve had trained and worked with rescue greyhounds for twenty years.
posted by winna at 5:33 AM on December 22, 2018 [11 favorites]

Best answer: Maybe broaden your search to include mixed breeds, shelter dogs. A good shelter can usually tell you a lot about their dogs, including how it was raised, problems and a health history. In my family's experiences, shelter dogs have been incredibly chill, wonderful pets. A small to medium sized dog would fit your situation perfectly. And the bonus, you don't need to do the choosing. The dog will pick you!
posted by LaBellaStella at 5:37 AM on December 22, 2018 [6 favorites]

Best answer: Toy breeds are probably a no-go for me - I've had problems with my previous mammoth-sized cats playing a bit too rough with friends' Chihuahuas and such

Not every toy breed is chihuahua-tiny sized though. My best friend's toy poodle was a good size (somewhere in the 20-pound range maybe?) for playing nicely with my 13-pound cat when spending weekends at my place. But I agree with everyone that a foster organization should be able to tell you whether a particular dog is cat-friendly. (Or whether a particular cat is dog-friendly -- while my cat Loki would happily pal around with Herbie the visiting dog, my other cat Wolf would run away whenever he came near.)
posted by oh yeah! at 5:39 AM on December 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

My puggle was very good with my cat. They are both no longer with me, but puggles (pug + beagle) are excellent dogs for the situation you describe.
posted by sockermom at 6:00 AM on December 22, 2018

Best answer: The best plan is usually working with a rescue agency where the dogs live in foster homes, so their personalities can be observed. They should be able to tell you whether the dog is quiet/chill, and good with cats.
posted by ohsnapdragon at 7:49 AM on December 22, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: (Some) greyhounds are fine with cats, and all the hyperbole otherwise is ridiculous. Reputable greyhound adoption groups cat-test their dogs. Introductions should be done slowly and carefully but I'm on greyhound #3 that has lived very successfully and peacefully with cats.

However, unless you're fencing in the rest of your yard, it is correct that a greyhound should not be allowed to run around in your yard off-leash. They are not super great with recall/wandering off leash but staying near their people. They can be kind of single-minded/independent and not particularly street smart. I don't currently have a (useful) yard and my greyhound is perfectly happy with just leash walks, so that's not a deal-breaker, but just know you should never never never let one off leash unless the area is fully fenced.

If a greyhound doesn't work out for you, I agree with recommendations to check out shelter pups. Dogs are so individual; remember that breed traits aren't necessarily predictive. You should assess a dog's fit with your lifestyle at the individual level.
posted by misskaz at 7:53 AM on December 22, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I wouldn't give up on your instinct to adopt a greyhound too soon; I'd encourage you to look for a greyhound meet and greet in your area if that's possible to see a few dogs and talk with their people. In my experience, retired racing greyhounds are pretty ideal apartment/condo/townhouse dogs, generally quiet and well-mannered. I'm also on my third one who has no problem peacefully existing with an indoor cat, and the adoption group reps I know say that in their years of experience (with multiple hundreds of greyhounds), the majority either have no interest in housecats or can be trained to ignore them. Mine are also fine with leash walks only, but I would never let them off leash in an unfenced area. Since you're in a climate with cold winters, you will need to dress them for the weather.

That said, every dog is an individual, and there are also other gems especially in mixed breeds.

Still on Team Greyhound, tho. Feel free to reach out if you have questions I might be able to help with.
posted by vers at 12:56 PM on December 22, 2018

Best answer: Just noted that you're a fan of spitz breeds. A Samoyed (I also love them and many other spitzes) probably wouldn't do well in a townhouse setting, but a Keeshond or Kees mix might well be very, very happy.
posted by vers at 2:06 PM on December 22, 2018

Best answer: It's easy to focus too much on breeds; although there are some commonalities within breeds, it's my experience that dogs vary much more within a breed than the average difference between one breed and the next. In particular I'm not sure that a "cat-friendly breed" of dog exists; there are dogs that are fine with cats and not-fine with cats, but I'm fairly certain you can find both in any breed of dog. Probably depends, and is more useful to, focus on the individual dog.

I'd look for a rescue organization that will do in-home meet-n-greets or even a foster-to-adopt program, ideally one that screens for apartment-style living and compatibility with other animals. The ideal behavior on meeting the cat is for the dog to be interested but with no prey drive / hunting posture, and to back off quickly if the cat hisses or swipes. (And then reward the dog for backing down.) That's what we did when we got our dog and while I won't say they are best friends, the cats don't fear the dog and the dog mostly leaves the cats alone except for the occasional sniff, and wouldn't dare to go near the cats' food. (They all share a water bowl though, which is cute.)

This is admittedly anecdotal, but if you are looking for a dog that's likely to be quiet and not annoy your neighbors, go bigger and older. An older dog who's content to sleep most of the day when you're at work won't be barking at the walls from boredom.

If we really have to recommend a breed, well, I'm all about pit mixes, but I'm biased as hell.
posted by Kadin2048 at 4:12 PM on December 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

Another greyhound person here, with another data point. Many greyhounds have great difficulty with stairs--you'd want to make sure yours was not one of those.
posted by QuakerMel at 9:07 AM on December 23, 2018

Response by poster: So, to wrap this one up for now, I got a cat! More specifically, the cat I adopted lived with (and loves!) dogs, including toy breeds, at his foster home and has generally been pretty agreeable and chill when he's come into contact with other animals. I've also heard that it's easier to introduce a new dog into a household where a cat has already gotten comfortable with its territory rather than the other way around, so this will lay the groundwork for getting a dog in the future.

I'm likely going the rescue route once I get a dog, and everyone's suggestions about expanding my breed list are very helpful. I'm just waiting to find a small or medium-sized cat-friendly adult dog that doesn't require a fenced yard to pop up on Petfinder in my area...which might take a while. Thanks again!
posted by blerghamot at 1:33 PM on March 2, 2019 [1 favorite]