I like to think I’m proving a stereotype wrong: yes, you CAN have a large dog in an apartment. You just need to give him a lot more attention, and also be very rich like me. The apartment is huge, large enough for me to chase Doogle around while he does his best to keep me from stealing his rope bone and none of us end up tripping over any furniture. Furniture that is, by the way, dog-friendly.
Now, you might say that I’m out at work and that’s unacceptable. I don’t LIKE leaving Doogle for such long period of time, but that’s what dog walkers are for! Don’t think I was casual about that, either; I held extensive interviews with every local Melbourne dog walker I could find, looking for that very special someone. See I have a very good plan in place. First I get up in the morning, give Doogle a quick walk or a tug with his rope bone if I’m in a real rush. He has a snooze for an hour or so, until my first dog walker gets there. She has a play with him, gives him a snack and then takes him out on a good walk with some other dogs, so he has some company.
Doogle then gets home, has a snooze for a couple more hours and THEN another dog walker gets there and the whole process repeats: play, snack and walk. They get back at about six, the last walk of the day, then Doogle snoozes for a bit until I get home around eight. If he’s up for a walk, I take him then; if not, we just have a play. Then he’s mine for the weekend! We usually go out somewhere really special to spend some quality time. I know this sort of makes him ‘owned’ by my quality Melbourne dog walking people almost as much as me, but Doogle loves having such a big family, so it’s fine! And that’s how you have a big dog in an apartment. Loads of cash, basically.
-Iris