Dog Breeds Not Meant for City Living

All dog breeds have specific traits that make them suitable for your lifestyle. Taking your dog for a thirty minute walk once a day might be enough for certain breeds, but a lot of breeds that I see in the city are not meant for that lifestyle. This is usually the working dog breeds, they then get rehomed because "they're too much energy" or "I can barely handle this" or "they've destroyed my home". It is because they are not meant to be sitting around your house waiting for you to come home and take them on a short walk and calling it a day. This is my personal opinion, obviously dog owners will end up doing what they want. Here is a list of dog breeds not meant for the city life:

1. Border collie: this dog breed needs to be working constantly they have a lot of energy and a high intelligence and due to this they need to be kept busy, either being trained by you or being a herding dog, which is what they are meant to be doing. They say 1-2 hours is enough, but that's how much exercise my dog (mini golden doodle) gets and he still has enough energy to play with toys.

2. Husky: These are meant to be pulling a sled in the middle of winter, if you are taking them to a warm climate, they will be unhappy. Huskies literally sleep in the snow and are happy to do it. My friends had a husky cross, which they needed to get rid of because she got destructive and the reason was that she was not kept busy enough and had too much energy to burn off.

3. German shepherds: These dog are used in work places such as police force for a reason, they have great smell, easily trainable and are sometimes trained to be attack dogs for the K-9 unit. I do see a lot of German shepherds around but they are usually accompanied by active individuals, but they can also get bored and destructive if not kept busy in some capacity.

4. Belgian Malinois: You better be running nealry 24/7 with this dog at your side if you plan on keeping one, they have excessive energy and make great police dogs from sniffing out drugs to running up walls and jumping over them. So if you are planning to keep one of these guys in the city you better have no job, otherwise this breed will become a nightmare to take care of.

5. Beagles: I do not see these loud guys very often, these puppies will whine at all hours due to their high prey drive, so an apartment is the worst option for this dog, your neighbours will constantly complain.

6. Australian Cattle Dog: They are super hyper dogs, plus their use in the name they are meant to be herders, so if your dog is nipping at heels, it's probably because it is their instinct. They need to be mentally stimulated or running a good percent of the time.

Obviously, if you are prepared to do the work or send them to obedience classes along with a dog sitter or dog walker who is willing to spend plenty of time with these busy breeds than go for it, but do not get the dog and realize that you cannot handle the responsibilities or have the time to get them the exercise that they need to be happy. Get a breed that is appropriate for your home life and work life. There are plenty of sites such as Pedigree or Iams that offer free personality tests and they will give you a list of breeds that works for you and your family without having to rehome your dog.