Malinois in an appartment with enough exercise: Feasible?
How feasible is it to have a Malinois in an apartment if given enough exercise?
I am joking that my dog will be "exercise equipment" - I think that an hour of biking in the morning plus some training/free play in the evening would be about right. He probably will also have a second dog to keep him company in during the day :)
Can this work out? Or am I setting myself up for failure and I should get a German Shepherd instead? (I had German Shepherds before. I am tired of wondering about problems with the hips, especially with lots of exercise.)
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If you can handle German Shepherds in your apartment, you can handle Malinois.
That being said, if the dog is not some kind of inbred couch potato, they will NEED the exercise. Dogs are a big commitment in time, if not money.
As for an anecdote, the one Malinois I have run into, that dog did not stop playing fetch or any other game. The whole day long. Think puppy energy levels. Think border collie energy. With focus. Select yours carefully for the energy level you think you can handle.
It helps if you have a forest nearby where you can have the dog run free. Keep in mind that these dogs are ready to bite, protect, sniff and put their life on the line - for a toy. This means they are sharp, smart, do not tolerate nonsense from you as a handler and require a lot of time. 4-5 hours per day is ok. This does include going out to defecate, but 1-2 two-hour sessions of training every day is what it takes to get the dog tired.
You have to be able to get the dog tired - then it sleeps and you can do other things. It does not matter as much if it is an apartment, a farm, or a cardboard box - as long as you can get the dog completely exhausted every single day, then you are doing your part of the deal and everything will be fine. Of course the benefit of a farm is that you can let the environment do the work - in an apartment YOU have to take the dog out and do the work.
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