Moving to Chicago from the burbs- with two noisy dogs??! (apartment, lease)

[citylivingwdogs]

Hi,
I'm relocating to the city from the north Suburbs. I have two small yippy yappy dogs. I want to lease some place downtown that allows pets but also doesnt mind if they bark.

I was thinking about a loft- but how practical is that for noise? I dont know.

Any suggestions?

[j33]

From someone who has had to live around people with noisy dogs, PLEASE find some place with good sound insulation or figure out a way to make them shut up. There have been nights where I've almost been reduced to tears trying to sleep because of dogs that don't stop barking.

The most practical would be to find a building where you don't have neighbors. Get a place above and office or store or something, not a place where your downstairs neighbors or upstairs neighbors would have to listen to them bark all the time.

As far as a loft is concerned, some lofts have good thick concrete floors, others echo sound everywhere.

[Drover]

Two words: shock collar. Barking dogs and city living just do not mix. (Note: Do NOT use this if your dogs have been trained with an "electric fence" or if you ever intend to do so in the future because it will only confuse and scare the hell out of them.) Get the ones that has graduated shock levels so that they're not getting a full zap every time they bark. IMO those are unnecessarily cruel.

I had a dog for whom this was my only option. I did not want to put a muzzle on him because of the possibility that he might choke to death if he vomited. He did not respond to one of those stupid things that sprays citronella at their nose when they bark; I ended up coming home to a howling dog and a puddle of citronella in the front of his cage.

Even so, I would strongly, strongly suggest following j33's advice: ideally, get a place that is very sound-proof; even with collars, they are still bound to bark now and then. The problem is it's not easy to tell by sight and casual inspection if any place you're looking at fits the bill. I would caution, however, against the recommendation that you look for an apartment above a business. People trying to make a living are no more apt to put up with barking dogs annoying their customers than people trying to maintain peace and quiet in their abode. Depending on how much money you have to work with, you might also get a duplexed condo unit where your unit occupies both the basement and the first floor, or the top two floors, and you could confine the dog to the floor that does not share a common floor/ceiling with your building-mates. (Prepare to shell out about 3 grand a month for such a place, if you can find one.) Note that this only works in condo buildings on single lots that are only one unit wide. If you end up in a building that shares not only floors/ceilings but also walls, you're SOL.

All in all, I would suggest thinking twice about the whole enterprise. Barking dogs and high population density are a volatile mix that could produce a lot of acrimony between you and your neighbors.