Hello!
I'm thinking about whether or not this is fair, hypothetically. I should note that I do not have a dog nor am I looking for a dog actively, but it is something I'm considering for myself as a service dog candidate.
Is it fair to keep a dog primarily indoors in an apartment, with litter/pee pad training as a backup method if I'm not able to get outside reliably to do walks? The dog will come with me outside when I have errands to do, but that's only once or twice a week (more if I have doctors visits) and I can't promise I can reliably take them outside to potty and walk. Enrichment and puzzle toys indoors will be a huge part of our lives, theoretically, and we can play in the apartment as well as the actual SD work/tasks done at home - I'd be looking at very small breeds, e.g. chihuahua, papillon, etc - but due to the severity of my limitations, I cannot promise being able to reliably get outside several times a day for walks. I do have a caregiver, but it's not really her responsibility, either.
I'm thinking it's not fair and not to bother considering a dog further (my previous SD was a large breed but I had a fenced yard, will be moving to somewhere without a yard soon) with this limitation in mind, but I figured I'd ask in case it's somehow not as bad as I think.
Thanks in advance!
I'm thinking about whether or not this is fair, hypothetically. I should note that I do not have a dog nor am I looking for a dog actively, but it is something I'm considering for myself as a service dog candidate.
Is it fair to keep a dog primarily indoors in an apartment, with litter/pee pad training as a backup method if I'm not able to get outside reliably to do walks? The dog will come with me outside when I have errands to do, but that's only once or twice a week (more if I have doctors visits) and I can't promise I can reliably take them outside to potty and walk. Enrichment and puzzle toys indoors will be a huge part of our lives, theoretically, and we can play in the apartment as well as the actual SD work/tasks done at home - I'd be looking at very small breeds, e.g. chihuahua, papillon, etc - but due to the severity of my limitations, I cannot promise being able to reliably get outside several times a day for walks. I do have a caregiver, but it's not really her responsibility, either.
I'm thinking it's not fair and not to bother considering a dog further (my previous SD was a large breed but I had a fenced yard, will be moving to somewhere without a yard soon) with this limitation in mind, but I figured I'd ask in case it's somehow not as bad as I think.
Thanks in advance!