My BIGGEST Regret As A HIGH ENERGY DOG Owner

Having a Border Collie / Australian Shepherd is not easy for a lot of reasons, but those reasons I had prepared for ! BUT, I still do have one big regret when it comes to being a Mochi mom...

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theres only a few reasons why apartment living is hard for a high energy dog, but i will say its not easy. And make sure to stick around because ill go over how i combatted each negative.

The first is obvious in that in an apartment u dont have your own yard. Yes u can walk your dog forever on a leash outside, but having your own yard lets u go off leash safely without the risk of another random dog running up to your dog, and without having to travel. For example, if i want to go off leash with mochi, we have to drive somewhere just to do this. And with a yard, mochi could be outside all day if he wanted to. With a high energy dog, this is so important.

The second challenge is dealing with territorial behavior. The issue ive seen in mochi as well as pretty much every other dog ive met is that they begin to think the entire apartment building is their own. This becomes a nightmare when youre just trying to leave or come home in the narro hallway and you have to pass a neighbor. Mochi goes bezerk every time unless its someone he has interacted with on a personal level. The thing is, high energy dogs are more prone to reactivity, so combine that with territorial behavior and its an awful recipe for disaster.

Thirdly, a smallish apartment can have the same constraining effect as a small fenced in yard that is researched by dog behavioralists, where dogs begin to feel trapped and go a little crazy. Our apartmwnt isnt tiny, but its definitely not a big spacious house where theres windows that look out onto the street withbsquirrels and what not. So, this is definitely a downside to aprtment living with a high energy dog for obvious reasons.

So these are not all but the most prominent challenges ive faced as a high energy owner in an apartment. But, it doesnt mean i havent overcome them in very strategic ways.

So the first challenge has to do with the presence of a yard. To overcome this one has been the hardest, but it was possible. The first thing was to get a long leash, so that mochi can runnaround with the same freedom of being off leash without putting anyone at risk and following local leash laws. This has been amazing because mochi gets an opportunity to run around and ive even found some rather empty fields where we can play fetch. Of course, this isnt the same as a yard, but its close.

Secondly, the challenge is with territorial behavior. This one is super difficult to overcome but one thing that has helped a lot is to introduce mochi to neighbors. This one wont work if your dog is aggressive, but if your dog is simply reactive but not willing to bite, then you can introduce your dog to neighbors, let them interact, and then your dog wont feel threatened when seeing them on their way in or out. Also for this issue, ive done a ton of counterconditioning and desensitization whcih has helped us soooo much. For more on this, check out our video linked in the description about these training methods.

And lastly, with the feeling of being trapped in a small space, i try to deal w this challenge by letting mochi onto our rather spacious balcony whenevr he wants, and also making sure mochis physical and mental exercise needs are met. Again with a high energy dog, this is so important anyways, but it becomes especially important in helping a dog relax in an aprtment environment.

And of course, the MOST important way im overcoming this guilt and regret is doing everything i possibly can to buy a house with a big yard! Not everyone wants a house and not every high energybdog struggles in an apartment, and to be honest, mochi is perfectly content here. But i really want to give him the yard house life he deserves so my boyfriend and i are working extra hard every day not only as a content creator but also in my office job, and i really hope to share news of a house in one of these videos soon!!

But for now, check out this video on reactive dog training 101 linked here on the screen.