Hello All

      I have been reading this forum for a couple months now, however I have not been able to find the exact awsner to a perticular question I have been wondering. I recently bought my first apartment with my wife and I have always wanted a GSP, and now feel, after about 8 years of waiting, that I am finacially capable of caring for. I also understand that they require vigorious exercise on a daily basis, which is one of the reasons I love them so much, since I am an avid outdoorsman, hiking and jogging numerous times a week. I would be able to take my GSP on a 45 minute run in the morning and when home from work (about 8 hours later) would be able to go for a longer hike or walk. This would be everyday, without exception, and if for some reason I wasnt available, my wife also runs and hikes frequently. However, my question is this, being a dog lover, I would never buy a GSP simply because I selffishly "wanted" one, without thinking of the dog first, and if it will be happy and content in its new environment. My apartment is on the ground floor, is 1100 sq feet and located in the very corner of the building. If i choose to get a GSP, and put for the time crate training, obidience training, excerising constantly, will my GSP be happy? Will it bark all day long and make my neighbours hate me? Is this a realistic thing to do, or is it just generally a bad idea? I appriciate peoples honest awsners, since this is first and formost about having a happy and content companion.

Thank you in advance, Gerryson

ps, sorry in advance for the gross amount of spelling errors in my above post! lol

Texas Belle,

Yes I have considered both, and clearly they both come with pro's and cons. I play on living in a condo or a townhouse for quite some time, so a puppy sounds best to me (since it will grow up in a condo), However, that being said, I am more then willing to adopt, if that suits my needs better. Even though i have done lots of research, nothing beats the opinions of people who actually OWN gsp's. By far my biggest worry isnt the dog chewing my funiture, or it going to the bathroom inside when its a puppy, that all comes with the territory, it is the barking. Since I live in a condo, it just isnt fair to my neighbours for my dog to be barking all day long while I am at work, and if there is no way around that, then I have a real problem

Just another perspective - it's going to depend soemwhat on the dog's personality.  Our Buddy made us all crazy in an apartment, even with somebody home all day and 2 hrs of daily exercise...so we moved when he was 4 months old.  He's got an extreme appetite for off-leash running and could easily go all day.

We had someone in our training group that lives in NY city and works his dog in Central park. He would rent a SUV and drive to Md for our Sat bird group.

We've had our GSP Glory for about 5 months now and we live in a 1000 sq ft condo on the 2nd floor. Although it can be a huge hassle, we understood going into this that we HAD to get her out for exercise at least twice daily. We do have a yard in the back of our complex, so every morning around 6am and evening around 6pm we throw the tennis ball and let her run full throttle for about 30 minutes. This really tuckers her out and seems to keep her calm in between. On weekends we take her to the dog park, or out on the Kaneohe Bay sandbar to let her ears fly freely! If you plan on running it will be no problem at all. I think we lucked out too in the way that Glory is very well behaved, doesn't stray while off her leash and she was the laid back one out of the litter. Although I would prefer to have acres for her to run as she pleases, I live in Hawaii so space is limited. We make it work! I have no doubt Glory is happy and healthy, which makes me happy too. Good luck. If you're willing to give your GSP what it needs-lots of exercise- you don't have to have a huge house with a yard. 

As far as barking...as soon as we got her home we got her used to the crate. Left the door open for the first week so she could go in and out as she pleased. We fed her in there, gave treats in there- basically made it feel like Disneyland. At night when she would whine my husband would say "HUSH!" in a stern, low voice (didn't yell). She learned that daddy meant business and eventually the whining stopped. We let our surrounding neighbors know we got a puppy as a courtesy and never had a problem. It never even progressed to barking. She only barks when we play with her. While we're at work we give her toys that keep her busy. I also think it's imperative to prevent separation anxiety so your doggy doesn't bark while you're away.