If you’re considering getting a pug and live in an apartment or small home, you may be wondering if pugs make good apartment dogs. Good news – pugs make good apartment dogs! I lived with my pugs in 1 to 2 bedroom apartments the entire time that I owned them and it worked well. We live in a somewhat rural area so even when we lived “in town” we had a large yard and weren’t close to other houses. However, pugs good live well in apartment complexes in most cases.

Do pugs need a yard?

Pugs need less exercise than many other dog breeds, but they should get some physical activity each day. Pugs don’t necessarily need a yard. If you live in an apartment complex but can take your dog for a walk or two per day around your neighborhood or even the parking lot, they can go without a yard. 

We always had a yard when we had our pugs, but truthfully, they didn’t really explore it a whole lot. Pugs tend to be pretty clingy and my two were no exception to that rule. They enjoyed being outside with us, but most of the time they’d naturally stay within 20 feet or so of me and/or my partner. So, even if you have a fenced-in yard, they may not fully utilize it unless you are walking around with them.

How Much Activity Do Pugs Require?

Pugs should go on one daily walk, or get a similar amount of exercise in some other way. Pug puppies have more energy than adult pugs, and as pugs become seniors their interest in activity will usually decline.

If yu have a pug puppy, a couple walks a day or playing with them a lot inside the house can help keep them entertained and that may reduce their ‘naughty’ behaviors some, too.

I have an entire article on pug activity level if you’re wanting to learn more.

Why pugs make good apartment dogs

Pugs make good apartment dogs for several reasons. Thse include:

1. Pugs are relatively low-energy dogs. They don’t need a ton of exercise, so going on a walk around your neighborhood should suffice. They don’t need a big yard, or even a yard at all.
2. They aren’t “yappy” the way many other little dogs are. They have a somewhat deeper bark, and in general, aren’t dogs that bark a whole lot. The potential exception to this would be if your pug has separation anxiety (which is common in pugs) and you would be leaving it alone in your apartment a lot. I wrote about why pugs shouldn’t be left home alone all day in most cases. If you do plan to need to leave a pug home alone a lot and you live in an apartment, that may be a cause of concern. However, if you’re committed to working on your pug’s separation anxiety, it may still be doable.
3. They are small. Apartment living is sometimes rather cramped, so having a big dog would just take up more space. That isn’t an issue with pugs as they are pretty small. Also, many apartments will have size restrictions on what animals they do allow. The most common ones I have seen when apartment hunting in the past were pets under 30 pounds or pets under 50 pounds allowed. With pugs being under 30 pounds, this means that even if an apartment complex does have a weight restriction, it should still allow pugs.
4. They’re friendly and sociable. Apartment living with an animal usually means that when you take them outside for a walk, they’re likely to encounter people more often than they might if you lived in the country and/or had your own house and yard. Pugs typically really enjoy other people, even strangers. So taking your pug for a daily walk and having them meet others who live in your apartment complex or the rest of your neighborhood is unlikely to cause any problems.
5. Pugs don’t need space. They are just happy to be with you. Pugs don’t need a big house because they want to be on your lap all the time anyway. Even if you’re considering an efficiency style apartment, your pug likely won’t care one bit!