Dogs at West Village

Dogs are welcome at West Village apartments and outdoor dining areas (but not inside the shopping centre). To ensure that everyone has a safe and positive experience at West Village, we do ask dog owners to follow our code of conduct.

West Village works with Doggy Day Care at West End to offer support and hints for residents who love dogs!

doggy 2

Code of Conduct for dogs at West Village

Untitled 6

Tips for Dog Lovers

Our favourite local, dog-friendly walking spots

Get out and about with your dog and enjoy this lovely autumn weather.

Explore the streets around you and support local business by grabbing a takeaway coffee on your adventures.

– Orleigh Dog Park is quite large and the walk there from West Village is nice along the river. Expect it to take about 30mins to get there. Best to go down Hockings Street and turn left.

– Closest dog park is at the end of Hockings Street and is called Riverside Dog Park. It is smaller but closer. The walk there is along a footpath so a perfect time to practice good lead walking and sitting at traffic lights.

Our favourite local dog-friendly walking spots! cont…

– At the end of Hockings street, if you turn right you will end up in South Brisbane, if you turn left you will end up at the West End City Cat terminal. The walk either way is lovely with lots of good spots to stop and take in the river views.

– Davies Park (where the Saturday markets are held) is where a lot of people take their dogs as the ground is ideal for training as it is flat and has lots of space. Take the opportunity to work on long leash recall, sit/drop/stay and lead walking with distractions.

– Musgrave Park on Russell Street is a nice, shady park. It doesn’t have a designated dog park so your dog will have to remain on lead, but the park is large and beautiful so worth a visit.

525685327 hugebg play-video

Top 5 tips for apartment living with dogs

1. Enrichment, Enrichment, Enrichment!

Dogs need a job, no matter how cute or little they are. Dogs were born and bred to do something. It is important to understand what your dog was bred originally to do as this will give you some clues as to what enrichment they will need. Enrichment needs take many forms and can be rotated so that your dog doesn’t become bored. Doggy Day Care Brisbane suggests licki mats, snuffle mats, Kong-like toys, enrichment ropes (that you can put treats/vegetables in) and slow feeders. These can all be found with a demonstration and helpful hints at DDCB. Homemade enrichment is easy and should be included in the mix, some quick ideas are to keep your plastic bottles, make some holes in them and pop in some treats/normal dry food then allow your dog to roll it around. Freeze vegetable stock with some vegies or treats in a takeaway container, pop it on the balcony for them to lick at. This is just a quick list to get you started but don’t underestimate enrichment as a vital key in keeping your dog entertained, learning and great for when you need to leave the apartment. 

2. Leave them alone

Doggy Day Care Brisbane was started due to the needs of apartment dogs as they understand the issue of barking dogs in apartments and separation anxiety which can be distressing for yourself, your dog and your neighbours. It is time as a community to understand that we need to build confidence and resilience within our dogs. With these unprecedented times at the moment, many of us are working from home. This doesn’t mean we can drop the ball on helping our dogs be confident alone. Leave the apartment without them and go for a walk. Exit the apartment and walk up and down the hallway approx. 5 times a day. Go for your morning coffee without them.

3. Doggy daycare is not a luxury for apartment dogs 

All of us love having our dogs home with us however is it what they need? Dogs need a place away from you to be a dog. They need a group of fur friends to learn with and have fun with. They need routine just like us. Dogs want a job and a lot of the bad behaviours seen in apartments is because of boredom. Give your dog a place to go each week, a place where they can learn confidence and independence in a safe place. Where they can test boundaries with a group of dogs, and it be monitored by professionals. The bonus is they come home super sleepy and ready for cuddles!

4. Eat well, live well

Apartment living dogs need to be fed high quality food. Their immunities are sometimes weaker just for being city dogs! DDCB recommend Suburban Pup, a local business providing human grade dog food that is certified by a pet nutritionist. Suburban Pup has helped many dogs who have sensitive tummies or allergies. The bonus, Suburban Pup delivers orders each week to Doggy Day Care Brisbane and customers can receive a discount for a recurring order.

Another tip to owners is to not just feed in a bowl…how boring! Turn mealtimes into a learning experience. This is where slow feeders and licki mats come in handy. Be sure to reward with a mixture of high-quality treats, vegies and fruit. Dogs love having fresh goodies to munch on. A whole carrot = fun times and great teeth cleaning!

5. Training

Do you tend to get bored if you aren’t challenged? So do dogs! Start to download some YouTube videos! Dogs love to learn and they never stop. DDCB run a back to basics course for dogs. It is a great bonding time for you and vitally important if you have kids in the house. So, what are some things we can learn? Rollover, waiting for food (distance increase as they get better), mat training for greeting people when they enter the apartment, play dead and the list goes on. Always make time in your routine each week to train with your dog.  

If you have welcomed a new pup or are about to welcome a new pup into your household, contact Doggy Day Care Brisbane to enquire about Puppy School. Puppy school covers a range of topics and has been designed purely for apartment living fur kids. Learn about toilet training, first aid, house and crate training, basic grooming, lead work and more.

Screen Shot 2021 05 18 at 3.18.55 pm

Enrichment treats are the perfect distraction

Does your fur kid have a habit of chiming in throughout your conference calls while you’re working from home? Kaz from Doggy Day Care suggests placing an ‘enrichment treat’ out on the balcony. These treats are the kind your dog has to work a little harder for!

  • Frozen homemade chicken or beef stock in a container with a few hidden treats inside
  • Blocks of yoghurt frozen with some snacks to discover
  • Consider purchasing a ‘LickiMat’ to slow down eating, create calm, and improve oral health

Treat your fur family

Screen Shot 2021 05 18 at 3 FillWzU0MCwyNDNd v2.56.14 pm

Chicken and wild rice dog biscuits

pb paws

Peanut butter coconut oil treats

Screen Shot 2021 05 18 at 3 FillWzU0MCwyNDNd.56.34 pm

Donuts with bacon bits

doggy

Signs your dog might be bored

If you have noticed your fur kid doing these things more often than usual, they might need a little extra entertainment!

Keep an eye out for a combination of:

  • Tail chasing
  • Staring into space or at you
  • Whining
  • Over-grooming
  • Destructive chewing
  • Getting up to mischief

Some boredom busters to consider:

  • Teach your dog to find treats by hiding them throughout the house. This will keep them mentally stimulated too!
  • Stuff a Kong toy with some peanut butter, mashed sweet potato, and a mix of different sized dry foods
  • Daily walks to new and unexplored areas
  • Rotate toys every few days and throw a new one into the mix
  • Look for interactive toys that encourage your dog to press mechanisms to access treats

Practicing the ‘sit command’

If your fur kid hasn’t quite mastered the sit command, now is the ideal time to practice!

1. Hold a treat in front of your fur kid’s nose, slowly lifting the food above their head.

2. As they lift their head to reach the treat, their bottom should touch the ground. Allow them to eat the treat.

3. Repeat this a few more times with a treat, then practice with just your hand. Ensure rewards are still given for sitting.

4. Once they understand the hand signal to sit, you can now start to associate the word “sit” with this signal.

5. Remember, never physically put your furkid into the sitting position, allow them to find this position themselves to avoid confusion or upset.

Screen Shot 2021 05 18 at 3.52.03 pm 1
mI 3Acow v2

View the Residences

Visit The West Village Sales Suite

Open 10am - 3pm daily.

Peters Ice Cream Factory, Level 1, 97 Boundary Street, West End, QLD 4101

2 hours free parking in the West Village retail precinct, via 21 Mollison Street, West End

Follow us on Instagram

image