Our house is 2 minutes drive from Westcity mall, 10 mins to the northwestern motorway, there is are bus stosp at the end of the street, 2 mins to westwave aquatic centre. Piha and western beaches are minutes away and Takapuna is mins away. The train stops are a 20 minute walk to either Henderson or Sunnyvale stations. And the city is a 20 minute drive. I have 2 dogs, they are medium size. The husky would love to be walked daily for about mins, he will keep going as long as you do if you want to go longer. They are friendly and can be inside when you are home, but outside if you are out, and they sleep outside.