Apartments and pets

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Ya, i bet they do get some kind of doggy diploma =P. But still, a landlord isnt goign to want to add one more thing on his list of to-do's when verifying a possible tenant. They have enough on their plate checking references, credit, employment, dont want to have to verify a dogs training too =p.



Uranium brings up a good point too.
I had some similar experiance with apartment associations. Saying we couldnt have any kind of antenna on our deck (had a small satellite dish on deck, Directv style) and they were telling us it had to come down. We did a little research and it turns out that its very common for associations to make laws and regulations like this that go against existing tenant laws in place to protect the rights/laws of tenants. (in this case there is a law saying a tenant is allowed any kind of TV antenna on any exterior surface on their rented space as long as it is no larger than 18" in total diameter, a landlord/association can not deny it.)

So definitely check your local laws (we went to a barnes and noble and they had a whole section of books on tenant/leasing laws). I'm sure lots of landlords either A. dont realize there are a lot of laws protecting tenant rights or B. know that 999 outta 1000 people are completely unaware of their rights so they take advantage of them. Maybe there are some laws regulating how pets can be regulated.

Over here you're not allowed to smoke in a rented apartment either. (Most neighbours will only be to happy to report you if you do)

Dogs are not only considered more prone to destroy things (pee on the floor, chew stuff) but also to disturb the neighbours by barking when you're away and whatnot. I also know from experience that an apartment is not the best place for a dog, especially one larger than a rat

I can't stand living in rented apartments - so many people feel entitled to stick their noses where they don't belong

I would much rather own a place. Plus I could take up gardening as well.

Just out of curiosity - what kind of dog would you like ? I used to have a huge and extremely inactive and lazy dog that was quite happy in an apartment. I had to carefully plan the walks because he wouldn't walk by himself for more than a mile and he out weighted me by cca 75 lbs .

I would like either a rat terrier or a miniature dachshund.

I have rented apartments were not even a goldfish in a bowl was allowed. Some landlords just don't want to take a chance that any damage will occur, and an animal in the place increases the odds (even if only by a few drops of water from the goldfish bowl) of damage. I have society finches and zebra finches. If I had to find an apartment I'd have a hell of a time finding one that would let us in. Most apartments here who do allow pets allow one or two, not our zoo. (We have two cats and a rat as well as a tank full of tropical fish in addition to the birds.)

Dogs - my guess is the noise is the primary concern, followed by mess, and then followed by the chance of the maint. man being bitten if he has to go into a unit. Myself, I would put children ahead on the list, followed by dogs. My condo complex is currently overrun by renters, who allow their school age children to run and scream like little banshees all day and into the night. They've destroyed several flower beds and the folks down in #2 have allowed their kids to play football on the grass between the buildings so often that there are now severe bald patches in the grass and ruts going out to the sidewalk. We've (collectively) paid the gardeners to come in and fix it several times, but then Unit #2 lets their screaming little animals out and they tear it all up again. They've gotten into the trees and broken several large branch. They've left chalk graffiti all over the parking lot and sidewalks (if they're going to draw all over the sidewalks, at least clean it up afterwards!), broken the pool furniture.... yep, I'd put dogs behind kids, for sure!

Oh, warning, Tex. Rat terriers are very high maint - I had one, years ago. These are extremely active little dogs and need to not be left home alone for long stretches. They get bored. And when they get bored, they get creative. I'll let you fill in the blanks there!

And then there are the poodles. I had a miniature poodle, once. Tiny thing. Who literally ripped the shag carpet off the floor in my bedroom when I locked her in there accidently for a few hours. We're not talking about a small patch, we're talking about like a 10 foot by 5 foot section of carpet ripped from the floor and the matting under it shredded to bits (the landlord was NOT pleased). I had a friend who had a medium sized dog that ate the wallboard off the wall behind her couch while she was at work one day. It literally chewed the plasterboard down to the studs in about a 3 ft radius. She only found it when she started finding bits of plaster around the house and started to look to see where it had come from.

Believe it or not, some of the larger breeds of dogs are very good for apartments. Greyhounds,for example, are couch potatoes. Of course, if they ever get out while off-leash and see a rabbit, you're sunk! But there are a number of the larger breeds that really don't do a lot of exercise and are very mellow that you might want to consider. But the, of course, you have to think of the landlord problem - here if the dog is under 20 pounds, in places that rent to dog owners, no problem. Up to 40 pounds, maybe. Over that - hardly likely you'd find an apartment. Possibly a house with a yard, but they're even pricier than apts here!

Good luck!