Renting a flat - getting a puppy?

katebl

Evening all,

My partner and I are considering our options for when we leave our current rented flat, and originally had hoped to find a house and get a dog as we both love the idea of having a pet that's more lively than my hamster (bless her), however the area we live in means that we'd end up going from a nice flat to a horrible house in a [EMAIL="!!!!"]!!!![/EMAIL] area. Just wanted to get the opinion of a few landlords and fellow renters as to whether getting a ground floor flat and then a puppy would be possible?

I have seen that quite a few people can offer higher deposits and perhaps a bit extra rent and their landlord will accept this - however everyone seems to have an older dog and that wouldn't be the case with us. We'd look for somewhere with wooden floors to avoid carpet replacement - but would anyone take us in do you think? Also we wouldn't have the dog straight away - maybe after a year or so - so should we offer extra deposit at the inital payment or as and when we (if we did) get the puppy?

Any opinions would be appreciated!

clutton_2

Dogs wee and poo.. puppies wee and poo 10 times more.. as a LL i would never agree to a puppy

IF i agree to a dog ever again i would want double my normal deposit .....

dogs cause more damage on wooden floors than they do on carpets.. i have had parquet floors utterly ruined by dog's urine.. i have had skirting boards ruined by dogs - table legs eaten by dogs....

there is a thread just above this one all about dogs.. lots of useful informatoin about animals there...

Tiddlywinks

Why a puppy rather than an adult dog? Yes, they're cute BUT they need a lot of care, time and will go through that period of having little accidents and could be more likely to damage stuff whilst growing up.

How about an older dog from a rescue - one that's already trained?

You need to think of the practical issues of having a dog in a flat - lots of shared walls / floors / ceilings so the potential to annoy the neighbours with barking (all dogs do at times, even though owners say their dog is different). Also, gardens are more likely to be communal and less likely to have dog friendly fencing.

You mentioned wooden floors instead of carpets - wee still damages the boards and seeps in between the planks.

Having a dog is a lifestyle choice but, in fairness to the animal, your choice of property should be apropriate to its needs as well as your own - unhappy or bored doggy = damage to property, noise nuisance and misery for all concerned.

Yorkie1

I agree with the above posters. I also would be slightly concerned about ongoing difficulties in finding rented properties if you had to move and did already have the dog - I have a friend who was having to contemplate giving away her cat because she was running out of time to find a new rental place and none would accept pets.

BitterAndTwisted

What would I do? If privately renting I would NEVER contemplate having a puppy or a dog. There's no guarantee that over the 12 to 15 years of your animal's lifespan that you would be able to find a landlord willing to allow you to have such a pet. What would you do if you couldn't find a landlord willing to accept you as tenants in five or ten year's time?

Dogs are wonderful pets but in my opinion they really are only suitable for people who don't work full-time and are living in their own, permanent properties. Anything else would be a terrible risk.

Catspajamas

Hi it is possible. My friend got a lab puppy while renting and have sucessfully just rented another house with their horse sized dog. Paid extra deposit but not extra rent. Pretty sure they didn't get deposit back from house where he was a puppy though so you will need to factor in the price of extensive repairs. One was private ll, the other through an agency.

myothercarisaferrari

I have two dogs and live in a rented flat (or now, but thats a diff story). Its REALLY difficult to find somewhere to live (I am having this prob now)

As others said, get a calmer, relaxed rescue dog instead. Yeah pups are cute but they still grow up!

pinkshoes

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

How about an older dog from a rescue - one that's already trained?

It's actually quite hard getting a rescue dog! They only give them to homes where someone is in all day, or out for a maximum of 5 hours at a time. Preferably no other pets, no children etc...!

Lots of the dogs in the rescue places are due to people who have had to move into rental accommodation, and can't find anywhere that will accept a dog!

A puppy would definitely require one of you being at home all day!

My OH has had his dog since it was 1 year old, and had been abandoned. The walls are painted puppy mud shake colour, and believe me he has managed to shake mud up every single wall!!

The best solution would be negotiating with the LL and promise to pay for the whole house to be re-painted should you move out, and the flooring replaced! Then there's the potential damage to skirting boards and doors that get scratched...

Milliewilly

pinkshoes wrote: »

It's actually quite hard getting a rescue dog! They only give them to homes where someone is in all day, or out for a maximum of 5 hours at a time. Preferably no other pets, no children etc...!

Lots of the dogs in the rescue places are due to people who have had to move into rental accommodation, and can't find anywhere that will accept a dog!

A puppy would definitely require one of you being at home all day!

My OH has had his dog since it was 1 year old, and had been abandoned. The walls are painted puppy mud shake colour, and believe me he has managed to shake mud up every single wall!!

The best solution would be negotiating with the LL and promise to pay for the whole house to be re-painted should you move out, and the flooring replaced! Then there's the potential damage to skirting boards and doors that get scratched...

Having worked as a volunteer at the RSPCA they are nearly all some sort of pitbull staffordshire cross variant anyway owned by uncaring chavs as trophy dogs that's why they get abandoned.

hellokitty08

my letting agency - Dog and flat = 100% no everytime, a dog and a house would depend on the landlord and the state of the house.

Let me give you an example, we did rent a brand new show home that was fully furnished at £850 a month to two doctors, who were expecting a baby and had a little terrier, they paid £1.5k deposit.

Not many people would have been able to swing that, but it all depends on your situation and the landlord.

katebl

Thanks everyone, we were hoping to rent for 2-3 years while we added to our deposit and then buy a house... We would be happy to offer an extra deposit and would have someone (a relative) who could spend time with the puppy during the day. We're also not averse to renting unfurnished so it's our own sofas that get chewed up..! I guess we may just have to hope a few more decent houses come up in our area - not looking likely though :-(