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[Biologynerd]

Hi all,

Am hoping for some advice.  My partner and I bought our first apartment in October last year, part of the reason being that we really wanted to get a dog and knew we were unlikely to ever find a pet friendly rental.

When we bought, we checked the by-laws for this building, they are the default option A, i.e. you can keep a pet if you get permission, and permission can’t be withheld unreasonably.

I have a few questions:

1) Is it unusual that so far (6 months in) we have heard nothing official from the owners’ corporation about meetings and so on?  We have chatted to a neighbour or two but the best we can find out is ‘there’ll be an AGM around July sometime’.  How do we get involved?  We’d like to have a say in a few things around the building, but also obviously we are interested because we are thinking about the pet issue as well

2) Is it our best option to just write a letter to the owner’s corporation requesting permission to get a pet?  Many people have suggested we need to say what type of dog, it’s size, age, behaviour etc – given that we are asking permission to GET this dog, obviously we don’t have it yet, so do we just describe the dog we are hoping to get??

3) Given that the neighbour we spoke to told us that one of the executive committee is totally against dogs, and will likely refuse our request, where would that leave us?  Who is to say whether his refusal is ‘reasonable’?  Is this something we could fight, or would this be a final answer with no recourse?  Could we then take the issue to the AGM?  Which brings us back to the question of how to have some say when the AGM does come around…

Thanks for any advice – we are finding the whole process very mysterious and frustrating, which is hard, because we have been waiting a long time to get this dog and we are trying to go about it the right way (i.e. ignoring the advice of friends to just get the puppy and then ignore any angry letters etc…!)!

Cheers

Alex

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[FlatChatFan]

 

I am not a dog hater, very far from it. I would have 2 or 3 dogs in a heartbeat if I lived in a suitable property and had the time to properly exercise and manage them.

I liked training dogs and I enjoy seeing well trained and obedient dogs that behave in the correct and natural way that is better for both master and dog which is submissive not dominant. Dogs are servants of man and just because they look “cute” we forget that these are animals whose original ancestor was the domesticated wolf, with all that that entails.

Thumbs UP Sloan.  I agree.

There is a small yappy dog in the villa behind me, and when it is out in the yard it yaps constantly.  They seem to put it our around dinner time in the evening and it is still yapping after 10pm,  especially if I turn on my bathroom light.

I feel sorry for the poor dog as it is very distressed, but hard on the neighbours.

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[Biologynerd]

Wow, that has started some debate.  Sloan – I agree that many people do not know how to train or look after a dog.

However, we are not most people – my partner and I are both experienced with miniature schnauzers, both our families own them.  Both family dogs are very well behaved subordinate pack members.  My mum's dog actually lives in an apartment now (they downsized from a 4 bed family home with big yard to a 3 bed apartment with big balcony) – she is extremely well behaved, won't walk through a door until after you, and only once you give her the nod that it's ok – never howls, gives little warning growls when new people come into the apartment but stops as soon as you let her know they are ok, etc.  We actually looked after her for a month in our old 2 bedroom, 3rd floor apartment while they were away, and she was extremely well behaved with an hour long walk in the morning, 15 minutes round the block for poops at night, she pretty much just played with her toys on the loungeroom floor and snoozed all day as far as we could tell.  We asked the neighbours – no noise problems, and she seemed perfectly happy to us (I know this dog and her moods well!).

 

So.  I get your points about responsible dog ownership and I absolutely agree that many people do not understand how to look after/train/interact with their dogs. 

 

However, I think these problems are to do with particular owner/dog combinations, NOT all dogs, all owners or all apartments being unsuitable for dogs.

 

Barking dogs annoy neighbours in streets with houses and large yards just as much – my parents in their previous big house & yard had a neighbour with a malamute over one fence that just paced its large yard all day, and a neighbour over the other fence with a small yappy dog in a big yard that just barked all night because they wouldn't let it in the house (drove them crazy trying to sleep!) – this is definitely not a problem explained by the type of dwelling but by the type of owner.

 

So it really doesn't make sense to say that all apartment dwellers shouldn't be denied the right to have a pet just because some owners are irresponsible or don't understand what dog care entails!

 

And finally, of course it matters what kind of dog you get – of course you wouldn't keep a dog that needs a lot of exercise (doberman, kelpie, boxer) in an apartment! But no matter what you say, some smaller breeds (some! not all!) are quite happy with a walk in the morning and at night (your statement that all dogs need 3 walks a day is clearly ludicrous if you think of say, a daschund or an english bulldog that can barely make it around the block once because of their tiny legs or high likelihood of overheating).

 

Therefore obviously strata ECs need some common sense when it comes to approving certain types of dog, but blanket statements that any dog will be unhappy in an apartment regardless of type and regardless of owner is just untrue.

 

Cheers

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[Biologynerd]

PS I am highly allergic to cats so not an option for us unfortunately.

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[Tao-park]

I just love a lively debate and this issue is close to my heart. I bought my apartment because it was pet friendly, however on the first day I moved in my neighbour and EC member curtly told me 'no dogs were allowed'. This EC member backed down when I told her I was the owner and that when I checked there were no bylaws in place. They had recently just made this rule prior to me moving in. So in short I applied to the EC and got permission (of sorts) I believe you should have it in writing? I have asked for this in writing but gave up 2 years ago when I moved out.

 

Many dogs these days live in apartments. Its a fact of life. Our dog never barked, she is a city apartment dog and is quiet and doesnt shred hair. Non issue – never has been. We now live in a huge house on 5 acres, guess what? she is still an inside dog and always will be.

You cant make judgements about people and their pets. I agree some can be a nightmare, but dog friendly buildings can add value to property. People are willing to pay that little bit more if they know that there dog is welcome. 

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[Les Dansonne]

A topic close to my heart.

I jog through a dog-off-the-leash-friendly-park a few times a week, usually around mid-morning. One morning recently there was a record 19 dogs but this was broken last Monday by 23 dogs. In each case, most dogs, I’ll say more than 75%, were split between professional dog walkers.

I won’t even ask how a dog walker can monitor and clean up after four or five dogs at once, but I will ask why anyone would get a dog who is not home so much that they need to PAY someone to walk and entertain their otherwise lonely cooped-up dog?

And I will ask how can anyone living in an apartment even consider imprisoning a puppy as their companion and plaything, at heir beck and call.

I don’t get it. It seems very selfish to me. Why not just get Pet Hotel from the App Store or Nintendogs?

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[em]

To be fair people use dog walkers for all sorts of reasons. Some people have changes of circumstance such as illness or changes to work practice. My neighbour for example has just started using a dog walker three days a week. She used to work from home, but a change in circumstance meant she had to seek external employment. She still walks the dog on the other four days and spends time with the dog but she also has two young children that make dog walking early in the morning or late at night impossible.

Some people live in apartments and like their dog to have a toilet stop in the middle of the day, particularly if the dog is very young or very old.

Some have an influx of work that makes them temporarily busy, or need to work longer hours one or two days a week.

Some just feel guilty that their dog is alone 8-9 hours a day while they are at work.

Some people also just have a lot of dogs.

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[struggler]

So what are you suggesting?  That people who, through circumstance or preference, should live in a concrete tower, surrounded by people who show little or no interest  in the other people living around them, should just curl up in their sofa's alone!

Well some people may like to do just that.  But for many others, the companionship of a furry flatmate is all they have to destress, or to simply get up and go in the morning.  Not everyone can afford the luxury of a house (whether purchase or renting) in order to have a backyard for a dog to run around in.

Having dogs in apartments is common place and very effective in cities such as New York.  Most apartment complex's are pet friendly and they advertise their location, not just by proximity to bars and restaurants, but to dog parks.  It gets people out and about from their apartments.  And that cannot be a bad thing.

There is evidence that suggests that people who own pets, and take good care of them, are better towards their fellow human beings as well.  I know in my complex, that those who state that they hate animals are the ones who cause the most trouble to their fellow humans/neighbours.  Just an interesting observation.

With more and more mediium/high density housing in this country in the future, there are going to be more dogs (and cats) living in these high rise structures.  Responsible pet ownership should always be encouraged -and getting someone else to take your dog for a walk when you don't have time is being a responsible pet owner.  Whether you are in an apartment or a house for that matter.

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