Age discrimination (for dogs)

edited March 2013 in General
After months of searching for a dog friendly place I finally found one only to be rejected at the last minute because we will have a puppy and not a dog. I had no idea dog friendly and puppy friendly were two different things. I wrote back saying the puppy would be in secure puppy area until fully house trained, that someone would be home with the dog all day and that I was willing to pay an bigger deposit if necessary. Waiting to hear back now.
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Comments

  • wow, never heard of that before.
  • Yeah a lot of dog friendly rentals I've found wont allow a dog under a year.
  • edited March 2013
    My experience with apartment hunting is that the closer to downtown you get, the stricter the policies are. Some wont let you have dogs over 30 pounds. Some wont let you have puppies. It happens. Usually those places are filled wih snobby people anyway. But maybe that is my perception from being a country person.

    *edit*
    I'm in Dallas
  • Hmm these are more like townhouses. They say there are dog friendly, I read their pet policy and it didn't say anything about no puppies. Kind of cold in Calgary in April to be sleeping in my van.
  • I've seen similar policies in California suburb condos as @jellyfish mentioned.
    Part of it could be they don't people breeding their adult dogs or puppies making noises (either barking or running around) Will you be sharing walls or ceilings w/ any other tenant?
  • That sucks.

    I hope your search for good apartment ends soon. Sucks they don't have full information on their dog policy not everyone knows puppies are not wanted.. :\
  • They were worried about barking when left alone, not being housebroken and Los about chewing. I am hoping my letter helps, but am doubtful it will.
  • Unfortunately, being with the puppy all day long will reinforce the separation anxiety and makes the barking harder to break later on.
  • @souggy I wrote it to the rental agency but don't really suspect we will always be with the pup. We will have the puppy here for a few week before we move so I don't see it as being a big problem.
  • Keep in mind...Being with a puppy all day long does not beget separation anxiety. I think that is a genetic predisposition, not an environmental factor. ANY puppy you bring home is going to bark and whine regardless when alone simply because they are like children and need love and attention from parents. They're lonely, so they cry. It doesn't mean that separation anxiety will develop. Of course, if your dog has that predisposition, then staying with the puppy too long might trigger the issue to worsen.

    I say this because for the first few months I had Toki starting at 8 weeks old, I was around him almost 24/7. That guy... he is the most independent dog ever. not exaggerating. I think if I left the house for a few days, leaving food and water and a way for him to use the bathroom, he would have have a blast. I think independence and clinginess is a personality trait, something that is genetically predisposed. How you handle it though....
  • Keep in mind...Being with a puppy all day long does not beget separation anxiety. I think that is a genetic predisposition, not an environmental factor. if your dog has that predisposition, then staying with the puppy too long might trigger the issue to worsen...
    @jellyfish, as someone who's living with a pup who has separation anxiety first hand, I beg to differ. Having the right environment has everything to do with whether a genetic predisposition will express itself.

    If a puppy is from a line known to have separation anxiety, there's prevention of separation anxiety prior to any treatment of separation anxiety. Patricia McConnell's book basically boils down to teaching velcro dog to handle separation by desensitizing triggers, and find a way to leave the dog during the absences where she's not anxious, and that usually involves finding a dog sitter or daycare.

    I have not read anywhere that if the pup has predisposition, staying with it too long will trigger the issue to worsen. Please let me know if you can dig up the reference so I can read up on it. Thx,
  • Ugh, I hate rules. I also wouldn't want to live in Calgary. Lethbridge, ftw!
  • Oh man. I had a similar thing happen to me. I rent a townhouse and was told I could get a dog under a certain weight. I got it, went to go pay my deposit, and was told I'm breaking a fine print rule that we are not allowed to have dogs under 2 years old. Now I'm waiting to see if they'll make me leave before my lease expires, in which case I might have to pay a huge lease break fee.

    I've had to deal with so much BS like this from property management companies (weird rules, mixed messages) that I resolved next time I rent, it's going to be from the actual owner, not a property management company.
  • I hate stupid apartment rules! My old complex limits weight and breed (thank god none of mine were on the list!) and cats have to be spayed/neutered (understandable) and declawed. Declawed? Really? What about soft claws? And if I had a mini bull terrier... Nope! You shall not pass!
    Sorry about the rant... These rules are outrageous sometimes. Off my soapbox now... Hope the apartment hunt goes well. Try and find a private owner to rent from. That was always the best bet around Baton Rouge. They are always a bit more willing to work with pets.
  • My parents encountered something like this with a cottage rental a few years ago, if I remember correctly. Because my dog was already older, it wasn't an issue--but once we got to the place, I don't understand what harm they thought a puppy was going to do to the place. It was already fairly run-down, and the owner--who lived several cottages away--had a Labrador that roamed the whole area.

    I haven't had to look for an apartment with a pet yet, and I kinda dread when someday I will have to. Of course, at this point my only pet is a semi-elderly cat, but... I do plan on getting another dog someday, and probably will eventually have another cat, too.
  • I would question whether or not they can actually enforce something like that if it's not in your lease or a written addendum to your lease, since otherwise it's basically just them unilaterally changing the lease agreement without notice or consent. Obviously you don't really want to take on your rental company before you move in, but if you're in a bind about finding a place, it might be worthwhile to talk to a lawyer.
  • In Toronto, most condos/townhouses have rules where you're either not allowed, or your dog has to be under 25lbs. :( (because you HAVE to be able to carry your dog out - even in the elevator etc) But I've seen PLENTY of large dogs downtown... so... maybe there are magical dog friendly condos that exist that I'm unaware of..?

    Never heard of an age discrimination here. That is strange to me. How does that even work? What are they thinking? (other than adopting... I don't see how that rule makes any sense.) Toronto is a pretty dog friendly city. We also had to negotiate with our landlord to bring Hana home, but she never visits, so I don't think it would've been a problem even if we wanted a bigger dog, say, Akita. Private landlords are usually more willing to negotiate.

    Good luck!!
  • edited March 2013
    In Toronto, most condos/townhouses have rules where you're either not allowed, or your dog has to be under 25lbs. :( (because you HAVE to be able to carry your dog out - even in the elevator etc) But I've seen PLENTY of large dogs downtown... so... maybe there are magical dog friendly condos that exist that I'm unaware of.
    My last place stated dogs under 13kg in the ads. However, many people moved into the complex with labs, huskies, mastiffs anwyway. Landlord knew about it, and she met the dogs. However, the reason why the restriction was advertised is to cut down the number of people with problem dogs applying for places. Apparently, "responsible owners" call regardless and inquiry.
  • I had just put down the deposit but hadn't actually signed the lease. I wrote the best letter I could explaining how I would never let my pup have free run of the house unsupervised until it is house trained ect..
    Also offered to pay triple the deposit (yes, it is that hard to find an apartment in Calgary right now) and am now waiting for a response.
  • Glad you found something that will work, but what a nightmare!

    Re: separation anxiety--I've never had a dog that had it, and I've always been with my puppies/young dogs all the time, so...I'm pretty dubious that it cause it. I get the genetic disposition to it, thing, but I find it hard to believe that spending more time with your dog is going to trigger it, honestly.
  • We spent plenty of time away from Zim from the beginning and he still got separation anxiety. He did get way better, though, once we weren't away with him being in daycare 10 hours a day, 5 days a week, so I do feel like how much time a dog has with you helps with separation anxiety, but I feel like it goes the other way. More quality time with Mom and Dad makes the time that they're away not so bad, at least with Zim.

    If I had to pinpoint what triggered Zim's separation anxiety, I would actually point to crating him while we were away. We didn't know he had crate anxiety when we brought him home, so we crated him for his safety. It made us leaving home a really awful thing for him, I think, and I wish I'd known then that he just wasn't a dog that could be crated. By contrast, he's always been fine whenever we leave him alone in the car--he just curls up and sleeps, no walk, no thundershirt, no puzzle toys, all of which are requirements when leaving him home alone--and he was never crated in the car. We used harness restraints instead.
  • Congrats Jeff! I was afraid I was going to read a story about how they found you frozed in your car with a white wolf pup gnawing on you :)
  • Congratulations! Such an exciting time!! I cant wait to learn more about Hokkaido vicariously through you! :)
  • Congratulations Jeff! That puppy is so cute. And @TheWalrus -- that is too funny! :o)
  • Congratulations! I know that is a huge relief. Your pup is super cute!
  • Congrats! Any chance you want to sneak a Hokka over for me, too!? :)
  • Glad it worked out.
  • edited March 2013
    Congratulation on finding a place. :) Edmonton is not a pet-friendly city, so I would know from experience. So, I am not surprised it is difficult to find an apartment in Calgary. Well, Alberta is not really a pet-friendly province either, even in the rural areas. I had a much easier time finding a house or an apartment which allows dogs in British Columbia.

    When I went back to my parents' place, it took awhile to get used to the fact Albertans don't like dogs in airports, hardware stores, sport stores, outdoors stores, banks et cetera; places where I could actually enter with pets while living on Vancouver Island and on the mainland coastline. The cultures between the two provinces are dramatically different.

    Regarding separation anxiety, I didn't say that the person should be away from the puppy all the time for hours on ends; however the ones I know are from scenarios where the person never leaves the house, usually because they are unemployed, on vacation or have at-home career, and always take the dog with him or her everywhere into stores and restaurants are the ones with the worst separation anxiety. Doing errands without the dog such as going out to do groceries, going to the local pizza parlour, letting someone else babysit the dog or puppy et cetera helps. However, the ones with worst case of separation anxieties are also are usually herding breeds and British gundogs. So, maybe there is a genetic deposition.

    Just that landlords usually find a whining adult dog more annoying than a puppy.
  • Congrats :)
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