Questions I Should Ask Myself When Looking For a Place to Rent with My Dog

Questions I Should Ask Myself 
When Looking For a Place to Rent with My Dog

What kind of dog owner are you and questions to ask yourself.

Are you a prospective tenant with a pet looking for an apartment? 

Are you a current tenant looking for a new pet? 

Are you a current tenant with a pet and you want to know how to keep your pet and neighbors happy? 

Are you a current tenant and getting a second dog, or are you getting a new dog?

Are you a prospective tenant with a pet looking for an apartment?

How much experience do you have as a dog owner? Is this your first dog? And how long have you owned this dog

In order to have a happy and healthy outcome for you, your dog and your neighbors, living in an apartment setting with a dog requires a basic knowledge of dog behavior and how to solve problems when they arise or at least the interest put in the effort to solve them.

Are you moving in with the pet from a home with a yard to an apartment? 

In your previous living situation did you have an attached yard? Are you ready for taking the dog out several times a day in all kinds of whether to allow them to relieve themselves? When living in an apartment, they have no other way to urinate or defecate than for you to take them outside. And when you take them outside, are you prepared to carry plastic bags with you at all times to clean up every time? 

Are you moving from a rental or did you own the home?

Why is this important?

Are you prepared to stick to a strict schedule of food, water and walking?

When a dog lives in an apartment, you as the owner become the center to their lives and their wellbeing. They obtain all sources of food, fun and relief from you. They no longer have free access to the outside and a yard. A dog can learn how to hold their bladders successfully for up to several hours at a time. In order to help the dog learn this and maintain the ability to hold their bladder you must stick to a strict schedule of food, water and walks. 

Are you ready for the extra amount of time and effort?

If you are used to have a dog while living in a house with a yard, there is certainly an increased amount of time when living in an apartment needed for all walks, additional grooming and exercise to keep your dog, neighbors and landlord happy and healthy.

Are you a current tenant in a pet friendly rental looking for a new pet?

How much experience do you have as a dog owner?

What kinds of dogs have you had in the past, and are you looking for that same breed or something different? Where they big or small, short or long coated, high energy or low energy?

How long has it been since the last dog you owned?

Where you a child, teenager or an adult?

Who was the primary caregiver for this dog?

Were you the primary caretaker, your parents or another adult? How much responsibility did you have in the care of this animal? Is it similar to your current situation or different? 

Who will be the primary caregiver for this new dog?

Are there multiple people in the home who will be caring for the dog or will it be just you? If there will be more people than yourself, are you able to establish consistent training and handling guidelines for all to follow?

Have you owned any other pets other than dogs?

Have you owned cats, birds, and fish? Every animal needs care and attention. Some need more specialized care than others. Some need more time than others. What happened to these animals?

What is your reason for getting a dog?

Companionship, protection, trends?

What will you do when behavior problems start to arise while living in this apartment and owning this pet? Are you ready to contact a trainer or read books or ask others? Do you have prior experience in handling issues when they arise? Are you ready for ongoing vet bills and potentially large unexpected bills due to accident and/or illness?

What will you do when you move from this apartment?

It can be very difficult to find rentals of any kind that allow dogs? Are you ready for possibly a very long and difficult process to find another rental? Are you ready for the large security deposits and additional monthly if you do find a landlord that accepts dogs? 

What kind of dog are you looking at? 

Have you researched breeds and breed mixes? Every breed and every dog within that breed has their own unique personality, habits and tendencies? Owning a dog can be as much responsibility as a young child that never grows up or moves out. 

Are you prepared to go to training classes and spend time exercising and socializing your dog?

There are hundreds of dog trainers and hundreds of different styles and methods of training a dog, some that are very good, and a lot that are not very good. 

Many cities do not have dog parks where dogs can run loose in secured, fenced areas. Are you willing to travel several miles to get to one. If you city does not have a dog park, maybe you can work with the local government to get one started. 

If you don’t take your dog to dog parks, how will you exercise and socialize him or her?

Are you prepared for to do all that is listed in the first section?

Are you a current tenant with a pet and you want to know how to keep your pet and neighbors happy? 

See “How Can I Get My Neighbors to Love My Dog as Much as I Do?” and “How Can I Keep My Dog Healthy?”

Are you a current tenant and getting a second dog?

See “What if I have more than one dog in my home?”