Re: Who Rents To Tenants w/Big Dogs? - Landlord Forum thread 321715

Re: Who Rents To Tenants w/Big Dogs? by Anonymous on July 23, 2014 @18:35

I did rent to people with dogs and the dogs had to be approved on a case by case basis. I'm re-thinking that. If I do continue to allow dogs, the scruntiny will be a lot more strict and the damage deposit higher.

The most damage I've had came from a couple with 2 pugs. The tenant dog owners were both very busy professionals and kept the dogs locked up inside the house for hours at a time. They usually left the pugs locked in the basement when they were at work. I had damage from the dog urine (yes the smell does penetrate concrete, as well as hardwood) where they urinated at the top of the basement stairs as well as on the concrete basement floor. Their dogs also scratched the newly refinished hardwood floors in the master bedroom with their claws. Only the finish was scratched, not the actual wood, so it is an easier fix than it would have been had the dogs been larger and heavier and able to put grooves in the floor with their claws. The dogs ruined about four or five solid oak 100 year old five panel doors by scratching them. I'm talking deep grooves, a quarter of an inch deep in an area about four or five inches high and wide. This damage was from locking the dogs into or out of a room and the dogs scratching the doors to get in or out.

I've had a total of three house that had tenants with dogs. The ones with the pugs were the only ones to cause any damage. The other dogs were a puggle (pug and beagle mix) puppy that was crate trained and the owner was disabled and home with the dog most of the time. The other tenants have three dogs: a mutt puppy (part beagle, part great dane, we think) they recently rescued and two minpins they've had for years. No problems or damage from those dogs. The owner walks the mutt and exercises her regularly and the mutt is well behaved and minds well. The minpins are purse sized and well behaved too. This tenant takes meticulous care of the rental house.

It depends so much on the individual dog and individual owner. We have recently rescued a mutt ourselves and he is a good dog (weighs 60 lbs though) except he chews a lot. We weren't watching him closely and, even though we were right in the same room watching TV, he recently chewed on the molding around the pocket door. The wood he chewed is 110 year old unpainted oak and the damage is really noticeable. We'll have to fix it and it won't be cheap (we'll probably have to find something to match it from inside a closet or less conspicuious part of the house. Thank goodness we own our own home! The damage is our fault though, for not watching more closely. We just recently got the dog, and still have a lot more training to do to get him where we can trust him outside the crate without close supervision.

Sometimes the damage is the owner's fault--like when they don't crate the dog and leave them home alone for hours so the dog soils in the house. Or, the owner doesn't walk them on a hard surface regularly so their claws get worn down and the owner doesn't trim their claws either.

It's not so much the dog size; it's how good is the owner? Are they keyed into what a dog needs? Will they walk them everyday? Take them to the dog park to exercise them and socialize them? Take them to obedience training? Or is the dog just a lifestyle accessory...something to be cuddled and take cute pics of so they can post it on Facebook? Does the owner have time to take care of the dog or is the owner going to be gone for long periods and leave the dog home alone? Dogs are social creatures and need companionship and exercise. They will be more likely to damage the property if their needs aren't being met.

So to answer your question. I've had a tenant with a dog over 30 lbs. and had no damage. I've had tenants with dogs well under 15 pounds and had damage. Unless you are talking about a tiny apartment that doesn't have any outside space then I think the size of the dog doesn't matter. It's the individual characteristics of the dog and, possibly more important, the owner, that really matter when it comes to pet damage. You can make some owners care a little more when it comes to pet damage by requiring a larger deposit because if the owner has more "skin" in the game they may take better care. But some owners won't care no matter what, and other owners will take good care of the dog and property even if they have no deposit at stake.

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