Renting & Breed Specific Restrictions

[Rikerkv6]

Hoping I can get some advice here.

I’m moving in July and am struggling to find a place that will accept my dog. She is a 4 year old mutt, about 50 lbs, and well-behaved. She’s completed training, goes to work with me daily, and is rarely home alone.

The issue is that she is (we think) a German Shepard mix, and German Shepards are on the breed restriction list everywhere I look. Previously I rented a house and currently rent an apartment and neither of those places had an issue with her, but recently I’ve noticed the restrictions seem to be increasing.

I have about 6 weeks to find a place and I’m getting pretty worried. I’m wondering if I should just state she is a Whippet mix on my applications (we think she is German Shepard/Whippet). However she does have a shepard coloring/mask and her vet papers say German Shepard mix so I’m worried if challenged I might be in trouble. However I find breed specific bans ridiculous and since we’re not really even sure what she is, do I really have to pass on otherwise perfect places?

Here’s a few photos of her:

https://picasaweb.google.com/kerrivuolo/Chloe?authkey=Gv1sRgCLWPvPjj7NX9bw#

Thoughts? WWYD?

[Guin]

I wouldn’t put down any breed at all. Just call her a Heinz 57 or good old American mutt. No one can PROVE she’s anything. If the landlord wants to meet her, that’s his/her right, but don’t put anything in writing about her breed. You yourself don’t know what she is!

[jrzeqrider]

Try renting from a personal owner, rather than a property management company. For insurance reasons a lot of PM companies can’t allow them.

[In1]

Aww, look at that smooth coated-collie mix/boxer mix. How cute!

[JanM]

I agree with Jrz, and rent from a private owner. The management companies have so many rules and limits because they are responsible to the homeowner as well as their insurance company. You should have a better chance with someone that owns the property and does the property management too.

[MunchingonHay]

I agree with IN_ boxer/smooth coat collie cross is what I see. maybe a bit of lab tossed in there for some good measure

[Lone]

[QUOTE=MunchingonHay;6263822]
I agree with IN_ boxer/smooth coat collie cross is what I see. maybe a bit of lab tossed in there for some good measure[/QUOTE]

That’d be my guess too

I’d put her down as a ‘mutt’. If you have a good relationship with your vet you might be able to explain the situation in hopes they would be willing to change the breed they have on her vet paperwork.

[Pcostx]

First of all, I don’t think any one who looked at your dog would think German Shepherd.

I would not even bring any breed up, like other posters have said, I would just put that you have a mutt that you adopted.

If you are worried get letters from your obedience instructor (if you took classes someplace), from your vet, from the boarding kennel (if you ever board her), etc. attesting to your dogs temperament and provide them to the property management/owner.

Her weight might be more of a problem then her perceived mix, a lot of places (at least here in Dallas, TX), don’t allow big dogs and they go by weight.

Good luck!!

[Pcostx]

Some posters mentioned Boxer, around here Boxers and Boxer mixes are NOT allowed by most rentals either so I would be careful using that breed!

You really cannot tell WHAT mix of breeds your dog is and I would leave it at that.

I don’t feel it matters what the vet put on her records, the property management doesn’t check shot records (at least not around here).

[littleum]

@Pcostx;6263919

Her weight might be more of a problem then her perceived mix, a lot of places (at least here in Dallas, TX), don’t allow big dogs and they go by weight.

Ditto. In Dallas the property management people just make it easy on themselves and go by weight. Most limits I’ve seen are 20lb - 35lbs, which easily eliminates everything on any insurance company or city’s “no-no” list.

And I don’t see any GS in there. I see a generic mutt.

[Burbank]

call her a mutt, b/c well she is

btw I feel your pain as whenever I move I will need to find a place for 1 cat, 1 german shorthaired pointer and 1 doberman

but places do exist as my bil has a german shepard and rents with no problems, but he is a cop so maybe they get a pass

[jetsmom]

I have a renter with a Pit Bull
a renter with 2 130 lb Rotties
another renter with a Pit mix
A renter with a Border collie
A renter with 2 Shih tsus
a renter with 2 daschunds/cat
a renter with 1 daschund/1 cat
So the rentals are out there…

I do not use a property mgmt co to rent my homes out. Check Realtor.com, Craigslist, AHRN

I do require that the pets be spayed/neutered/vaccinated, over 8 months old. I do NOT allow outdoor only pets. I don’t have size or breed restrictions.
If the prospective renter lives here in town, I go visit the home on short notice (like 2 hrs), to see how the home is kept. It shouldn’t smell like urine/feces, have stained carpet, dug up yard, chewed cabinets. Dogs cannot have a bite history.

If you are moving locally, offer the prospective landlord the chance to come see how your home is kept. Let them meet the dog. If it has CGC or obedience training, bring proof. tell them you will carry renter’s insurance and offer to carry liability ins.

Those things should help you find a rental.

[JanM]

Good point about the size of the dog. A friend is moving here and has a dog over 25 lbs, and that’s the limit for a lot of apartment complexes here. What we did to help her find a place is call the manager at one complex (there are 12 complexes owned and operated by the same company here), and she looked at the rental rules for each complex and told us the places that had vacancies coming open, and also places that allowed larger dogs.

[Hunter88]

I would put her down as a collie mix and come pre-prepared with a written note from your current landlord. If you just go to your leasing office and ask them to write a brief statement on their eltterhead that states that your dog caused no damage to person or property, that would always be a helpful tool if problems arise.

Most places I have looked at (im in ATL) had breed restrictions of 60 pounds, so your dog should be fine.

[Chall]

I thought husky mix, by the way. I would NOT put that on the application though. good luck.

[LauraKY]

Ask your vet to change the documentation to mixed breed. In my experience, the vet puts down whatever you say the dog is anyway. I’d go with lab/collie mix. No one hates labs or collies (well almost no one).

[wireweiners]

She’s a cutie, whatever she is. I don’t know why vets and others insist on every dog being a “something” mix. When I took my Sadie in for her shots and they asked what kind of mix she was, I told them she was a dog and beyond that who knows? That’s what I would say about your dog. All that’s verifiable is she’s a dog.

[solara]

[QUOTE=jetsmom;6264044]
If the prospective renter lives here in town, I go visit the home on short notice (like 2 hrs), to see how the home is kept. It shouldn’t smell like urine/feces, have stained carpet, dug up yard, chewed cabinets. [/QUOTE]

IANAL, but be VERY CAREFUL about this. You HAVE to give whatever notice you state is allowed in your lease, and you definitely can’t invade your tenant’s right to privacy (see here). I had more than one landlord do this to me, and let me tell you, no one liked it - we got woken up a 7am on a Sunday as they barged into the unit, none of us fully dressed, one of my roommates hungover, and the apartment covered in papers from studying. Not a pretty scene.

Make sure to spell out whatever arrangement you want in the lease, and make sure the tenant initials near it if you want to really cover yourself.

[wendy]

Find someplace with no size restrictions. Mention you have a mutt of unknown breeding. Say he’s well-behaved, housebroken, gone to obedience class, passed his CGC, whatever you have to back up how good he is.
No one has ever asked me for my vet’s name, or any documentation from the vet about vaccinations, nothing. I wouldn’t worry about that.
My complex has a no pitbull/pitbull mix rule, and there are quite a few dogs who look like pit mixes who happily reside there. I’m sure they are listed as “mutts” on the leases, and who can prove otherwise?

[Bacardi1]

Cute pics, but that’s a “Mutt” - plain & simple.

Don’t agonize over it. That’s a Heinz 57 if ever I saw one, & you beating yourself up over what breed to list on applications is over the top. You adopted a mutt from a shelter of no determinable breed. Period.

(And if you have to list your veterinarian as a reference, I’d definitely have them change the breed to “not determinable”.)