Allowing dog in shared house..

techguy

Hi,

This is just a quick to poll to determine if I am actually as unreasonable as my house mates make me feel.

Basically, we live in a 4 bedroom house with kitchen, reception room and dining room. The dining room is now a bedroom so that means 5 adults living in the house. It's not a large house either, semi-d regular size.

An upstairs bedroom has become available and a person came to view with a dog yesterday. A sheep dog, not what I would class as small or a house dog by any stretch.

I was the only one who had issue with it and felt like a bit of an ass that I had to put my foot down to resist.

What gives?! In my opinion having a sheep dog in the house is completely unacceptable giving there are already 5 adults there.

Am I being unreasonable?

Fluxfan

I absolutely love dogs, but would never, ever, inconvenience others like that. I don't think you are wrong for putting your foot down. Especially a big dog like that.

Chattastrophe!

Absolutely not unreasonable, I wouldn't live in a house with any animal. Sheepdogs are gorgeous, but I couldn't deal with the drool and hair and barking etc. Plus deposit could be withheld if the dog damages the property. You were right to put your foot down.

TheBody

I wouldn't be happy either. Unless the dog owner is particularly attentative, the dog will cover the house with hair and the house will stink.

Personally, it would be a definite no from me.

miss no stars

I wouldn't mind it if the dog slept outdoors, was mostly outside (they aren't indoor dogs, but it's nice to sit with them in the evenings or bring them in if it's miserable out etc etc), got regular walking and was limited to an area of the sitting room and the guy's bedroom, plus the owner would have to agree to vacuum the communal areas every second day. But people are different, if you're not comfortable with it you're not comfortable with it.

anncoates

Nope you're perfectly right.

Sleepy

I'd be a lot faster to live with a sheepdog than some yappy little handbag dog but in a house-share, I don't think I'd want either.

As miss no stars points out, they are by nature an outdoor dog but you'd be having to trust the owner more than an average house-mate so I'd keep looking tbh.

(nevermind the fact it probably breaks your lease - most landlords include clauses about pets to reduce potential for damage)

Caliden

Personally I love dogs but a shared house is not the place for one.

FunLover18

What breed of sheep dog are we talking about? Collie, German Shepherd, Lassie?

Was the dog's owner insisting that it was a house dog and if so is it house trained? What was the owner like?

Are you allergic or are you worried that the owner will take advantage and it will end up being an extra expense on the rest of you? And what were the reactions of the other residents when you said no? What were their arguments in favour of the dog?

SO MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS!!!

I am genuinely curious though.

techguy

FunLover18 wrote: »

What breed of sheep dog are we talking about? Collie, German Shepherd, Lassie?

Was the dog's owner insisting that it was a house dog and if so is it house trained? What was the owner like?

Are you allergic or are you worried that the owner will take advantage and it will end up being an extra expense on the rest of you? And what were the reactions of the other residents when you said no? What were their arguments in favour of the dog?

SO MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS!!!

I am genuinely curious though.

I don't know what breed of dog it was. That's irrelevant imho.

Yes, house trained and seemed very obedient. Owner was really nice and seemed reasonable.

I'm not worried about expense or the owner taking advantage.

My argument is that the house isn't big enough to cater for the dog. And it's too high risk. If it doesn't work out then it's much harder to ask somebody to leave.

Their arguments were that they simply didn't see a problem with the dog and that the owner was a good fit for the house. I agree the owner was nice but the dog is a no no for me.

emmabrighton

I house shared with a girl who had a cat. She was really clean and the cat was well behaved but cats by nature tend to sharpen claws and it did this on the faux leather furniture. I would advise avoiding the hassle of having a pet in a rental to be honest. Dogs scratch doors and windows to come in from the back garden, raid bins if given half the chance and sleep on beds. Bad enough when its your dog but when its a flatmates dog? Its just going to cause aggravation. Id say keep looking...

quietsailor

it could void the lease with the LL - has anyone checked the lease to see if pets are prohibited, has anyone bothered to ask the LL if they'll allow pets - if the answer is no to either of those questions you could all loose your deposits even though you aren't the pet owner - it'll depend on the LL & lease conditions

Will the owner guarantee the other housemates that they will repair any damage the dog does so your deposit won't be effected?

Will the owner pay a larger deposit to cover possible damage by the dog?

kippy

Dogs in a house share a recipe for disaster, unless all involved in the share own a dog and are dog lovers - even then it can be tricky.
You're dead right to be concerned as far as I can see.

Woofstuff

Woof.

With alot of people living in the house it's not surprising that one person would not be happy with it. Wouldn't have a problem myself but I'm practically a dog myself. Dog would need a decent kennel outside as well as somewhere to sleep inside when it gets cold.

Chattastrophe!

I wouldn't be surprised if one or two of the other housemates secretly agree with you but don't want to be the "bad guy" who doesn't let the cute doggy come and live with them, so they're probably grateful that you're taking a stand so that they don't have to!

Loads of people who love dogs don't necessarily want to live with someone else's one!

ShaShaBear

As an owner of an indoor sheepdog (because he loves to be inside with his family and his breed doesn't mean he will want to be outside), I fully agree with your stance OP. I'd agree no matter what the breed. Dogs are a fantastic pet, and my collie is a right character. But all dogs, no matter how perfectly trained, will come with their own personality quirks that can make shared living very difficult at some point or another. Blowing their coats, licking furniture for no real reason, barking at people/bikes/cars, chewing furniture in a stressful situation, howling outside if they want in, howling inside if they want out, feeling unwell and vomiting/peeing/pooping in the house etc. This counts for all breeds and all ages, and if one person is even slightly against having a dog, or are unaware of any of the above, then it will never work.

Plopli

As much as I love my dog, I would never agree to a dog (or any form of pet beside, maybe, a fish tank) in any form of shared accommodation.
This is a recipe for trouble and problems.

I love dogs but I wouldn't try to bring one into a houseshare.