"Lets with Pets" - husky misconceptions!

I'm not quite sure if this post is a rant or not! It probably is but I'm sure a few people out there can relate!

Me and my partner are trying to find a place to rent and we plan to move at the end of February. What a nightmare!! We have two Siberian Huskies, which we are NOT going to drop but soooooo many places won't accept pets or will only accept cats.

So we've consulted www.letswithpets.org.uk (which is surprisingly helpful) and it gave us a few good tips. So we're now offering to pay higher deposits and/or get places professionally cleaned. I've typed up a CV for Byron and Alpha, plus getting references from our vets and a previous neighbour who always said that you wouldn't even know we had dogs because she never heard them.

OK, so now the rant begins!! Hitting the estate agents and explaining our criteria, we mention that we need a place that accepts dogs. We're always asked what type of dogs we have and when we answer "two Siberian Huskies" they nearly all reel back in horror!!

"Are they inside dogs? Shouldn't they always be kept outside?"
"They're very big...I'm not sure the landlord will allow that"
"They're noisy aren't they?"

NO NO NO! Grrr, suddenly the estate agent becomes the expert on huskies.

Thankfully, we've had a breakthrough. One landlord has said yes to us having the dogs, as long as we pay a higher deposit (so we're going to view that property on Friday) and another place is in dispute with the landlord also. Fingers crossed for the latter property because apparently he has two large dogs himself, maybe he'll be a bit more aware of what dogs we've got!

Rant over...for now...

Apparently it's down to the contracts when letting. It's so much easier for the landlord to use a generic contract supplied by the letting agent than to make their own, and the generic ones almost always state 'no pets'. I agree with you that people have misconceptions. They never for a moment think that your dogs may be trained! Hope you get sorted with your place, and hope you don't have to pay the higher deposit either, as I think that's a little unfair. You wouldn't have to pay a higher deposit for children, and while mine are well behaved, my brother in law's kids have practically destroyed their house and done more damage than all my dogs put together!

Good luck, lets hope that the CVs and the higher deposit will win the day

good luck
i used to rent..i didnt tell them i had dogs let alone sibes,i used to get an inspection twice a year,my dogs would go to a friends for a couple of hours and no one was any the wiser

But is it actually worth the risk? If you did end up getting caught you and your dogs could be potentially immediately homeless?!

This is out and out breed-ism !! I have a sibe cross mal, and he is NOT an outside dog, he NEVER barks and although he is big, much bigger than a pure sibe, he is SO obedient and well-behaved that you do not know he is there.

If dog owners are prepared to pay an extra deposit, pay for the place to be professionally cleaned and undertake to pay for ALL damage, I really cannot see the problem. Many a holiday cottage we have rented we have paid a very large deposit, which has always been refunded, along with a big thank you for how immaculate I have left the place.

Unfortunately, a few scrotey dog owners let the side down and spoil it for the majority of us good, responsible dog owners who would not dream of leaving a mess behind them, or unpaid for or unrepaired damage.

I really hope you find a nice home for you and your dogs ... love the names !!

People have some funny ideas dont they!
Good luck with your search, hope you find a place perfect for you all

it was worth the risk to me at the time..i needed somewhere to live and i wasnt going to part with my dogs..alls well that ends well,i didnt get caught and now i own my own home.

I got away with it when I rented a flat on the sea front on Hayling Island. I had a german shorthaired pointer bitch back then, and no-one was any the wiser for me either! I left the place immaculately clean, and told the estate agents that I had damaged some wallpaper moving my clobber down the stairs, and paid £50 out of my deposit (which was a lot of money then) to pay for the rewallpapering.

i feel for you. my friend had enough trouble renting with a cat!!