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Best dogs for apartment living

Posted on August 21, 2015 | Leave a comment

Did you know that the American Kennel Club has published a list of the best dogs for apartment living?

With cities growing and land prices escalating, most metropolitan areas around the globe are looking to establish neighborhoods characterized by apartments rather than single-family homes. This move can create challenges for people wanting to ensure that dogs remain part of their lives.

Years ago for example, in New Zealand, the main telecommunications company here used a Jack Russell Terrier named Spot in its commercials. The breeding and demand for these dogs soared. People thought that the dog, being small, would be good for the suburbs (let alone, apartments). But terriers need wide-open spaces and are bred for hunting down prey like rabbits and ferrets. The result: lots of ill-behaved dogs and owners who were out of their depth.

I would say that this list is a starting point, many mixed-breed dogs can acclimate to apartment living with the right routine and devotion. And small dog breeds need to be managed carefully around stairs – because a lifetime of walking up and down stairs puts a lot of strain on the back and shoulders….

The best dog breeds for apartment living are:

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

The Pug

The Shih Tzu

The Bulldog

The Bichon Frise

The French Bulldog

The Greyhound

The Chinese Crested

The Havanese

The Maltese

Kathleen Crisley, specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, Canine Catering Ltd, Christchurch, New Zealand

America’s pet friendly rental markets

Posted on May 7, 2015 | Leave a comment

Finding rental housing when you own a dog (or two, or more) is a big issue here in Christchurch. Our housing market has done some very weird things since the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 with sky-rocketing property prices and escalated rental costs (people getting their homes repaired move to temporary accommodation – paid by their homeowners insurance, adding to the competition for rental properties).

Those people who did not own their homes pre-quakes and were dog owners have been some of the most severely affected by the increases.

And so this article from Forbes Magazine caught my eye. It’s about renting housing in the USA when you are a dog owner; the largest 25 property rental markets are compared.

Three factors were used to rank the rental markets:

a) the percentage of landlords willing to allow pets (counted by reading the ads for rental properties)

b) the least expensive pet fees. That’s a fee that you pay on top of any deposit because you own a pet. Most fees are refunded when you leave the property in good condition. Others are simply higher rents for pet owners that are non-refundable. In Christchurch, pet fees, particularly in terms of higher deposits, suddenly appeared on many properties where there were none before.

c) and my favorite criteria: a high concentration of pet stores and services.

The western cities of San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Oakland and Portland topped the list.

Sadly for dog lovers, the survey revealed that landlords are much more tolerant of cats than they are of dogs. And the larger the dog, the harder time you have when renting. Only 4% of landlords were prepared to allow large breed dogs like a St Bernard.

What this information reinforces is that dog ownership costs money. If you are considering adding a dog to your pack, spend some time considering your income and life situation before making the commitment.

Source: The Forbes article cited used data from this Trulia Trends report

Kathleen Crisley, specialist in dog massage, rehabilitation and nutrition/food therapy, The Balanced Dog Ltd, Christchurch, New Zealand