rentals in austin...with a large dog (apartments, homeowners insurance)

[mangotreeinbloom]

My husband and I were recently in Austin for five days looking for a place to live. Due to our geriatric 10-year-old Doberman, we have been rejected at every turn. Does anyone have any suggestions?
We have owned our home for 18 years and it has been twenty years since we applied for a rental, so we did not realize that the large dog/liability problem had become so serious.

[atxcio]

Did you try Craigslist? If you are dealing with an individual owner, they may understand that an older large dog will actually do a lot less damage than a big puppy.

Other than that... yes, I can see how it could be a problem -- with the rental market as strong as it is in Austin, landlords can be more picky, and many will disqualify any pets. Most will disqualify large dogs.

[mangotreeinbloom]

thanks for the suggestion re: craigslist. i have been reading it lately looking for possible rentals.

[neddy]

You might try looking at austin home search .com and using the lease feature. Most places will tell you if they take pets and if so how large. I know my next door neighbor is renting with a boxer so it can be done.

[Rae']

I'd search for a duplex or house if you aren't already. I think chances with those accepting a dog would be better than an apartment, and it might be nice to have a yard.

[txbreeze01]

I have a boxer and currently rent a duplex. I found it on Austinhomesearch.com.

I think the problem you may run into is Dobermans are on the "aggressive breed list" with pit bulls and rotweilers.

Good luck to you.

[atlanta hope]

We have a dobie-lab mix and were shopping homeowners insurance once. The company we have currently said that they wouldn't give us a new policy because of him. We just call him a lab mix now.

Good luck in your search. I've seen a few places advertise that they'll take large dogs.

[HappyTexan]

I've rented in the past with a big lab mix dog. I was able to rent a home (twice) and pay and additional pet deposit.

[statefan]

We started our rental agreement with 2 large labs. We actually rented through a property management company who found a house based on our requirements. We did have to put down a deposit of $300 for each dog (if I remember correctly), so it can be done!

[mangotreeinbloom]

thanks to everyone for your suggestions regarding our rental problem.

we have eliminated apartments as an option and have generally been turned away from renting duplexes because they assume that our dog is vicious. the really sad part about this is that our dog is gentle...we have children living all around us and i trained him for years to make sure that he is not food aggressive or the least bit nervous if kids hang on his neck. we are over 50 and extremely responsible but may be forced to buy a house if this keeps up. i don't want to be left here in florida dog-sitting while my husband is in austin.