HOA and Dog Houses (Rockford: renting, new home, buying)

[firefighter5143]

Hello everyone. I just joined this website and am amazed by all the useful information availiable here.

Our HOA does not allow any type of shelter for a dog. However the Illinois Humane Care For Animals Act states an owner must provide "adequate shelter and protection from the weather."

Who is right in this situation? Thanks in advance.

[irish setter girl]

From my experience the HOA will over rule. You can keep your dog in your home or your garage, that is providing adequate shelter and protection from the weather. If your HOA allows sheds you could construct a heated shed. Sheds, fences, above ground pools, trampolines and dog houses/dog runs are heated items for residents and HOAs. In my experience the HOA has over ruled if the owners knew at the time of purchase that the rules and regs were in place regarding said issues.

PS Just wanted to add that I'm a dog lover (the bigger the better!) so I'm not one who is trying to prevent dogs from subdivisions

[scotty40]

They are both right. There is a third option - bring the dog inside your house. If you can't do that- give it to someone who can. We had a contract security guard company provide dogs to guard a trucking firm next door- they all had well insulated dog houses. Even with the best dog houses- one of them died from hypothermia when the weather got down below zero.

[firefighter5143]

Glad to hear you're a dog lover. I have a black lab who is the nicest dog in the world. He is very well behaved and leaving him inside is never an issue.

What is an issue though is my wife works nights, I work days and there is a 2hour overlap of our schedule twice a week. At that point we leave the dog in the back yard for two hours.

Any other time there is always someone there to supervise the dogs outdoor time. My dog loves to be outdoors. He doesn't care what the temp he would rather be outside than couped up in the house.

[JustJulia]

Where in the world do you live that doesn't allow dog houses? I just moved to the area and was pretty shocked by that.

[firefighter5143]

Rockford il

[irish setter girl]

Originally Posted by JustJulia

Where in the world do you live that doesn't allow dog houses? I just moved to the area and was pretty shocked by that.

There are MANY subdivisions all over the country with HOA rules and regs that do not even let you paint your house without approval from the board. Structures in yards (playsets, dog houses, sheds, pools, decks,etc....) can all be "controlled" by HOA's. It is extremely important to check out all rules and regs of an association before buying or renting a home! There are some villages/towns/cities that have ordinances about said structures as well.

[irish setter girl]

Originally Posted by firefighter5143

Glad to hear you're a dog lover. I have a black lab who is the nicest dog in the world. He is very well behaved and leaving him inside is never an issue.

What is an issue though is my wife works nights, I work days and there is a 2hour overlap of our schedule twice a week. At that point we leave the dog in the back yard for two hours.

Any other time there is always someone there to supervise the dogs outdoor time. My dog loves to be outdoors. He doesn't care what the temp he would rather be outside than couped up in the house.

You may have lready thought of this but is it possible to have a doggy door from your garage to the backyard? That way during the 2 hours the dog could hang out in a warm dog house in the garage but should he want/need to venture into the yard he could use the doggy door?

[firefighter5143]

I could do a dog door but I am concerned about security. Also not to keen on cutting a hole in a brand new home.

[irish setter girl]

Originally Posted by firefighter5143

I could do a dog door but I am concerned about security. Also not to keen on cutting a hole in a brand new home.

I thought if you have a service door from the garage to the backyard a doggy door might be easy to install in the door and if you ever wanted to you could just replace the door when the doogy door was not needed. They do make security doggy doors where the dog wears a collar and the collar opens the door - prevents other animals and people from using the door (unless they are holding your dog )

The only other alternative is getting a very discrete dog house and putting it in an obscure area and hope your neighbors don't complain

Just brainstorming with you....