Bully breeds in PG County (Bowie, Annapolis: apartments, for rent, insurance)

[autiger92]

My daughter and her husband are relocating to the D.C. area in May from Fort Benning, GA. He will be working with The Old Guard. She is in grad school and will be doing an externship in Annapolis.

They are looking at Bowie. Upper Marlboro. Possibly Laurel. No children. 2 dogs--"aggressive breed".

I gotta be honest. I don't understand how young married couples live in these places. I did a 'Zoom" tour of a home in Bowie with their realtor today, and it's pretty depressing. I mean... Bowie seems fine and nice. The house was fine. It's the cost. The taxes. The realtor keeps telling them that they have to offer asking price--even if the property has been on the market since November??! I call BS on that. The realtor is telling them they won't be taken seriously if they try to offer less. Just makes my BS meter alarms go off all over the place. I don't want them to be taken advantage of because they are young, first time home buyers.

I think they need to rent, but they have a pit bull and a GSD. How strict are apartments and landlords about bully breeds? Ideally, they need a house with a yard for the dogs. The pittie mix is an "old man". Sweet as can be. The GSD is young and needs the exercise.

My daughter was actually accepted to grad school at UMD in 2020, and she declined. One of the reasons was the pit bull ban in PG county. (That and it was at the beginning of the pandemic with all the uncertainty of that.)

Now it's a done deal. Great opportunity for both of them. I'm just trying to help them out a bit with finding housing. Respectful recommendations will be greatly appreciated. My son in law grew up outside of Philadelphia, but he isn't very familiar with the D.C. area.

Please do not reply if you hate bully breed dogs. I don't judge people for hating on them, I see you and hear it plenty. I understand, but getting rid of the dogs is not on the table. They are very responsible owners. My daughter has been very involved in dog rescue here in the SE. She nursed this abused, neglected dog back to health from near death. She has done this for many dogs, actually. This boy she couldn't give up. We all love him dearly.

Thank you in advance for any helpful tips.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by autiger92

How strict are (the insurance companies used by responsible) landlords about bully breeds?

VERY. Even for rent houses with fenced yards. Just like in GA and AL and with Base Housing.
Many of these breeds are dis-allowed even for owners . See the list LINK

My daughter and her husband are relocating to the D.C. area in May from Fort Benning, GA.
He will be working with The Old Guard.
She is in grad school and will be doing an externship in Annapolis.
They are looking at Bowie. Upper Marlboro. Possibly Laurel. No children.

I think they need to rent, but they have a pit bull and a GSD.

They'll want to rent, at least the first year, regardless of everything else in the equation.
Even if a friend or relative (hint!) agrees to foster the dogs in GA or AL for that while.

[bufflove]

The pretty clear answer is to just look in neighboring counties to buy or rent, no? Upper Marlboro is right next to Anne Arundel County. Laurel is right next to Howard, Montgomery, and Anne Arundel counties.

[ion475]

Yep...not sure why the OP has to look at PG County only...just go across Patuxent (from Bowie) into areas like Crofton or Odenton...

[G1..]

So you think PG county is more expensive then Anne Arundel or Montgomery Counties??? AS for the towns more and more are banning Pits, Rots and Dobermans.

[luv4horses]

Am wondering how anyone proves your dog is one of those breeds. You could do a DNA test yourself then claim a mix of anything else that shows up. I see some bully looking rescue dogs described as boxer mixes even now.

Longtime dog owner’s know it’s the training not the breed itself that determines dog behavior.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by luv4horses

Am wondering how anyone proves your dog is one of those breeds. You could do a DNA test yourself then claim a mix of anything else that shows up. I see some bully looking rescue dogs described as boxer mixes even now.

[b]Longtime dog owner’s know it’s the training not the breed itself that determines dog behavior.[/B

Until it isn't.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by luv4horses

Longtime dog owner’s know it’s the training not the breed itself that determines dog behavior.

Agreed. But the correlating factor is the PEOPLE who gravitate to so many of these breeds ...
and then want/need to house them in the small yards of tightly packed homes.

Out on some horse farm in the country? A whole other discussion.

[westsideboy]

Originally Posted by MrRational

Agreed. But the correlating factor is the PEOPLE who gravitate to so many of these breeds ...
and then want/need to house them in the small yards of tightly packed homes.

Out on some horse farm in the country? A whole other discussion.

I've opposed breed bans on this site before, so let me put that on the record.

The undeniable thing about dogs like Pit Bulls is that if they do bite, it is going to be a much more traumatic injury than getting mauled by a toy poodle. They are just bigger, stronger dogs, who when motivated to bite people can cause massive injuries and death.

There is saying that every dog "gets one free bite" but when that bite is from dog with strong and massive jaws, it's hard to say the bite is "free" to the person on the receiving end.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by MrRational

Agreed. But the correlating factor is the PEOPLE who gravitate to so many of these breeds ...
and then want/need to house them in the small yards of tightly packed homes.

Out on some horse farm in the country? A whole other discussion.

Yes and no. Southern Maryland has had numerous dog maulings, some fatal others not, over the years. Most of them were by pit bulls.

One particular one almost thirty years ago when an eight year old was pulled off his bike and killed forced Calvert County to get serious about the packs of dogs that roamed the County then.