Yes, You Can Rent A House With A Big Dog - Here's Our Exact Strategy

I was trying to figure out how long it had been since I rented a home and it was over 30 years! So when we decided to sell our big house and rent for a few years to save money, I thought it would be a breeze to find a new home… boy, was I wrong.

Coming up to putting our house on the market, I was watching a Realtor on YouTube who said, over and over, "make sure you have a place to move to before you accept an offer on your house." Welp, we did NOT listen to her, and found ourselves in a real pickle!

On paper, we look GREAT for renting a house. Both my hubs and I have over a 750 credit score, we're moving in with two semi-adult children, and we have the finances to cover whatever move-in costs come our way.

And then we realized… our American Staffordshire Terrier (a Staffy, to the cool kids) practically made renting impossible. And lest you think this is only a Pit Bull or Pit-Bull-adjacent problem, you would be wrong. Rottweilers, Cane Corsos, and Doberman Pinschers are on the list too.

I even saw listings that restricted German Shepherds, Chow Chows, and Huskies. And to add insult to injury, we had THREE dogs (if you can count the 11-pound monster as a dog), and most rentals cap you at two.

Luckily for us, I was a Realtor years ago and know how to read a listing to find the loopholes… more on that in a minute.

What Is The Problem With House Rentals And Big Dogs?

We went to see a handful of homes right off the bat that looked perfect for our family - 3 or 4 bedrooms, at least two baths, maybe room for a craft room or office… yay!

We paid the $2.99 to unlock the app that gets you into all of the listed showings in your area, and did just that.

Here's the problem: during the pandemic, large corporations bought up most of the rental houses in our area, which means there is no "bending the rules" and no paying extra for a certain breed of dog. Corporate says two dogs, no big dogs, and that's that… sigh.

If I had to guess, in our area the big guys either own or manage at least 90% of the rental houses… oh crap.

How To Figure Out Who Manages A Rental Property

The first thing you should do when house-hunting as a big dog owner is slide on down to the "Listing Provided By" section on Zillow and see who you're dealing with.

In our area, if it says Invitation Homes or Main Street Homes, our family is a no-go. We were not sacrificing our dog to move into a new house.

You can always look the management company up if you're not sure - just search: Company Name + Dog Breed Restrictions, and Google will usually tell you if your dog is allowed. You may have to dig a little to find the total number of pets or dogs permitted.

What Kind Of Listing Might Work

There are two types of listings that tend to work in favor of big dog owners: Realtor-listed and small local management company listed.

The house we ended up in was listed by a management company…

And this is what a Realtor listing looks like…

The reason these are more likely to work out is that they're not corporations. They're managing or listing properties on behalf of individual homeowners who earn income from their rental properties, and individual owners can make their own calls.

How To Find All Of The Houses You Might Could Rent

Here's how I found our house… I spammed ONE MILLION listings - okay, it was more like 8, because that's all that landed in the middle of the Venn diagram of "good for our family" and "not owned by a corporation."

Start with a search on Zillow using the criteria you need - for us, that was house, beds, baths, and large dogs allowed.

That search showed 34 rentals available in our area. Promising, until you realize how many of them are owned by corporations.

Here's where the magic happens: right-click and "open in a new tab" on every property that matches your criteria. DO NOT look at them yet and get your hopes up - most of them will not be available to you and your big dog.

Scroll down to the listing agent on each one and close the tabs of anything owned by a corporation.

What's left is your real list - the properties worth contacting to ask if they'll allow your dog.

I sent every single one a message like this: "Hi! We're interested in this property and wondered if you allow three dogs? We have an 11-pound Affenpinscher, a 40-pound Beagle, and a 100-pound American Staffordshire Terrier."

DO NOT try to lie about what kind of dog you have. Imagine you get into a house, and then the landlord comes by, sees the dog you actually have, and kicks you out. That is so much worse than doing this search the right way the first time.

Property Management Companies Have Houses They Don't Show

Here's how our successful home search actually went.

We asked to see a house on Laurel St, and it was fine. The property manager mentioned that as long as there wasn't an HOA, most of their owners allowed big dogs.

Then she said there was a listing that wasn't even on the market yet - did we want to see it? We were literally driving around with three dogs in a Ford Bronco because our house was being inspected, so we had nowhere else to be.

It was a BANGER. Perfect for us, and six houses down from the Intracoastal Waterway… possibly my dream home.

Tips For Making Yourself A Better Rental Prospect

If you have a big dog, you're going to have to work a little harder to present as a great renter. Here's what helped us:

If your credit needs work, fix that up first. There are credit repair agencies that can help you get your numbers in shape before you start applying.
Have extra money saved so you can offer a bigger pet deposit. This is something you can offer proactively, and it can genuinely tip the scale with a landlord.
Offer to add a pet rider to your rental insurance to cover any potential damage.
Have cute pictures of your big dog ready to send. Several listing agents and management companies asked to see our doggos before they'd even show the house.
Offer to rent for longer. We signed a two year lease which made us a great prospect to the landlord.
Be charming on the phone. You might be stressed out of your mind at this point, but you need to come across as cool, calm, and collected to whoever's on the other end.

Renting With A Big Dog: Wrap-Up

If you have a big dog and need to find a rental house or apartment, it can feel hopeless - my hubs and I were genuinely worried we were about to be homeless with three dogs in tow.

But if you follow the formula - filter smart, skip the corporate listings, and contact every independent landlord and small management company you can find - you WILL find a place to live.

I know it stinks that we have so many fewer options than someone without a big dog breed, but our pets are family, and we just have to do a little more legwork to find a house that fits all of us!

Here are some more great articles you might love: