Rover meets renter: dog tricks landlords love

Have you been accused of making dog parenting your identity? You know, the kind of person whose friends slyly suggest is a little too good at bragging about their dog? Your social feeds are filled to the brim with doggy photo dumps. You always find a way to bring up your dog in business meetings. And do it while sipping from a cup with your dog’s face on it. Well, this pup-sessive behavior might not be bad. And it’s especially useful if you rent. Because building Rover’s rep can be the key to locking down a dog friendly apartment.

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Thankfully, the tide is turning in the dog-lover’s favor. Despite some “no pets” caveats on rental listings, landlords seem to be more accepting of dogs than ever before. That’s the kind of trend we love. Dogs add a lot to our lives. But before we can discover the joys of pet parenting, let’s learn some tricks to becoming a great dog parent and excellent tenant.


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Trick 1: Find a good fit for your Spot

At Toggle®, we love all dog breeds. But we know landlords might be less accepting. That means it’s definitely a good idea to check with your landlord about any breeds that are a hard no. (As a general rule, don’t try to stuff yourself and a St. Bernard into a studio apartment.) This will save you a lot of heartache before you fall in love with a dog on your landlord’s naughty list.

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If you already have a dog, you know the size and type of space they need. If you don’t have one yet, it’s best to know the breed, or mix, you want to get before you fall down the adorable rabbit hole of pet finder websites. There are a lot of resources to find basic breed info like activity level, grooming upkeep and dietary restrictions. All of those can help you find a pup that’s your perfect match, and keep your landlord happy at the same time.

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Trick 2: Make a furbaby résumé

Fido goes professional. Sometimes a doggy résumé (or Canine Vitae if you’re fancy) is just what you need to convince your landlord that your dog has certified good behavior. Flex those creative skills to show all the little things that make your dog great.

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You definitely want to include breed, weight, height, age, spayed or neutered status, obedience training background, and your vet’s address and phone number. Expert-level renters may even choose to design a logo for their pet. Have this résumé ready to go the first time you talk to your landlord about adding your pet to the lease.

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Trick 3: Let references lend a paw

References are another great trick to steal from the professional world. It’s also one that shouldn’t be tough if you’ve rented with a pet before. Ask your last landlord for a letter singing the praises of your pet and their responsible owner. Or get an ex-roommate to do the vouching.

If this is your first pet renting adventure, congrats! Even newly minted pet parents can get good recs. For this you want to talk to your vet, the place where you got the dog and any dog trainers/classes you’re working with.

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Trick 4: Show your commitment with coverage

Does renters insurance cover pet damage to the walls and floors of your apartment? That depends on who you get renters insurance from. Many renters insurance companies say hard pass. At Toggle we say heck yeah. Our love of pets gave us the idea to invent our Pet Parent® coverage. 

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We designed this monthly renters insurance add-on to help you protect yourself and your apartment from the less-than-lovable moments that come with pet parenthood. Chewed walls. Stained carpets or scratched wood floors. $100,000 liability coverage just in case your dog bites, attacks or injures someone who isn’t you. Bonus: We love all dog breeds as long as your pet doesn’t have a rap sheet. Even if they do, let’s talk.

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Trick 5: Battle barking with war movies

Congrats! Your landlord finally let you bring your pet home. You spent ages making your apartment a pet paradise. Then, while your little love nugget is exploring their new home, they start to get vocal about all the new sounds around them. Be forgiving of this undesirable behavior. This may be the first time they’ve heard such an exciting mix of sirens, parties and elephants stomping around in 8E.

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All these sounds are actually a great opportunity for training. Fire up your streaming platform of choice and choose a movie with lots of loud bangs. Then sit with your pet and a bag of treats. Reward them every time they don’t react to the sounds on-screen. Pretty soon your dog won’t just be ignoring parties, they’ll keep their cool during those dreaded fireworks shows, too.¹

 ^{Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash}

Trick 6: Know thy green space

Depending on where you live, this may be one of the trickiest tricks on the list. Unless your dog has mastered using the toilet (if so, we for sure want to see that), they’re going to need to go outside to use the bathroom. So if you’re not prepared to leash up multiple times a day, you may want to at least invest in a doggy litter box. Or subscribe to a service that sends you a rental-friendly patch of turf.

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And remember, those trips to green spaces are for more than potty breaks. They can help you channel your dog’s energy into productive play. Way better than them having their own ideas for activities inside your apartment.


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Trick 7: Hook up your furry friend with health insurance  

This is a trick for your pet and your wallet. Good doggy health insurance can save you tens of thousands of dollars if your inquisitive ball of love gets seriously hurt. This isn’t even a self-plug! There are a lot of options out there. And tools to compare them just like renters insurance comparison websites. However, we’d like to tell you about two loyal pup health companies we teamed up with to help you protect the ones you love: Pets Best Insurance and FirstVet.


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Pets Best is all about lifetime care for your dog. We’re particularly fond of their flexibility. Like Toggle, they give you choices to make coverage as unique as your dog — with accident-only and accident + illness plans for you to customize. They can help you protect yourself from the financial bite of dog-related emergencies. 

We teamed up with FirstVet for those “Is this an emergency?” moments. FirstVet gives you access to unlimited on-demand video consults 24/7/365 with their licensed vets. If you purchase through Toggle, you get your first month free. You can also try their new Healthy Pet Checkup for free with the code TOGGLEHEALTHYPET. Healthy Pet Checkups touch on five key areas of your pet’s health and provide you with custom recommendations and guidance to ensure your furbaby stays fit until their next in-clinic vet appointment.

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Great news! Responsibility breeds responsibility.

When you decide to take on the responsibility for another life — even a small, furry one — it can make you more responsible overall. Responsible pet parents could mean more responsible tenants and tenants that stay in their apartment longer. So really you’re doing your landlord a favor when you become a pet parent.


 Photo by Amy Demel on Unsplash

If those tricks don’t have your landlord’s tail wagging, the Humane Society has some tips for you as well.² We know that dogs are absolute love machines and hope every renter who wants one can provide them with a happy home. And if you have a landlord who just won’t budge, this is a handy reminder that if you have Toggle we’ll move to a more pet friendly apartment with you.

¹https://lifehacker.com/how-movies-can-keep-your-dog-from-panicking-about-firew-1847220124
²https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/information-renters-pets

Links to third party websites are provided for your convenience only. Toggle has not independently verified any of the information provided therein and makes no representations about the enduring accuracy of such information or any content.

Pet Insurance coverage offered and administered by Pets Best Insurance Services, LLC and underwritten by American Pet Insurance Company, a New York insurance company headquartered at 6100 4th Ave. S., Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98108. Please see www.americanpetinsurance.com to review all available pet health insurance products underwritten by APIC.

DISCLOSURE: Toggle Services, LLC receives compensation for products and services purchased through affiliate links.