Neighbours Dog

[Rustpail]

I'v name changed for this. But am at the end of my tether and need advice. I recently bought a flat, its lovely and I'm really happy with it, but my neighbour has an absolutely huge dog and I'm allergic. She insists on taking it out for a walk three times a day through the communal hallway and I find it quite intimidating and it is making me sneeze.

I wasnt told about the dog when I bought the flat, and it doesnt make any noise. Apparently she has permission for it and permission can only be removed if it is making a noise or fouling - but not for any other nuisance. What can I do?

[RocketPanda]

Gosh I was envisioning an Irish wolf hound or a Romanian Bear dog not a Lab. Honestly grab a hold of yourself and give yourself a shake.

[lickenchugget]

I just wished they'd told me.

Who are ‘they?’

Have you bought, or leased the flat? You refer to both.

You can’t stop your neighbour having a dog.

[magicstar1]

@Rustpail

Antihistamines make me drowsy I dont think I can take them long term. I'd feel whacked all the time.

But surely if she's been given permission then they shouldve told me that they've granted permission for a dog in the building. I'll email the managing agent and ask why i wasnt told

Surely you should have asked if there were any dogs in the building?
YABU and completely unfair to the dog owner, who sounds great if she's walking him three times a day.

[theemmadilemma]

@Rustpail

@SolasAnla unfortunately the lease just says that dogs are allowed with permission, and that permission will be revoked for noise nuisance or fouling, which I find weirdly specific. This dog is a nuisance, just not in the ways listed.

For those asking I think it is a labrador, but I dont know that that matters.

I'm just so upset, I can't afford to move again, and I am so miserable. I just wished they'd told me.

The facemasks are a good idea- I might try that, then at least the owner might get the picture that i am not happy

Why would they give a shit if you're unhappy?

If you're that allergic that you needed a pet free environment, you should have checked that out. They could have easily told you pets were allowed under the lease and you could have gone elsewhere knowing there was no guarantee of a pet free life there?

100% your own fault.

[SolasAnla]

@FunsizedandFabulous it depends on what is in your lease about having a cat/pet. The lease could allow for charging of fines or even court action to get an injunction etc to remove your cat. Most places, even ones with a "no pet clause", have a MYOB policy once the pet is not a problem.

If the OP had looked at the lease or instructed her solicitor to get an assurance that the lease prohibited dogs/cats/non human residence. Then the management team confirmed that they have a clause and a zero tollerance for breach of that lease, she would have a cause of action. She could, if she has the funds, sue the management company if they did not act to enforce the lease.
In this case its allowed so she should have considered this as a key element when house hunting.

Even then if the dog was a assistance / guide dog the clause could be voided as it would be unlawful discrimination to prevent a disabled person from living in/ buying a home.

[BreatheAndFocus]

Is this a joke? Most antihistamines are non-drowsy now, and your allergy can’t be that bad if you can get away with not taking them. How do you manage out in the dog-filled streets? On a bus or train?

The truth is you don’t like dogs, are annoyed there’s one there, and have hyped up an allergy to try to justify complaining about it. Presuming this isn’t a wind-up, leave the well-behaved dog and responsible owner alone! The dog is clean, quiet and well-looked after. There are far, far far worse neighbours. Be thankful.

[VickyEadieofThigh]

"Sounds like your neighbour's dog is a very good boy."

OR girl! 😅

[WaltzingWaters]

The dog owner sounds very responsible.
you sound rather precious, entitled, and very unreasonable.

[gogohmm]

I can't see the problem. Why shouldn't people in flats have pets, unless in the management pack it specifically said dogs are not allowed you have no reason to be told there's an exemption

[gogohmm]

And explicitly in the document it says dogs are allowed. It's not being a nuisance

[IKnowAPlace]

There's nothing you can do.

Would you have pulled out of the purchase if you knew there were dogs in your building?

[StrawberryQuartz]

You aren’t covering yourself in glory here OP.
I’m not a fan of dogs but YABVU here, and extremely entitled. I doubt the owner gives a toss about whether you are happy or not, they’re doing nothing wrong.

[curlymom]

YABU even if there were no dogs when you got the flat, one could have moved in a week later. You need to buy a house if you want to be guaranteed no dogs. But one could still walk past you in the street! My son has dust allergy and takes antihistamine every day. He isn’t drowsy and leads a normal life. Get some tablets for it

[Daisy62]

Is it possible that you’ll adjust to the dog hair over time and your symptoms might ease? Or you could try the air purifier idea, masks etc as you suggest. Hopefully this will upset you less as you settle in and get used to the situation. Lesson learned is obviously not to buy a property with a communal area, or only ones that prohibit pets. You can’t reasonably expect the neighbour to make changes.

[BotterMon]

Are you for real? Why do you matter more than your neighbour

[SmallPrawnEnergy]

You were fully aware well behaved dogs were permitted in the building. You’re clearly not severely allergic or have a life disrupting phobia of dogs as this would have been on the forefront of your mind when buying a flat with a communal entrance (speaking from experience as I used to live with someone who did have a very severe pet dander allergy).

I don’t even think you should have been looking at flats with shared communal space of this is your attitude tbh, any of your neighbours in your flat block could get a dog at any time, you do realise? Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean you have any sort of input here (if the dog is well behaved, and that doesn’t involve simply existing).


The fact you think an act of sheer passive aggression will make your neighbour “get the picture” you’re not happy is also batshit. Do you think she’s going to get rid of her loved, well behaved pet because you’re giving her dirty looks from behind a mask? I can imagine you will start to fabricate complaints about the dog to get it removed.

[TooManyPlatesInMotion]

Op this is bonkers. You can't do anything about the dog. If your allergy is that severe then surely you take medication or carry some around in case you go to a cafe/park/pub where there is a dog?!

[amatsip]

What would you like to happen to resolve this?

1. Dog pts so you can be happy?
   
2. Dog rehomed so you can be happy?
   
3. You move house as it’s you with the issue!?
   
4. You learn to live with the situation without acting entitled?

[CheapBeersFilledwithCrocodileTears]

This is truly a bit strange. While I’m sorry you’re having a difficult time, you must see you’re being terribly unreasonable. If you’re so allergic to dogs that just having one walk through a hallway outside your flat three times a day is making you have such an allergic reaction that you’re unable to function, how on earth did you think you were ever going to be able to live in a building of flats? Why didn’t you ask VERY specifically before buying if there were any dogs in the building? And even if there weren’t, the managing agent would have informed you that it’s not a pet-free building so there might be no dogs this month, and next month, three owners could have gotten new dogs.

You can’t force this woman to do anything about her existing dog; she’s following the rules and you either didn’t do your due diligence if you’re so horrifically allergic that you should be living in a pet-free building, OR you’re just made mildly uncomfortable (sneezing?) and think you can force your problem onto her (you can’t). You can take a non-drowsy antihistamine like millions upon millions of other allergy sufferers do every day and move on. OR if your symptoms are that severe, you can sell up and move to a pet-free building as that is the only way to guarantee no dogs.

[Winederlust]

This just smacks of someone who just doesn't like dogs using hyperbole (labs aren't 'huge' and not the least bit intimidating unless you count being loves to death) and a made up allergy to have a moan.
Get over yourself.

[ChilliPB]

@Rustpail

@SolasAnla unfortunately the lease just says that dogs are allowed with permission, and that permission will be revoked for noise nuisance or fouling, which I find weirdly specific. This dog is a nuisance, just not in the ways listed.

For those asking I think it is a labrador, but I dont know that that matters.

I'm just so upset, I can't afford to move again, and I am so miserable. I just wished they'd told me.

The facemasks are a good idea- I might try that, then at least the owner might get the picture that i am not happy

The dog is not being a nuisance!

The owner has not done anything wrong; they’re not being anti social.

Its your allergy to manage. YABVU to expect neighbours to not have well behaved pets/make any changes to their lives because you have moved in. It’s an extremely egotistical view.

If you have such a severe allergy you should look for a property that doesn’t have shared spaces. Even if you knew about the dog, the neighbour could get a new dog or a new neighbour could move it.

You have to modify your behaviour to manage your allergy.

[Auntieobem]

@Rustpail

@SolasAnla unfortunately the lease just says that dogs are allowed with permission, and that permission will be revoked for noise nuisance or fouling, which I find weirdly specific. This dog is a nuisance, just not in the ways listed.

For those asking I think it is a labrador, but I dont know that that matters.

I'm just so upset, I can't afford to move again, and I am so miserable. I just wished they'd told me.

The facemasks are a good idea- I might try that, then at least the owner might get the picture that i am not happy

Why do you want neighbours to know you are unhappy??? What do you want to achieve? If I thought my neighbour was unhappy I have a dog I wouldn't care - I can't do anything about her unhappiness??

[katishot]

This dog is a nuisance, just not in the ways listed

It isn't being a nuisance.

This is either a load of made up crap or overdramatizing about the allergy because you actually don't like dogs at all and don't want any in the building.
If your allergy is really that severe you would have made absolutely sure that there were no dogs in the building and that the lease said the building is pet-free. The lease says dogs with permission. This means that even if there were none when you moved in, someone else could move in later and be granted permission. Or were you going to kick up a fuss then?

No sympathy from me I'm afraid. You should have checked all of this out in great detail if your allergy really is that bad, before you purchased the flat.

[thereisonlyoneofme]

Well 1 poster thinks OP is being reasonable!

[decafsoyaflatwhite]

I think this might actually be the most ridiculous thread I’ve ever read. Well done OP. Your implication that she should rehome her dog is so entitled it’s funny.

She’s only bringing it through the communal hallway 6 times a day (and I’m assuming that 4 of those are early in the morning and late at night) so realistically how often are you seeing it for it to ‘intimidate’ you?