Some dogs bark when they hear a noise in the hallway. Mine barks when the intercom buzzes or when there's a knock on the door. Maybe board members can walk the hallways during the day when people are usually at work to listen for dog noises? Good luck!

I have done this. It works! Soon as you walk by the front door, the dog(s) reveals themselves by barking.

Forgive me for asking what appears to be a stupid question. If (like you said you have a strick no dog policy) did you not ask the prospective shareholder when they were interviewed? Secondly, did anyone not notice, and if they did, why was in not mentioned that people had dogs in the building until now. What were the other tenants, and staff doing not to notice?

Fat Nickie

We always ask if they have a dog, and each shareholder must sign a paper stating they do not have a dog. However, people break the rules.

The neighbors are reluctant to report the violations for a variety reasons. I also can't ask the maintenance crew to spend their time searching for dogs, its not their job. Granted they will try their best, but the challenge is in locating which apartment the dog resides.

We have 27 buildings and 287 units spread over 3 addresses. Pinning down the specific apartment is a bit of a challenge, and we can't send a violation until we have this info.

In our co-op, at every admissions committee meeting with the prospective buyer, we reinforce the "no four legged animal" rule.

In addition, before we interview we have the prospective owner sign a special letter that indicates that the “co-op” has a ban on four legged animals.

I see why people wouldn't want to snitch on neighbors about having a dog but maintenance staff should help locate them. You don't have to identify who tells you about dogs. That would make staff feel more secure that they won't "get in trouble" with owners if they report them.

We have a security videocam for our lobby. People with dogs have to go through the lobby to take them out to walk them. The videotape will show who has a dog. If you have more than one way that residents can go in/out of your building, additional videocams to cover the other areas are not that costly once a main system is installed.

I agree with you on security cameras to identify dogs and owners. However I am not in favor in using the building staff as snitches. It just puts the staff in harms way and in the line of fire. If staff snitch somehow it works its way back to the shareholder. First hand experince on this one.

FN

FN, I respect your opinion on not using maintenance staff to report dogs. Our staff knows they can trust our Board not to reveal who reports what - because WE don't know. We only asked our staff to report on dogs and one other issue in the past. Both times, our Board agreed the only person staff should report to was the prop manager - by putting an unsigned note in the locked "Staff" box in his office which residents can't access. So even he doesn't know what staff person reports what. The only thing we care about are the findings and that they're accurate, not who reports them. Our staff feels very secure with this system. It may not work for some buildings. Things do have a way of getting around. But it's worked well for us.

I must applaud your confidentiality on this issue. Unfortunately our board promised to keep "the informants" anonymous but when certain shareholders who were violating the house rules challenged, the board members they revealed their sources. Sad but true. Needless to say, the staff are not willing to cooperate on such issues anymore for fear of being outed. Good to see it works for you.

FN

why woud you have a dog free building anyway? ridiculous.

Don't misunderstand. I love dogs. I love all animals. But why might some bldgs not want dogs? Because they:

-- have been known to bite or jump on people in elevators
-- frighten some people, especially big or unfriendly ones
-- tussle with other dogs in the elevator, lobby, etc.
-- have "accidents" that mess up bldg rugs and floors
-- can also damage lobby or other bldg furnishings
-- bark a lot and drive neighbors crazy
-- howl when they're home alone - sometimes for hours
-- are sometimes allowed to run free in bldg hallways
-- stomp on, chew or do their business in the landscaping

Dogs that do these things make some residents uncomfortable and damage property. I was in a bldg lobby recently and saw a woman sitting in an armchair with a dog on a leash. The dog was chewing on the wooden leg of the chair and she did nothing about it. And yes, she saw what he was doing. Bldgs have the right to say "no dogs". If someone doesn't like it, live somewhere else.

Anonymous - Did you ever have people above you with no rugs or carpeting and had to listen to a dog run and skittle his nails across the floor every day and night? Or get in an elevator and step in a puddle of dog urine? Or had to weave your way around two dogs barking and jumping at each other in the lobby as their owners held them back? If you had, maybe you'd think differently. And remember, I like dogs. wouldn't

I like dogs as well but it's their owners I have issues with, I argued with one dog owner because she allowed her dog to urinate on the trees outside the co-op and thought nothing of it. During the summer months that rancid smell rises from the trees and makes the entire block smell bad. We own the sidewalk as well, I told her. She keeps telling me that the rain will come and wash the smell away. I asked her does a rain cloud follow her around? I asked her how would she like to be a tree and have dogs come along and pee on her? She would have to stand in the urine and could not go anywhere. She saw my point. She doesn't allow her dog to pee on the trees anymore. Allow dog owners to have more respect for trees and property. I understand now why landlords don't like dog owners or dogs. Dog urine kills trees and dogs damage property. Not to mention dog owners who won't clean up after their pets after the dog makes a mess in the lobby and/or in the elevators.

Re: dog urine killing trees, we planted flowers around the trees on our block, but people (not from our bldg, we don't allow dogs) walk by and let their dogs urinate on them. We put short wire stake-in fences around the trees but people let their dogs hop over them. Bricks didn't work either. BTW, kids run across tree beds and cars back into them, and they ruin trees/flowers too. One thing that keeps dogs and others out is a solid iron tree pit guard. Most are black but can be painted any color. NYC recommends getting ones that are 18" high. You don't need NYC permission to install them. They're costly but protect greenery, are attractive and last for years. Go to www.treesny.com. The site has good info on tree pit guards + a list of companies that make them or look in the yellow pages under "iron works".

Thanks!

I will look into this! We have the same problem with other people's dogs as well.

Sorry, accidentally had the word "wouldn't" at the end of my message about no dogs. I hate when that happens. :-)

I lived in a dog free building and liked it. No loud barking, no messes in the hallways. The super didn't get fined for not cleaning up behind other dogs. No dog fights in the lobby. Less hassle overall and noise, what's not to like?