Breed Restrictions & Insurance
I apologize for the long post, but I'm having trouble staying off the dreaded "breed restrictions" list with landlords, so I have a few questions and I'm hoping to get some insight here to better understand my situation. I have 2 dogs. One is classified by an unknown vet as "American Staffordshire Terrier mix" and it's stuck with him all throughout humane societies until we got him. The other we rescued as a puppy & was classified as simply "Terrier mix". We don't know what either of them are mixed with or if they're actually AmStaffs for sure. I've had many people tell me they see different dominant breeds in my dogs (as you normally do with mixes), and we've never had them dna tested nor do we intend to. We don't personally care what breed they are.
1) Most landlords push me into saying they're "pit bulls" and then deny my dogs with usually no reason other than "We don't accept that breed". One landlord I had contacted said his insurance did not accept them. I told him that we had renter's insurance that we got specifically for our dogs (requirement to adopt from the humane society) & he acted like it was irrelevant. So, first question... If I have renter's insurance that covers my dogs, does it matter or not if the landlord's insurance does not accept them?
2) Some people have suggested having my vet write a letter stating that they are not "pit bulls". I've read up on AmStaffs vs Pit bulls & I'm aware that they are not the exact same, but are still considered in the US to be the same (although not in the UK where "pit bulls" are prohibited, but "AmStaffs" are not). Would a letter from my vet make any difference to a landlord or his/her insurance company?
3) Am I obligated to say that they look like pit bulls when I'm asked? I feel that's a matter of opinion - as demonstrated by the many people above who've told me they believe my dogs to be at least 5 different breeds. In my opinion, people see what they want to see & if a landlord wants to see "pit" then he/she will regardless. I personally feel that one of my dogs - the one with the AmStaff classification - looks like a dog I had growing up. That dog was a German Shepherd/Black Lab mix with no AmStaff in his blood at all. So again, it's purely subjective.
I also want to make it clear that I'm not trying to hide anything. I've offered pictures to landlords & to bring my dogs to meet the landlord to prove their temperaments & tried to reassure them that they're both house broken, crate trained, supervised 100% of the time we're home or in kennels when we're not, and not destructive even if they weren't supervised. None of that matters once the "pit bull" seed is planted.
Thanks for any info or advice.