Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Dogs in Community

[R.N. Johnson (cohoranda]

We just had a big discussion about dogs in our community, although we are not 
having the level of trouble you've run into.  We now have 3 full time and one 
part time dog in our 11 household community. We do allow dogs to run free in 
the common area with minimal supervision if they are "well-behaved".  We 
currently do not allow dogs in the common house, but do allow well- behaved 
dogs (no barking, no begging, no jumping on people) on the deck where we eat 
when it's nice out. We have not had problems with fighting, but if we did, 
those dogs would have to be supervised at all times.  We do have a couple of 
dogs who chase cats if given the opportunity, and this has been an issue off 
and on.  In the past we had a dog who growled at people, and that dog was not 
allowed in the common area.  We have had occasional problems with people not 
honoring the agreement to keep dogs out of the common house, or not telling 
their guests that dogs are not allowed. We
 have several people with heavy duty dog allergy, making this a touchy issue. 
Hope this helps.
Randa Johnson
New Brighton Cohousing
Aptos

*****