Housing and Development Board or HDB has set of rules when keeping dogs or pets in your flat. On the other hand, there are some people in Singapore who think about their own pets especially dogs in the home as part of their family. Dogs like any other property of a person can be regulated for maintaining the safe, secure, and healthy environment they are living in. Providing necessary training for your dogs is one your responsibility. While the government has laid out rules and regulations in keeping pets in your HDB flat. These rules are imposed to avoid any harm to humans and property from dogs.
So having pets in the home they have to follow some sets of rules and regulations to avoid fines and hard punishment of taking away a dog from you. If you are looking to keep a dog in HDB flat then it comes with a lot of rules from importing a dog in the country to making sure that they remain healthy while taking them out in public. It is a hassle to have ownership of a dog but it is not a difficult problem if you are fulfilling the rules in the flat and private premises. Some basic rule regarding ownership of dog in HDB flat has been discussed:
1. Breed of the dog
HDB is an authority in Singapore for maintaining proper housing management in society so they put certain restrictions while having pets in the house. They do not allow larger dog breeds in the home. For maintaining a pleasant living environment in the society they do not allow big breed of dog in HDB flat. You can keep one dog in your flat from a scheduled list of breeds. For keeping the dog from the scheduled breed in your home you have to obtain a license from Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA). Once you have licensed those breeds then you can bring your dog in your flat. Averting the licensing may be charged a fine of up to $4,000.
2. ‘Singapore Special’ breed
As per the norms of HDB flat, there is a restriction of one small breed dog in a flat so it is difficult to have long breed dogs in the flat including the ‘Singapore Special’ breed. Though they are no longer breed dogs they are longer than small breed dogs and do not fit in AVA and HDB regulations. But under the initiative ADORE ( Adoption and Rehoming) of a dog it is possible to keep Singapore Special dog in HDB flat if it is up to the 55 cm height with no restriction on weight.
3. Abandoning of dog
You can not abandon your dog in a locality. If your dog went missing then you should do sufficient effort to find it and may report to HDB and AVA if they remain unfounded. If you found guilty of abandoning your dog then you may be charged with $10,000 or up to 12 months of prison as a first-time offender, while a repeated offender may be charged a fine of $20,000 or 2 years of prison.
4. Cruelty on dogs
You should not kick, torture, or be cruel to the dog. You should not confine them alone in a smaller space of corridor or balcony. If you find guilty of dog cruelty then you can be charged a fine of $15,000 or prison up to 18 months. For the subsequent offenders, it is a fine of $30,000 and 3 years of prison.
Apart from these sets of rules as a pet owner, you should ensure that your dog does not damage any livestock of the society and public garden. It is your responsibility to clean public roads if your dog poop in an open public area. We can help you with potty training your dog even from a puppy with our potty training board and train package.
In addition to above, you should not make your dog bathe and wash in the public area or near the natural water reservoir. You should vaccinate them timely to avoid sickness in your dog and to mitigate their effect on others. You should not prompt your dog to threaten or bark at other people.
Conclusion
Rules are imposed to avoid harm to our neighbors and our dogs. As pet owners, we should be responsible in keeping our pets safe at home and at the same time be a good neighbor. Dog obedience training can help in maintaining order at home at the same time avoid nuisance to next door flats.
