How dog friendly is Singapore?

[brasileira]

Are dogs generally accepted in society and public places like parks and beaches? Is it easy to find an apartment that allows dogs and other pets? Is it easy to take my dog for proper walks in most part of the city?

[Jann]

Yes, Singapore is quite a friendly city for dogs. Most public places (including parks and beaches) allow dogs but the dogs will need to be on leash. Dogs are allowed in some restaurants. Usually you will be seated in the out door area.

Transportation will be a bit more challenging as dogs are not allowed on public transport. Having said that, some cab drivers are happy to transport dogs and you can do advance booking with those cab drivers.

As for apartments, it really depends on the landlords and the dog breed. Most apartments allow dogs with height less than 40cm at the shoulders and weighs less than 10kg. For larger dogs, you will probably need to look for private condominiums that do not have such restrictions.

[Nicholas_Koh1]

Hello Bianca! I'm a Singaporean with two adopted shelter dogs and I'd like to say that dogs are somewhat accepted here in Singapore.

We have dedicated dog runs (where your dogs can go off-leash in an enclosed space outdoors), and are certainly allowed on beaches here (leashed, unfortunately). As for renting apartments that accept dogs, that might be slightly harder to find as most landlords are quite picky, but with a good housing agent, he/she will be able to narrow down the options for you. It's not impossible! Just factor a little more time into your search.

As for bringing your dogs to the city (or suburbs), you'll have no issues there as long as they're leashed. Pets are not allowed on public transportation (bus/trains) but you can arrange for local taxis (Uber/Grab) for this - just make sure you've confirmed your situation with the driver.

Do let us know if you have additional questions! Welcome to Singapore in advance by the way!

Nick

[Dmitry_Klimkin]

Yeah, there're lots of dogs around. And it's not terribly hard to find HDB or Condo where landlord doesn't mind about having a pet but sometimes they explicitly mention that they don't allow this. There lots of green spots all around in parks and on sidewalks. But you always require to clean up after your pet otherwise you might get a huge fine.

[Fei_Yao]

Super friendly! I see dogs being walked daily in my neighbourhood and regularly at cafes. The previous tenant of my flat (in a condo) had 2 big huskies at home as well.

[KPW]

Hi Bianca,

You may find the information here useful.

https://www.contactsingapore.sg/en/professionals/why-singapore/lifestyle/pets

[Annabel_Jador]

While Singapore has a level of tolerance to dogs, in public places, it has a ways to go to really become dog friendly. Dining outside some restaurants, with your dog, while a nice experience won't be so nice If it starts to rain. Dogs are not allowed on public transport, while in some European countries you can buy a ticket for them to travel on buses and trains with you. The main thing that really speaks volumes is the discrimination against certain breeds of dogs. I currently live in Australia. While I would love to bring my dogs into Singapore for a visit, I can't as I know they will be destroyed, indiscriminately. So how dog friendly? To a certain extent, within limitations. Australia is not as dog friendly as I would like, when compared to France and Germany, but it is more dog friendly. We have restaurants that exclusively cater to dogs.