The pet culture in Italy

I can only really speak for Milan but, here, dogs are everywhere although a lot of people have cats too.
There are dog areas, where they can be let off the lead almost everywhere and the council provide free bags for disposing of dog poo.  Pet stores are also everywhere with the normal choice for food and accessories.  There are kennels on the outskirts of Milan for leaving your dog if you need - your local pet shop will tell you.  The same for pet grooming although a lot of these are in town.  There seems to be a lot of vets around too.
I think it's the law here that a landlord cannot refuse pets (cats and dogs, at least) - but if it's a dog that barks a lot then you'll get hassle from the neighbours, for sure.
People here spend a lot of money on their pets, in my opinion.

When we moved to Umbria we discovered that there are several classification of pet.

Initially, we were concerned about the hunting dogs that are often kept away from the home in kennels often on allotments/orte in the countryside as the dogs bark a lot! They are fed once a day and trained in the spring/autumn to hunt with the hunting season begining on 1st September and ends on 1st March they spend the rest of the year in the kennels. It sounds cruel but the dogs are cherished and highly valued so are treated well despite our misgivings. The house dogs are mostly small (and generally spoilt rotten) types and welcomed in cafe's bars and most restaurants even some shops, it depends where you live. It is mandatory that you pick up your dog's mess even if the people throw their litter out of car windows regardless.

We were told cats had a sad life in Italy and yet we see small houses and food bowls in doorways of supermarkets, shops, and bars. We have several vets in our area who specialize in small animals  and they are especially kind towards cats and there is a national charity that allows free neutering to try to contain the feral situation. Feline HIV is rampant but rabies is not here in Umbria.

Larger pets, horses in particular, are also abundant as horse riding, trekking, dressage and competing are enjoyed by many, with stabling, fields to rent and equipment readily available to buy. Early in the year there is a church service to bless all pets, the smaller ones in town, cats, dogs, and goldfish, horses, hounds, lamas, donkeys, etc in the church in the countryside. They all used to be blessed in town but the chaos was just too much a times as you can well imagine!

Summing up pets are welcome, well catered for and loved, almost as much as children here, so worry not and bring them with you.

People in Italy love their pets!! Especially dogs. They are welcome almost everywhere. In most restaurants(sitting quietly under the table and in stores(except grocery stores.) A few issues, the dog parks are usually not clean and the dogs are usually not fixed so if you have a dog in heat be mindful. We take our German Shepard to Italy every year for 6 months and she is very happy. The vets are wonderful as well. Hawaii Girl

For Rome, people love dogs and I see lots of people walking with their dogs around. They have access to almost every venues.

You cannot see cats everywhere, most of them kept in the houses.

People respect animals, no doubt.

The only and big problem is that they don't collect feces. It causes health problems.

My experience is that Italy is very dog friendly. I see them everywhere, bars, restaurants, walking in the town and countryside. I am a dog owner myself and plan to bring my dogs to Italy to live with me here imminently. The fact that Italians love dogs makes it so much easier.

Dear Priscilla,
I'm so sorry to shatter the idyllic views presented so far. I am pretty sure that in most areas in the North of Italy such as Milan, where people are more civilised, pets are well looked after.
Unfortunately, in the south, there are still lots of dogs kept chained (especially in the countryside) or left totally on their own outside the property or on the roof terrace, in all kinds of weather. The constant barking is mostly due to their loneliness and in many cases fear. Dogs are social animals that live in packs (canine or human) and are not meant to be used as cheap alarm systems, at least not in the 21st century.
Stray dogs and cats are everywhere, many of them abandoned by their owners on roads or in country roads. For any animal lover is a horrible situation to witness day in and day out, with many local authorities doing absolutely nothing to prevent the issue although the law is clear about sterilization.
Sterilization of private dogs is a legal requirement vastly ignored by the majority of their owners, contributing to dogs pregnancies (the puppies are usually killed or abandoned) and dogs, especially males, running away during the heat...
Sorry for the bleak view but being an animal activist I see too often a lot of ignorance and cruelty instead.

I moved to Southern Italy from California with two suitcases and a dog.  I was not going to leave my dog.

First, Italy does not quarantine.  When I arrived in Italy, I had no problem getting through customs with my dog. (While  going back to the states with my dog was a whole different story.)

I Never had a problem renting an apartment with my dog, and never had to pay a dog deposit as they require in the US. Restaurants allowed my dog also without any problem as long as he sat under the table. 

What was most interesting  is that Italians had no obvious fear of dogs,  whereas, in the United States  i’ve come across so many people who claim to be allergic to dogs, or are afraid of dogs, and show their fear, which is the worst thing ever do in front of an animal. 

Even  though I lived in a small town, 70,000 population, there were plenty of veterinarians, dog groomers, dog specialty stores, and dog food sold at supermarkets. In fact, I found it was as easy for me to have a dog in southern Italy as California. 

Here is the big problem, however: they do not spay and neuter in the south. I had one friend tell me she’s never heard of such a thing. Consequently, there are a lot of homeless dogs.  So if you’re the kind of person who gets upset by that then I do not recommend living in southern Italy anyway. It’s just not something the southern Italians are concerned with, at least not like in the US.

I totally agree with Eileen’scomments above.  A lot of great things about dogs in Italy, but as she says in Southern Italy, and Sicily where I live, the number of people who just abandon their dogs when they go on holiday, or when they get tired of them is way too high.  Italians love their dogs, but also do not seem to be bothered by all the strays.  I now hate taking a drive in the country because so many Ava domed dogs on the roads.  It has not really gotten to me, along with all the trash everywhere, so I will be leaving g to go live in Tuscany.  It will not be perfect regarding dogs, but much better than here.  So bri g your dog,  but think carefully about where in Italy you will live and how you would feel about some of the things mentioned in this post.  Best of luck.

Hi

we are looking into moving to italy we are a family of 4 with 2 dogs 2 cats, we currently live in the uk and run a dog walking business

would this be something that could happen over in italy? 

ive read a few post on the stray dogs whats made me pretty sad il probably want to rescue them all

we was looking at a plcae in pescara with a little bit of land but its more countryside so Is this were stray dogs would be found a lot more?

thanks emma