Hi Kristina. We didn’t have much trouble, but we had a few things going for us. My wife and I are American, and I think that helped us a bit (my Portugese or Russian friends had a harder time). I worked for CCP, which is a well known business (and until recently was pretty well respected). Also, we were willing to spend over 200k ISK, which meant there was less competition (and we certainly overpaid for our first apartment). Our dog is small (10kg Boston Terrier).

Often to keep a dog, you need approval from something like 3/5 of all the tenants in the building.
In a small building this is usually not a big deal, in a larger building it is too much of a hassle, so dogs are categorically not allowed. I think this is due more to hassle and not people’s opinions of dogs. This certainly limits your options.

Also the rental market was brutal when I left. Far too much demand. Finding a good apartment was difficult by any measure. It is more difficult with a pet.

As for Icelanders and dogs, there are lots of stories about the Icelandic opinion of dogs, but I found it largely obsolete- perhaps for the older generation. Older people would often cross the road rather than walk next to our dog! And I think it is just common decency to keep your dog on a leash, but we often saw dogs walking without a leash, or leashed up outside a store. In both of our apartments, many neighbors had dogs. It’s a really common thing, both in the city now because its fashionable, and in the country where they are (and have always been) useful. There’s even a “dog parade” once (or twice?) a year!

Reykjavik certainly isn’t as dog-friendly a city as, say, Austin, TX where I lived before (I wouldn’t bring your dog to the restaurant and sit on the patio as you would there!), but the Icelandic dog-phobia didn’t exist in my experience.

Good luck and feel free to comment if you have any more questions! There’s also a great group on Facebook- Away From Home, Living in Iceland- that you should join if you’re not a part of already.

Hi Katerina. They do care about the dogs, but the environment is sterile. They try to play with them some every day, but the dogs can’t play together. Overall it is pretty dreary, but the people taking care of them do love animals and want to make things as good as possible under difficult conditions. That was my take on it at least. Hope that helps!