s/o selling a house: pets

[stingsharkruns]

We have 2 dogs - I have read on various websites that completely removing pets from the house is ideal.

If you've sold a house and had dogs, what did you do w/ them?

I can't board them, or send them to a family member for an undetermined amount of time.

Did your realtor give you enough notice to get home and get your animals?

We crate them during the day so if someone came in while we aren't home they would bark uncontrollably but they wouldn't be jumping up.

We have an apartment in our garage so we have talked about putting them in their, but they would still be barking when the apartment is shown.

[arch01]

We couldn't keep our dog home in a crate because he'd be barking as well. Each time we had a showing, either myself or DH would go home, remove him (and turn on lights/music) and drive to a park and get him some exercise. It was a giant PITA, but it was our only option.

We had in our listing though for realtors that there was a dog and we needed 6 hours notice. If it was less than that, it was at our discretion.

[aliciar6]

we are dealing with this now, though to add to the complication, we have a renter with a dog and we live 45 minutes away.

normally when i was house hunting, the agents prefered the sellers be away so have your realtor or who ever call you with enough notice so you and the dog can go for a car ride or walk.

we have to arrange the time with the renter and if they are there we don't mind but he will keep the dog on a lease with him. the dog does still bark though. but since i know the house best, i would prefer to be there when they are going through it so i can answer any questions they may have.

[vegas]

Oct 9, 2012 12:30:41 GMT -5 arch01 said:

We couldn't keep our dog home in a crate because he'd be barking as well. Each time we had a showing, either myself or DH would go home, remove him (and turn on lights/music) and drive to a park and get him some exercise. It was a giant PITA, but it was our only option.

We had in our listing though for realtors that there was a dog and we needed 6 hours notice. If it was less than that, it was at our discretion.

This is exactly what we did. For several months I was home on maternity leave so that made it easier, but when I went back to work and had to come home to take out the dog it was quite a pain. Our house took a year to sell so it was a huge pain, but I had to do it.

[kellbell191]

dog daycare? I think when it comes to sell we're just going to have to pay for them to go to daycare if they want to see the house while we're at work.

[sjh722]

We generally had 12- 24 hours notice for showings. I just took our dog for a ride in the car while the house was being shown. (I have flexible hours, though, so that makes it easier.)

Most of my clients with dogs just request 12-24 hours notice and make arrangements to leave their dog at doggy daycare or with a relative or friend for the day. Is that an option?

I have shown houses where the dogs are crated, but it can be a little distracting. (And some people are put off by inside pets.)

[iheartbanjos]

We kept our dogs crated in the garage when we had showings. The weather was mild, so we were fortunate to be able to do that.

My parent's sellers agent would come over and walk the dog while there was a showing, so that was nice, however they sold their house in 2006 and it sold within a month.

[bunch]

I take him out with me. Only once have I not had notice the day before a showing.

[drloretta]

When we looked at our last house, a dog was crated in the laundry room. No big deal.

We have cats. We leave them there.

[tripleshot]

We sold our house in February and have 2 yorkies. For evening showings, we took them in the car with us when we left for the showing. Others, we sent them to doggie daycare for the day. Thankfully it sold in 3 weeks so we didn't have too much hassle.

[dawnyp]

We used doggy day care for the dog. If there were showings in the evening we would take her out for a walk. She would have barked uncontrollably even in a crate.

The cats were left at the condo with a note that cats were in the house.

[starlily]

At the showings I've been to, any dogs were either in the garage or yard, with a sign posted to please not open those doors. Well, all but one showing where H opened a garage door (no sign) & was surprised by a previously silent ankle-biter.

[rizzo]

We recently sold our home and we have a dog. Our dog is not crated at all, he hates them. We did not leave the lockbox on our door, viewings were appointment only. It took a little longer to sell than others in the community, and I think it was because it was appointment only.

ETA: Since H was out of country for work. I would have to schedule appointments after work or weekends for showings. I would leave the house and take our dog for a long walk until they were finished.

[lb2006]

We sold our house last October & have two large(r) breed dogs. We often only had an hour heads-up for the showing, so they were usually crated. We forewarned the agent via the showing scheduler that they would bark.

When a couple scheduled a 2nd showing & we were told it was to most likely make an offer, we took them to daycare for the day. We wanted it to be as peaceful as possible for them to decide to buy our house

Good luck!

[Deleted]

When we were house hunting, I think there were a couple of dogs crated in garages. Cats were shut in a laundry or other small room.

I've often wondered this myself for when we sell our house. Similar to the OP we don't really have the option of boarding or dropping at a family member's house (no family and we don't board). Daycare is out of the question too since they have never been and one of my dogs doesn't get along with other animals and is very sensitive. I assume we'll "go for a ride" and hope that buyers only come to look on evenings/weekends when we're available to do that. Sounds like a PITA!

[stingsharkruns]

Thanks! I don't think daycare would be a good option.. Neither dog has spent much time with any other dogs - and when we've tried to introduce them to other dogs they both get aggressive ...

I guess we will stress to our realtor that we need at least 2 hours notice - My work schedule is very flexible and I can leave when needed.

I also read about houses smelling like dogs - I don't think it smells.. but i guess that doesn't mean other people won't. I'm hoping that moving them to the apartment/garage will keep the dog smell down.

And to whoever sold their house in 3 weeks! WOW!