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Showing In The Dog House

We've all seen the showing instructions on the Multiple Listing Service:

"Fido, the family dog, is friendly. He might lick you, but he won't bite."

OK, that's reassuring.

So you and your clients get to the front door and hear the welcoming bark - or is this the bark usually reserved for the mailman? Or burglars? It's hard to tell.

But you're armed with doggy treats, and you know his name, so you turn the key and open the door. And the dog is, indeed, friendly.

He's humping your leg!

"Down, Fido! Stop that! No! We've just met and I don't do that sort of thing on the first date!"

Yikes!

A favorite chapter in The Irreverent Guide to Real Estate is "Your Family Calls Him "Fido"; Your Agent Calls Him "Fang". And it talks about things most agents are uncomfortable discussing with their clients. While a dog, any size, any breed, or any age, can be a huge obstacle to selling your home, a smart agent appreciates the puppy is a beloved family member. If they want the listing, they will want to be very careful about how they communicate to you the challenges of selling with Fido in residence.

Agents, even those who are dog people, are usually reluctant to enter a house where the owners are not home, but the dog is. Your sweet puppy earns his Purina by warding off intruders, and we're right up there with the UPS guy, only worse! We come inside the house!

I've been bitten. She was a tiny little thing that lived in one of my listings, and I thought that dog was my friend. Then out of the blue, she bit my hand, and for a minute I thought I might never play the flute again.

If I ever sell my house, Wilie the hyper-active-Labradoodle-puppy will go live with my sister and her Dog Whisperer boyfriend between the time the sign goes in the ground and the day the home-inspection contingency is removed. I don't want to put the dog or my colleagues and their clients through the distraction - he's so cute they won't pay attention to the house!

Or, he'll hump the buyer's leg, and they won't pay attention to the house.

Posted by Patricia Kennedy on 12/20/2007 08:05 PM

Comments (29)

Pets and Real Estate in the Home Selling Channel

dogs, listing with a dog

Originally posted at: Pat Kennedy - Your Washington, DC Real Estate Connection: Showing In The Dog House

29 Comments on Showing In The Dog House

DEC

2007

funny post. Dogs are definitely a challenge in a listed home. They have a sixth sense too and know something not good is happening.

It is good to make sure that FIDO/FANG is in a safe place! One of my clients recently was bit by a cute little pooch! That doesn't make for a great showing!

What a hoot! It must have been the scent you picked out that morning. :-)

And you're right. I've had other agents absolutely refuse to show the house if there was a dog inside regardless of how "friendly" it's supposed to be. Plus there is the dog...er...aroma as well. No matter how clean you are there is always some client that asks, " Do they have a a dog or something."

It's understandable that pets are part of the family and children surrogates to lots and lots of people. Luckily, unlike children, you can actually send pets somewhere for the time it takes to sell. Or at least for the time you're not there to take Fido for a walk.

An owner never knows how a dog will react when a stranger comes into the house. I love dogs and have a German Shepherd but I would never go into a listing with a dog unless I knew that the dog was secured.

I had a listing once in which the dog would practically take your leg off if you came through the front door, but if you came to the back door he was so friendly he was shameless.

Unsecured doggies can also run outside when you open the door. Imagine the fun of chasing Fido/Fang all over the neighborhood?

I am a huge dog lover, but I totally agree. If you are trying to sell/show a home, they are too big of a distraction, even if they are friendly. The sellers might also consider the liability aspect of it, if Fido is not as friendly when the owners are not home.

As a dogowner I always had the dogs at a neighbors house when someone came to see it.

I had a client last year that was terrified of dogs. She wouldn't get out of the car if she knew a dog was around.

I have 2 listings right now with dogs. One is a dream....she leaves in the morning and drops the dogs off at her moms house to spend the day, making the house available for showings. The other...well, let's just say Cujo has nothing on these dogs and my seller has to leave work and take them out for showings, which is difficult. Needless to say, this house has been on the market for over 10 months now.

Crating a dog that isn't used to being crated is a nightmare as well. I'd rather have my leg humped than listen to a dog cry. (I didn't say that outloud, did I?)

I would not trust my poodles without me being there. That is a huge risk on everyone's part!

DEC

2007

Hi Patricia: I am sorry, but if the owner is not home, I will rarely show a home if Fido is running free inside the home. And Gee, Amanda... you are such a wild woman.

I showed a house over the weekend that had four adult dogs and 22 puppies! It was nuts and was driving me crazy, I was worried that one of the adult dogs was going to get protective of the puppies at any second.

Very challenging situation - I had a client like this - dogs kept scratching up realtor's cars - finally had to dump the client.

Patricia, that was extremely funny. As another poster mentioned, I also have a client who is deathly afraid of all animals: dogs, cats, you name it. Won't go into a listing if they're there. Another precaution I've learned to take is when kids are along for the house hunting trip. I always ask that the pet be removed, no matter how friendly. Great post!

Let's not forget to mention the "nervous dog" here. I once (and only once) showed a property with a darling Cocker Spaniel running helter-skelter all over the house leaving little dribbles of pee in our path.

Pat- Owners just don't get that Fido acts differently when they are not home, and in order to protect all involved, it's better that Fido is not loose in the house. I read somewhere (or it was on "The Dog Whisperer") that the reason dogs continue to bark day after day at the mailman is because in their minds, it is their barking that make him go away. They don't understand the concept of someone delivering something to the house. The mailman arrives, Fido barks his head off, the mailman leaves. An agent with buyers showing up at the house and trying to enter after barking didn't work, gives Fido a new challenge, and you never know what he'll try next to make you go away!!!

Patricia,

Great post...forthright, truthful, and humorous!!! Thanks, Fran

Nancy, even if their humans are moving them to a great place with a huge yard, they think a showing is a home invasion! Not good!

Joan, you're right. We don't want Fido/Fang mauled by the buyers' children. And we don't want him to eat the children either.

And Ken, hey! I invaded the little guy's territory! So it was his job to try to eat my hand!

Stacey, I think we're all reluctant to enter a house with a strange dog. And even a dog we know can go off. A colleague of mine was pinned up against a wall with a gorgeous chow snapping at her neck. Yikes!

Mary, it can really get in the way! Sometimes a house looks better when you come into the living room from the street. But Fang rules!

And Teri, that brings back memories of early in my career chasing a crazy Lab all over the neighborhood with a home inspector who accidentally left the back door open while he was going out back to check the roof.

DEC

2007

I once got a listing because the dog came over and licked my face. The owner's father had been staying with him for a few weeks and the dog wouldn't go near him. They decided if the dog liked me that much, I had to be a good person. Never ignore the dogs! :-)

Karl, you are totally right about the liability issue. I have so many attorney clients, and I'd hate to think about the consequences of a trip to Dr. Dogbite.

John, Dog to neighbors is a pretty easy way to handle it.

Craig, I think a lot of people are afraid of dogs, at least the ones they don't know.

Lisa, when the puppy is channeling Cujo, it's a huge problem. That's the kind of dog that gets thrown out of doggy day care, one option people have.

Amanda, HUGE chuckle!

Gayle, almost any dog can act unpredictably, especially when there are "intruders" in the house that it's his job to guard!

Karen Anne, I didn't used to. Now that I have a dog, it they assure me it's old and toothless, and if I know it's name, I'll go in with dog treats. But I also need to know the agent - if it's someone I know is a dog person and would tell me if there was a problem, I'm more apt to show a place.

And Todd, what did the place smell like? Yikes! The combination of odor and worrying about the dog attacking me or my clients' kid would give me pause. or paws?

Kevin, sounds like that was a good client to dump!

Antoinette, you're so right about pets and children. Both can be a little bit unpredictable, and the combination is scary.

Norma, that's pretty gross, especially if they hit your Manolos.

Elaine, I love that story! The Dog Whisperer is a wise man.

Fran, Thank you, thank you!

And Gregory, I am a shameless suck up when it comes to the dog! And then I give them a copy of my book and point them to the doggy chapter. It's easier than having the conversation, and they totally get it.

Patricia, An agent at my former company was attacked and ended up in the hospital. Crazy things happen.

Merry Christmas!

DEC

2007

HEHE - What Gregory didn't mention was the HUGE dog that chased out of the back yard - because THERE WAS NO PET mentioned in the Listing Instructions. (Lesson learned: Always carry dog treats! You can throw them a bone while you run the other direction!)

Ginger & Roger, it happened to my neighbor. She was pregnant, her husband was out of town, and the dog knocked her down and ate her leg. Her aunt and I were there. I was useless. The aunt (in her late 70s) grabbed the dogs nose, dug in her nails, and got him to let go. I drove her to the emergency room while the aunt dealt with Fang.

James, Yikes! Gregory, gotta mention Fang in the showing instructions - especially if he's the size of a pony! If you let him lick your face, you deserved the listing! And Gregory, you just gave me an idea for a post!

DEC

2007

Patricia-I will never show a home with Fido free in the home when the owner is not home, that is a law suit waiting to happen and I explain that to my sellers. I am sorry, it is just business and for their best interest! Katerina

JAN

2008

Nice post! I very much agree with you said. I will be saving this page to my favorites for sure.

andrei dog house

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