What To Do With Pets When Showing Your Home

While you are in the midst of selling your home, it may feel like your life is chaotic. You want the whole transaction to go as smoothly as possible, After all, you don’t want to chase off potential buyers. So while in the process of selling your home, you should figure out what to do with your dog during a house showing.

Friends

A friend or neighbor’s home would be a great option if available and possibly the most convenient. It would also be good for your dog to be around people they know, creating less stress during a stressful time.

Garage

You can put your dog in the garage and then attach a sign to all garage access points that says “dog in garage.” This is a simple and quick fix if you have a garage and no other available options.

Backyard

If you are able, keeping your dog in the backyard can work. You can use a tie-out or leave your dog running loose, depending on your situation and if you have fenced areas. If they are loose, I would recommend leaving a sign on the fence or to the door going to your backyard. This way there are no accidents.

With You

Everybody loves a car ride, well, dogs maybe a little more so, but that’s why it is a perfect solution. If you need to, having your dog leave with you during a showing would be great! Take them for a ride, take care of a few errands, and by the time you are done, they should be as well.

Kennel/Crate

A crate is also a great way to keep your dog from running the home while you have potential buyers walking through the house. It’s also something you may already have at home and don’t need to worry about running out and buying one. If you decide to use a crate, keep it in a location where there is apt to be less foot traffic, like your bedroom, beside the bed. This will help keep your dog from being overly excitable and as far away from your realtor and potential buyer as possible.

Boarding

If you have no other options, having a local pet boarder take your pet for a couple of hours could be just the solution you need. You can usually discuss your situation with the pet boarder, and they can work with you. A few hours will be much cheaper than a long term stay. This could be a good option for a longer showing such as an open house, or if you are having multiple showings in one day.

Many of these ideas can work for dogs and other pets. If you have larger livestock, you may need to do further research and keep up communication with your real estate agent so that potential buyers ate aware of what to expect at their showing.

When you're ready to sell your  Plano, Allen and McKinney real estate or  home, contact us today.  To get a better idea of what has sold in our MLS, take a look at the most recently SOLD properties in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.