Why don't people take the dog out when they have a house viewing?

[RingFence]

It's really off putting! I hate walking viewing a house with a strange dog sniffing my ankles. Or jumping up at toddler DD, who gets scared and then has to be carried. Or yapping and snarling from the kitchen because I've asked the owner to shut it away.

Viewed one recently where the owner hadn't even bothered to pick up a dog poo in the garden. Toddler DD stepped in it We didn't notice until she left a trail of dog poo indoors. Owner tutted because of the floor, but I was so angry at the thought of having to clean dog poo off her shoes, having the smell in the car, disinfect them at home etc I just thought 'serve you right'. Why on earth would you not pick up after your dog when you're trying to sell your house??

Then there are the owners who say 'I'll just keep him in the living room' and sit holding the straining/growling/whimpering dog by its collar, so you have to rush that bit of the viewing.

We saw one house where the dog was in the garden, barking and growling. Owner said 'he's all right with people but he might jump up. Do you want to go in?' We declined and ruled out that house.

Why don't people take the dog out for a walk or get a friend/relative/neighbour to look after it for the half an hour it takes to view? We always book a time days in advance so it's not like it's short notice.

How many houses have you bought/sold?

I’ve viewed around 15 properties, although not bought or sold one. I’ve just always thought it was standard that people left the viewing to the agents but I think I rather like the idea of it being the owners! EAs are not my favourite people (sorry to any EAs on here!)

We viewed a house with three dogs, one large lab and two yappy type, all following us around, jumping up and barking. The children (1 and 3) were scared but we picked them up and wandered around doing our best to ignore the dogs.
The house stank, the carpets and curtains were 50% dog hair and as an asthmatic with a severe dog allergy I felt utterly crap the whole time.
So, we bought the house, threw out the carpets and curtains, filled a black bin liner half full of dog shit from the garden (no exaggeration) before our children could set foot in it.
The house had been on the market for ages, I'm sure that the dogs were a large part of that but we knocked them down massively.
You are always told to look past the décor and furnishings - sometimes you just have look past the yappy furball humping your leg.

We’ve just sold our house and the rule was every time there was a viewing, our dogs were away from the house. That was the easiest way for us to sell a house as it comes across as “neutral”.

WutheringFrights appart from the fact the dogs were badly behaved, the problem you describe there is one of cleanliness, not dogs per-say. The previous owners of the house we now live in were disgusting - no pets at all but they had a baby (shocking considering the state the house was in) and left piles of stinking nappies everywhere. The house hadn't been cleaned in many months, possibly years, bathrooms disgusting. It didn't put us off as we knew we would gut it when we moved in, but it had been on the market for a while as a lot of people can't see past that sort of thing. Two years on and the house is spotless...even though we have a dog!

Equally though why would you take your toddler to house viewings?
The house is theirs and they have a dog. You can decide whether you like the house whether the dog is there or not. Seems like you have a problem because a) you don't like dogs and b) you are taking your toddler who isn't used to being around dogs. Maybe just don't take your toddler and deal with it like everyone else does. Problem solved.

Our house is about to go on the market. I absolutely don't want toddlers wandering around my house. It isn't toddler friendly - lots of nice things at just the right level to be picked up and broken. Equally, the dog isn't here all the time but when he is he stays. It's my house until someone else pays for it.

Probably their dog is there for sane reason your toddler is - no valid alternative.

You are obviously pretty angry about it but you don’t actually have to keep viewing a house if you don’t want to? And you certainly don’t have to buy it! There aren’t rules about these things, however sloppy some things might seem (and I do agree the poo thing is unpleasant).

We have a dog and he’ll be offside when we are selling as I know it’ll probably help - even though I love him I don’t expect others to. But to be honest I’ll be doing that to benefit me as I want to sell, not out of express deference to viewers...

*same not sane

Was it just the one poo? Dog might have just gone and owners not have noticed what with the gazillion and one other things that need doing prior to a viewing.

^This

I once got fairly badly bitten by a dog when doing a house viewing. They said he was calm and asked if it was ok so I agreed, about 3 minutes later it jumped up and bit my arm.

why are you taking a toddler on a house viewing? (maybe i am just jaded because someone did that then said toddler manged to damage things in my house as as it was a toddler i had no recourse on said parent of toddler the sod did £2000 of damage)

Because toddler will be living there too. She has an opinion and it's good to involve them in choosing a house. She's always under close control, not allowed to run off or touch things.
How did a visiting toddler do 2k of damage? Was it not covered by insurance?

toddler will be living there too. She has an opinion and it's good to involve them in choosing a house. Really??? I tried to avoid taking mine (wasn't always possible) because the last thing I wanted was them getting too involved and then potentially disappointed. I would allow a toddler no say whatsoever in the enormous decision of buying a house.

How did a visiting toddler do 2k of damage? Was it not covered by insurance? Why should someone have to go to the bother and expense of making an insurance claim because someone else's child causes damage and they have the CFery not to pay for it!

You have very strident views about dogs and seem unable to comprehend that some people feel the same way about toddlers.

We viewed a house with 2 enormous dogs who were jumping and drooling all over us. The owner was trying to control then and saying "don't worry they're very friendly".

I'm not comfortable with animals jumping on me -aware some mumsnetters might think me weird but it's an invasion of my personal space and it makes me nervous.

We viewed another house with dog poo all over the garden. We would have seen past it had either property suited but it made for unpleasant viewing.

I have 4 kids and I get that there are plenty of people out there who don't feel comfortable around kids. I don't allow my children to invade their personal space and if I were trying to sell the house there's no way I'd have the kids in the house- I'd pity the poor viewer who had to see past my feral lot

My dog would give you a tail wag as a hello, and then ignore you for the rest of the visit. Where's the problem in that?

The problem is the viewer doesn't know your dog is friendly. I keep a close eye on dogs around my toddler, as all owners say they're soft/won't hurt you. It only takes seconds for a dog to cause serious injury to a toddler. I can't focus on the house when I'm watching the dog. Once DD's seen the dog she wants to be carried, which is tiring and makes it hard to look around.

Lots of adults are nervous of dogs too and wouldn't appreciate being sniffed by a dog on arrival.

Most of our viewings are with estate agents, but the owner's present too (usually sitting in the lounge while the agent does the tour). It's great when the owner's out, you feel you can look around properly without disturbing them!

I would allow a toddler no say whatsoever in the enormous decision of buying a house

That's a shame. Ours always has an opinion on the houses, which would be her room etc. It's the house she'll grow up in so her liking it is important to us.

Why should someone have to go to the bother and expense of making an insurance claim because someone else's child causes damage and they have the CFery not to pay for it!

It sounds like accidental damage though. What if an adult viewer tripped and bumped the TV, causing it to fall? Or knocked over a valuable vase? You would claim on your insurance, no? Or would you charge the viewer 2k to save you the hassle?
It's a very grey area. The toddler should have been prevented from picking up the ornament but it's also a bit silly to leave a heavy ornament on a low table if you have people viewing, as many will bring small children. We always move ornaments or anything breakable.

You have very strident views about dogs and seem unable to comprehend that some people feel the same way about toddlers

A human child is part of the family in a way a dog is not. You can dislike toddlers on viewings but you can't ban them. Lots of people view houses with their kids in tow but nobody brings their pets to a viewing.

I wouldn't have taken mine as toddlers to a house viewing because I would want to concentrate.
But I certainly wouldn't be asking their opinion, they wouldn't have understood anyway at toddler age. if it was the perfect house in every way but the toddler didn't like it then tough.

I had to sell a house about 10 years ago that I was living in (family house) alone and working full-time. At the last minute, as it was going on the market, I had to bring my Greek dog to the UK to live with me unexpectedly. I realised most of the viewers would not like to view the house with a dog in it and, fortunately, it was summer and the dog was used to being an outside dog, so I had to tie her up on a long line on one side of the garden (note to doglovers - the dogwalker came and took her out in the middle of the day so I wasn't being a bad dog owner). This way, the agents could bring people round. They would have been able to see the garden without the dog being able to come over to them but I expect some were put off because it was an orthodox Jewish area and most of the viewers were of that religion and are not usually keen pet owners. Due to national economic circumstances (credit crash) the several offers I had were suddenly withdrawn and I was forced to take it off the market in the autumn simply so the dog could stay in the warm house during the day again. Managed to sell it the following summer.

Yanbu. I have an indoor cat and we put him the car for viewings. We have an open house and will have to be out the whole day, it's just what you do for viewings.

Because the house is still theirs and the dog lives there? What is it about dogs face provokes mass hysteria on this website?

that *

We sold our house last year and removed any trace of our dog being a resident every time someone came round. His three (!) beds, toys and dishes were put the car along with him.

My teenage DD and I headed out in the car and left the buyer with DH who gave them a brief tour, then left them to it. It's how we would want to view, so we always make sure people are given space to explore alone.

If an adult broke it even if was an accident you can legally claim aganst them but its not the case with children and i did not think a child would stright to the coffe table pick up a fruit bowl and chuck it at a tv......

That sounds like the sensible approach Hiding.

I remember Ann Maurice from House Doctor many years ago, she removed all the clutter/personal stuff, painted all the walls magnolia, but always insisted any trace of pets was gone when the house viewings took place to get the best chance of a sale.

Run stright*