Current owners of house we like have a dog

[Househunter]

This is my first post on Mumsnet and I hoping that you wise ladies can give me some practical advice. I'm looking to buy a house and need to find something quickly as I've got a mortgage I can port if we move in the next 4 months. We've found a house we do like but the current owner has a dog. I am extremely allergic to dogs and it looks like my daughter may be developing similar problems so we would need to replace all the carpets at least.

The other problem is that the garden was full of dog turds and I'm aware these are a health hazard. Would merely picking them up make the area safe or would the lawn need to be 'disinfected' somehow? (This question has just become even more pertinent as I've just been outside and found that some irresponsible person has allowed their dog to foul the front lawn of our rented house). Feel sick now!

Thanks for any advice.

Just picking them up should suffice. The rain will wash the grass.

Oh and you shouldn't need to replace all the carpets. Just hoover thoroughly and hire a carpet cleaner.

Make it a condition that the owners clear away the dog mess. I can't believe they would just leave it.

Get the carpets professionally cleaned.

Get them to clean up the garden.

I agree with Nabster - it should be part of the contract that all trace of dog detritus is removed.

Carpets - depends on how old/new they are - if they're old(ish), make them take them out as part of the contract too and get the floors cleaned. It's not worth the suffering.

Can't believe that people would show (presumably) family house - or any really - with dog turds all over garden .

The inside of the house was really well presented and the garden was neat so we were surprised about the mess! Thanks for idea of getting the clean-up put in contract.

Am reminded that parents in law went to see a house a few years ago where the smell of dogs brought water to their eyes (and bile to their throats) and MIL thought that the walls had a strange hessian-type paper up to dado rail. Yup, it was matted dog hair .

Cleaning the carpets may not be enough. The previous owners of our house had the carpets cleaned but it did not remove the stench of cats we had to rip them all up.

I would replace the carpet in your bedroom and DD. And lounge. Clean the rest.

I'm allergic to dog hair, and we moved into a house that had previously had a dog. The carpets looked spotless when we moved in (and there was no dog smell), but even after shampooing them, my eyes were constantly streaming and my throat was itchy.

We ended up getting replacing all the carpets withing six months of moving in.

I dont know about dogs but it takes 18 months for a house to be completely free from cats. However, I would imagine that you would be able to get rid of a significant majority by having the whole house including carpets professionally cleaned/shampooed.

Can't believe (as a dog owner) that they wouldn't clear up the turds before potential buyers looked round.

Rain will remove any traces once the turds have been cleared up. I'd make clearing them up a condition of sale too. IMagine how many there might be otherwise by the time you complete!

I don't know how dog smell compares to cat smell. The people we bought this house from had a cat and we couldn't get rid of the cat smell from one area of the sitting room (tried professional carpet cleaning). It only went once we removed the carpet.