Earlier this week, I showed a home to a buyer who wasn’t at all crazy about dogs. When I made the appointment, the call center quite casually told me, "A dog named Lucy will be there.  She always hides under the table so she won’t be any trouble."

I was wary.  I know the cutest dogs in the world can be just plain nasty when they are protecting their homes.  Even if it’s a big slobbering furball of love when the seller is around, their personalities can drastically change in the absence of the homeowner.  And honestly, when they bark at strangers - especially strangers who have walked into THEIR house with the homeowner gone - they are doing their jobs to protect that home.

Let me tell you, Lucy was NOT pleased that we were there.  She snarled, growled, barked, and ran in circles.  She was angry.  She was terrified.  My buyer and I did not stay around very long, not just because the place didn’t meet her needs but also because we wanted to spare Lucy the chihuahua from more stress.

Texas Realtor Raylene Lewis shared a similar experience about a home search with buyers. 

There was no way that we could all three make it out the gate before the dog caught up with us, and I knew better than to run from a strange dog. So while Jack and Jill ran for safety, I stopped dead in my tracks and said "Hey, boy!! Where is your Ball? Go get Your Ball!!" Luckily the dog was friendly, so while he ran to find a toy, I ran to the back door continuing with my mission to try to open it and get my clients inside the home. No, luck.

Remember sellers and listing agents:  If you have an animal at home, take every precaution to move your friendly mutt out of harm’s way (for both the dog and the people visiting your home).  This is such an important detail that so often gets overlooked.