SELLING A HOUSE WITH A MESSY DOODLE

[Debbie and Thomas]

We are putting our house on the market in 1 week. I am working madly everyday at de cluttering this place and organizing each room. However, what will I do with the doodle? He is 7 1/2 mths old and frankly, he makes a mess. I know I could clean up every morning and make the dark hardwood floors look pristine, then clean the dog drool off the patio doors, the coffee table etc, pick up his toys and bones, clean up the water he has spilled in the kitchen. Then I could run outside and retreive the underwear he finds and takes out to our backyard every morning, PLUS pick up the huge droppings he leaves. Of course he will follow me outside, and because I have reseeded amost the entire backyard because of his urine spots, he will come in with muddy feet and leave dirty footprints all over again. Then there is the vacuum cleaner-he thinks this is the best game ever!! I have to put him outside to do this properly. Then he brings in more mud. Did I mention that we think he is well trained??? Our agent has suggested afternoon and evening appts only with 24 hrs notice so we can remove ourselves and the dog before viewers come by. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Adina P]

Congratulations...that was pretty fast considering how slow many other places are selling!

[Debbie and Thomas]

Thks Adina. Actually-the market is strong here in TO. Many houses are selling for over asking price in only a few days. I think it is because there is not much up for sale right now. We are just thankful it is over-we can hang out in our house without having to herd Thomas out to the car at any given moment.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Congrats! It is always nice when that sold sign goes up and you can relax a bit again.

[Debbie and Thomas]

Thanks-Relax-what is that???

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

That is when you get to leisurely take care of the kids, clean the house, sort and junk out stuff, cook food, prepare lunches, take the kids to recreational activities, take some stuff to the Salvation Army, do laundry, have a garage sale, bake cupcakes for the class party, pack alll the unnescessary things, rush to the dentists, do some work on the computer, run to the bank to sign papers, unclog the toilet, pick up dog poop, take a ride in the realtor's car, take the van to the car wash, take the kids to the Dr. (what is that rash?), go to the lawyers office, go grocery shopping, pick out blinds for the new place....you know..."relax"

[Linda,Yankee & Finn]

ROFL!

[Debbie and Thomas]

Is that all?? Girl, you nailed it ! Thks for the laughter-I needed it.

[Janie]

LOL! It feels good to laugh.

[nonnie browne]

LOL!!! Debbie, we just put our home on the market last week too, and my dood Buddy is exactly the same age as yours. You made me laugh so hard this morning, because I have the same issues, albeit no mud. I moved his giant bucket 'o' toys into a spare bedroom closet (he was at the groomer and did not see me do it) and he found them. Now I think he actually enjoys the treasure hunt of running off to that bedroom, digging through the toys and leaving a trail from there to the family room. He is not a slobbery dog, so I dont have those issues. He does leave "nose prints" on all the windows and I am constantly running about with windex. My wood floors get cleaned once a week and I feed him on a rug/mat in the laundry room, so that does seem to help with floor mess in general. This morning, he pooped on my driveway, what a goober. I scoop the yard every few days anyway but seriously, was that necessary? I took the gates down that I had in my kitchen hearth area so he has free run of the house and is constantly disappearing....to do what? I dont always know but havent found any trouble .....yet.

So far I have always gotten notice for showings and I have been able to take Buddy out with me. I do have a giant dog crate in my bedroom which is a bit unsighltly, but I am not taking that down every day. I'm not sure how he would react if I couldnt get him out of the house for a showing. Fortunately, he is not s melly dog and I have him clipped short for summer. Good luck to both of us!

[Debbie and Thomas]

We had so many showings in such a short period of time-with plenty of notice-but there were days when we had to leave the house and stay away until 8 pm. We had mud because in prep for listing the house, we put down top soil and seed on all of the dead spots on our grass(caused be a winter of puppy pee). Thank goodness it sold quickly. I was afraid to leave him home alone with people viewing the house-he would have probably licked them to death. Plus I was worried that they might let him get out the front door and who knows what could happen. It is hard enough trying to sell a house but having a dog is double trouble. We survived this just fine and the doodle enjoyed himself coming out with mom all of the time. Now he expects this everyday though. He waits for me at the front door with his leash in his mouth!! Smart doodle.

[Debbie and Thomas]

Awe-your Buddy is so cute! Hope your house sells as fast as ours did. The RE market here has never really slowed down-even with a recession so we are lucky that we sold in a week for full asking price. The hardest part wasn't really keeping the place clean-it was staying away from the house with the doodle when we had 5 showings a day-some up until 8 pm. But we were given plenty of notice so it all worked out. Good luck to you and Buddy. BTW-my late dog passed away Oct 15th/08 after a sudden illness. He was the light of our lives and we miss him terribly. His name was "BUDDY"=so your little Buddy is dear to my heart.