Deer Heart
Well-known member
As I fleetingly mentioned once or twice, I'm planning to move the farm. In the meantime I have to get the house completely presentable to sell. We are going on the market next month but if deals fall through on current places we are looking at, then the dogs will be present during the showing of my house. My dogs have always been indoor dogs with access to the outside through a doggy door.
This isn't an appropriate arrangement when I have strangers coming in and out wanting to look at everything (Raven is especially guarding and may even act territorial). Not only that but they come with a certain smell and level of home hygiene that I may find acceptable but buyers might be put off.
The only resolution I could think of is to keep the dogs outside and confine them to the storage side of the chicken coop whenever someone is expected to come. I however tested this experiment off and on this week. They bark, a lot, and Raven bangs on the sliding glass door and finally last night, Raven ripped the doggy door off the side of the house, just that determined to get in. It breaks my heart to see her so desperate and upset. It's only temporary but how is she supposed to know that?
I don't know what else to do or how to make keeping them outside easier on them. I am even considering drugging Raven as she's the one that's being destructive and clearly having serious anxieties about being without me and outside in general (she's fine in the house when I leave for work, just for some reason this seems to be her "last straw". The very moment she realizes she can't follow me back into the house is when she starts panting, drooling, and clawing at the door trying to get in. (The other two simply bark more but eventually find other things to do like watching the ducks)
Any alternative ideas on what to do with my dogs would also be great. The goal here is simply to not have dogs in the house for however long it takes my house to sell, this way I would attract more possible buyers.
This isn't an appropriate arrangement when I have strangers coming in and out wanting to look at everything (Raven is especially guarding and may even act territorial). Not only that but they come with a certain smell and level of home hygiene that I may find acceptable but buyers might be put off.
The only resolution I could think of is to keep the dogs outside and confine them to the storage side of the chicken coop whenever someone is expected to come. I however tested this experiment off and on this week. They bark, a lot, and Raven bangs on the sliding glass door and finally last night, Raven ripped the doggy door off the side of the house, just that determined to get in. It breaks my heart to see her so desperate and upset. It's only temporary but how is she supposed to know that?
I don't know what else to do or how to make keeping them outside easier on them. I am even considering drugging Raven as she's the one that's being destructive and clearly having serious anxieties about being without me and outside in general (she's fine in the house when I leave for work, just for some reason this seems to be her "last straw". The very moment she realizes she can't follow me back into the house is when she starts panting, drooling, and clawing at the door trying to get in. (The other two simply bark more but eventually find other things to do like watching the ducks)
Any alternative ideas on what to do with my dogs would also be great. The goal here is simply to not have dogs in the house for however long it takes my house to sell, this way I would attract more possible buyers.