What Should I Do With Pets During an Open House?

The short answer: pets should be out of the home during an open house whenever possible, because a pet in the middle of a showing distracts buyers, triggers allergies, and creates real safety risks. An open house brings dozens of strangers through your front door in a few hours. Dogs bark, lunge, and bolt. Cats hide or escape. Even a well-behaved pet changes how buyers see the home, and a pet incident can end a showing early.

The Three Risks

The first risk is escape: an open door with a stream of visitors is the classic way pets get out. The second is liability: a nervous dog can bite a stranger, and the seller is responsible. The third is perception: buyers with allergies or pet fears react negatively, and pet smells and hair undermine the staging you paid for. All three are avoidable with one decision: the pet is not home during the open house.

Plan the pet's day before the open house, not during it. The best options, in order: board the pet, have a petsitter take them out, or leave them with family or a friend. If none of those work, confine the pet to a secure room with a note on the door for agents and visitors. A crate in a quiet bedroom with a sign works, but only if the pet is crate-trained and calm; a barking dog in a crate is still a distraction.

Remove the Evidence

Open house day is the full reset: food bowls, litter boxes, crates, beds, and toys go into a closet or the car. Vacuum everywhere, including furniture, and deodorize as described in our guide on handling pet odors. Clean the yard of pet waste before visitors arrive, because the yard is part of the tour. Lint-roll the furniture and run an air purifier if you have one.

Tell your agent the pet plan and post clear signs. A note on the front door saying the pet is not home reassures buyers with allergies, and a sign on the confined room's door prevents agents from opening it. Make sure every door and gate is secure before the first visitor arrives, and check them again if you step out. If the pet is home and confined, tell the agent exactly where, so no one opens the wrong door.

Back-to-Back Showings

If you have multiple showings or an open house followed by private tours, the reset routine repeats. Keep the cleaning caddy stocked, keep the pet's out-of-home plan flexible, and rotate the confined room if the pet must stay home all day. Our guide on staging with pets has the full daily routine, and selling with pets ties the whole preparation together.

Buyers should also think about pets at open houses, in reverse. If you have allergies, ask the agent whether pets live in the home and whether they will be present. If you are bringing children, keep them close, because an unfamiliar pet in a chaotic open house is unpredictable. If you are buying with your own pet in mind, use the open house to check the home's pet features, like fencing and flooring, using our guide on buying with pets in mind.

And remember: an open house is a snapshot. The pet situation at a showing is not the same as the disclosure obligations, which our guide on disclosing pets in Pennsylvania covers separately.

Do the heavy lifting the day before the open house so the day itself is calm. Confirm the pet's out-of-home plan and the pickup or drop-off time. Deep clean the rooms visitors will see, launder pet bedding, and vacuum furniture and drapes. Clean the yard of pet waste and check the fence line, because buyers with dogs will notice the yard. Stage the pet items out of sight: bowls, crates, beds, and toys go into a closet or the car, and the litter box gets a fresh change and a spot that is not in the tour path.

Morning of the Open House

On the day, do a final vacuum and a quick odor check, open the curtains, and secure every door and gate before the first visitor arrives. Leave the agent a note with the pet plan and your cell number. Our guide on staging with pets has the full routine, and pet odor control covers the deodorizing steps that make the difference.