Selling a House With Kids and Dogs? Here’s What I Did During Showings When I Sold My Own House

BY JULIA ALLEN | SEPTEMBER 9, 2026

Anyone who has sold a house with kids and dogs in the family knows how challenging it can be. In fact, I’d be willing to bet you shuddered slightly just thinking about it.

Keeping the house clean is one thing. Getting everyone — including the pets — out of the house at all kinds of different times, sometimes without much notice, is another.

I recently sold my own house with three kids and two dogs in the mix. So, despite helping people sell their homes for a living, I got a fresh reminder of what our clients actually go through during showings.

Here’s how we made it work.

What We Did With the Kids

Lasertopia — 10/10

This was a huge hit. Super fun for all of us to run around and blow off some steam — especially the adults.

Bonus: it was a bit of a cardio workout at a time when I definitely wasn’t getting to the gym as often as I usually do.

Boston Pizza — 8/10

An old favourite and an easy way to kill some time during a dinner-hour showing.

The only downside? Now that my kids are too old for kids’ meals, the sticker shock when they brought the bill was no joke.

Going to a Movie — 10/10

This was an excellent showing activity because you can comfortably kill two or three hours without anyone asking, “Can we go home yet?”

The new reclining theatre seats are also great. We managed to see two big summer blockbusters, which made me feel unusually current on pop culture — not a feeling I’m particularly used to.

Dinner at My Mother-in-Law’s House — 20/10

No notes. Highly recommended. 

Checking Out Our New Neighbourhood — 10/10

This was great. We’d pile everyone into the car — dogs included — and go explore our new neighbourhood.

It gave us something positive to focus on when the selling process started to feel disruptive, and it helped build some excitement about where we were going next.

What We Did With the Dogs

Taming Cerberus — 10/10

Finding a good dog daycare option was such a win as there are activities that you want to do with just the humans in the family, so having a loving and safe place to drop off the dogs was key. 

Taming Cerberus was available in the evening and was able to take our dogs last-minute on a couple of occasions, which was incredibly helpful when a showing popped up.

Brenda Leipsic Off-Leash Dog Park — 10/10

This is a great option because there’s a walking trail, so everyone gets some exercise — dogs and humans.

The dogs have fun, there’s lots to watch, and walking the trail makes the time pass pretty quickly.

Bridgwater Trails Dog Park - 7/10

There isn’t a walking path here, so owners tend to congregate in the middle while the dogs play. Personally, I find that makes time pass a little more slowly.

It does have a separate smaller area for small dogs, which is a nice feature.

Bring a ball if you really want your dog to get a workout while you wait for the showing to finish.

Vet Appointment — 0/10 According to My Dogs

Just kidding. Considering the amount of treats and praise they received, they’d probably give it 100/10.

We scheduled a routine checkup at the same time as a showing, which meant we got the dogs out of the house and checked something off our to-do list at the same time. Highly efficient.

My Biggest Takeaway from Selling My Own House

Even though I help people sell houses every day, going through it myself was a good reminder that showings are disruptive.

You're trying to keep your house unusually clean but also need to live your normal life. Then the phone goes off and suddenly you're gathering kids, leashes, backpacks and whatever else you need to get everyone out the door.

My best advice is to try to turn the inconvenience into something fun. Go for dinner. See a movie. Take the dogs for a long walk. Explore the neighbourhood you're hoping to move to.

Selling your house with kids and pets isn't always convenient, but it doesn't have to be miserable either.

And if you're thinking about selling your Winnipeg home, give The Moore Group a call. Given the toll selling your house takes on your family and life, you really need a realtor that is 100% engaged in the sale.  We've helped a lot of families through the process — and now I can officially say I've recently been through it myself.