What do you all out there in Labardor Land do to prepare for prospective puppy buyer visits...besides comb your hair and put shoes on other than rubber mucks or garden clogs?

I like to make sure the house is quite tidy, yard picked up with not one drop of poop. I think first impressions are soooo important. Especially if you have a herd of dogs... 6, 7...12!!! Anyway, wanted to hear of any rituals always done before people come to visit....TIA!

Nothing that isn't a regular daily ritual...just ask my puppy buyers. LOL I am usually sweaty, with my hair in a pony tail, make up dripping off my face-the only reason I have it on is cuz I work in town to be able to afford to feed the critters, dishes in the sink, mail on the table, lawn needs mowing, paint chipping off the house, hog barn smell in the air, ahhhhh. Guess that is the life on our green acres and the home of Hayshaker Labs. I figure I can't keep up with it all on a regular basis, I certainly can't keep up with it when there is a litter on the ground. The most important thing is that the dogs and puppies are played with and their area is kept up (poop patrol-which is done anyhow). I am who I am and it is how it is.

I ask my husband to put on a nice crisp clean shirt and ditch the tattered 20 year old t-shirt with what ever slogan from his past glory days.

Other than that, straighten up the house basically, make sure the black dogs (especially) are all dusted off and brushed (for however long that's going to last because they're right back out there rolling and playing), make sure I have soft beverages to offer the guests, and have handouts and info printed out organized that I want to send them home with.

I like to have the house tidy as well. But when the people get here i let 1 or 2 of the adult dogs do their Labrador stuff to greet them. It shows if they are really ready for a Lab or just think they are. Those who don't want the hair and kisses should rethink their thoughts of buying a puppy.

I, too, actually clean my house when prospective families visit. Older adult dogs greet them; we talk, meet me & the pups & mom, discuss concerns, watch adult/child reactions & behavior around the dogs. Offer coffee/Kool-aid/cookies...be sure bathroom is clean. I like to, at least, PRETEND that it's possible to keep your house clean when you own multiple labs!

We do the same, clean house, bathroom good. Since dogs like to lay in there. Have something to offer to drink also. Tea or water bottles. Let an older dog or two great them also. It does tell you alot. Then put them up sometimes. You know how demanding they are of love. Go over any issues they may have before they see pups. And who ever said have husband put on good shirt was right.

I get the puppy package ready along with a copy of "How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With." The house is tidy, but nothing more than the usual. I always have soda on hand. I put the overly friendly dogs in the run.

I do clean up, make sure the bathroom is presentable and most stuff is put away. But I don't vacuum the floors right before someone comes, just to get their reaction if there's a little dog hair on the floors. I'd rather not sell a puppy to someone who freaks out if there's a little hair here and there. Note - this is not a total pig sty, just a day or two's worth of hair.

I definitely sweep/vacuum, sometimes even work on the mail on the kitchen table and make sure dishes are off the counters. I purposely leave at least 1 or 2 adult dogs loose for when people get here and sometimes will let out a couple of other dogs to show them relatives to the pups. I usually sit down on the floor with my dogs/puppies with visitors and if they don't sit down and interact with them that is a red flag to me (the "ewww factor" is not a good sign when there will be puppy/dog messes to clean up, hair, etc.).

I also make sure I have my photo album with recent photos of dogs in breed/hunt tests/agility and paperwork such as OFA for both parents available. (usually on top of the clutter on the kitchen table so I can find it easily)

I think some hair on the floor as the previous poster wrote might be a very valid point I hadn't thought of before. LOL. I bought a lovely show borzoi years ago and the breeder did a great job of warning me about the coat and hair issue. Another issue is the labs who meet and greet and are 'looking for love'. Some people do not get that. I am lucky enough to be aboe to take a puppy/dog to school and it is interesting to see the kids reactions to hair and kisses. Girls in particular are fascinating...teenage girls...some roll with it and some do not.
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