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How many dogs is too many?

laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
Long story short:

While working at the Dog Daycare I became very attached to this hound mix named Neville. Super weird dog with lots of strange social issues but once he warms up to you, he is the best. His owners got divorced and are not able to keep him. They know how fond I am of him and how aware I am of his neurosis and they would like me to take him. TN says no way. Our house is kind of small and three dogs would be a huge commitment for us. However, Neville and Roxi get along great and I am so in love with this dog. So, is three too many. Multiple dog owners please speak up.
 

G-Cracker

Monkey
May 2, 2002
528
0
Tucson, beatch!
We've got three dogs, but they're all Chihuahuas and their combined weight is around 30lbs so it's hard to say. :D Ours don't require a ton of exercise and they don't eat much but considering the work we DO put into them, I can't imagine having three large dogs. We live in an 1000sq ft Townhome and 30lbs of combined dog is pushing it.

Will it require a lot of exercise? Think about medical expenses, licensing, shots, etc. We just dropped $1k on our eldest Chi because she had major dental problems from her previous abusive/negligent owner. And our other two have upcoming teeth problems as well (a problem with small breeds). Will it be an outside/inside dog?

We noticed a huge difference in trying to keep the house clean when we got the 3rd dog. Turns out he sheds more than the other two combined. We personally can't stand that "doggie" smell of a dirty home so it's constant work to keep the house clean.
 
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BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
Just remember that for every dog you add, you're taking some amount of individual attention away from the dogs you already have. We have 2 dogs, and I sometimes miss being able to do my own thing with Sanchez. If I do try to do things on my own with him, the other dog gets depressed, I get to feeling guilty, and so I feel obligated to include her.
Ultimately my relationship with my original dog isn't what I wish it was because of adding another dog. Im okay with it. She needed a home and the two keep each other entertained to some extent, but it still sucks on occasion.
3 dogs would suck for me.
 

stevew

resident influencer
Sep 21, 2001
40,494
9,525
i worked for a lady who had 10-15.

how will the hound mix behave camping? i imagine you will want to keep him on the leash at all times if he does go with you. wandering hounds tend to get lost.
 
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Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
40,137
16,532
Riding the baggage carousel.
We have two labs, a cat, and a toddler. It is chaos. So I guess it just depends on your ability to handle stress. The second lab kind of pushed us over the edge, hes a very sweet dog but VERY neurotic, came from a puppy mill, abuse, cigarette burns, the works. The wife and I have seriously considered giving him back to the rescue (there was an incident with the dog and the baby) we got him from but every time we do he seems to straiten right up. Its like he knows he pushing us too far and to us it just seems like giving up and taking the easy way out. It sounds like this Neville might have a similar personality so bear that it mind.
Also, different towns and counties actually have restrictions on the number of animals you can have. Here in the springs your limited to two on a residential property.
Good Luck and hope it works out.:thumb:
 

laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
If we were to take in this dog it would put us at a pack of three all at about 50 lbs a piece. I can walk Rox and Jack easily now, they are relatively well behaved on the leash and I can control them. I don't know if I'd be able to do it with three dogs.

Jack is a husky mix so the hair thing is alreay taken care of with him. Neville is a super short haired dog.

Individual time could become an issue, Rox is pretty independent but every now and then she really wants to play and jack is not having it. He has to be in the middle o fit. I can't imagine having another animal competing like that, but Neville is not a pushy dog. hat I am more concerned about is getting 3 dogs in a tent.
 

laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
i worked for a lady who had 10-15.

how will the hound mix behave camping? i imagine you will want to keep him on the leash at all times if he does go with you. wandering hounds tend to get lost.
Jack stays on lead the whole time we are camping too. We just string up a line for him and he has free run of the place. I plan to talk to Neville's owner about his behavior outside of day care. I know he is a fence jumper (just like jack) so together they could really **** some **** up.
 

RyanSG

Chimp
Apr 1, 2004
30
0
Me and my wife live with two 70lb pits but frequently take in strays for weeks at a time (until we find a suitable home). It feels tight for us at 0.25 acres and 3 mid/full size dogs (also a newborn on the way). A large amount of time goes into exercising the 3 dogs because I can only take 2 on the skateboard or 1 on the bike at a time. In my experience 0.25 acres is not enough space for large dogs to get a good workout.

I don't think it is so much an issue with the size of the house but more so the fenced in area. Do you have a large lot but small home? Can they stretch their legs playing outdoors on a daily basis? I think it's defiantly manageable if they can get or you can provide adequate exercise daily.
 
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laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
Me and my wife live with two 70lb pits but frequently take in strays for weeks at a time (until we find a suitable home). It feels tight for us at 0.25 acres and 3 mid/full size dogs (also a newborn on the way). A large amount of time goes into exercising the 3 dogs because I can only take 2 on the skateboard or 1 on the bike at a time. In my experience 0.25 acres is not enough space for large dogs to get a good workout.

I don't think it is so much an issue with the size of the house but more so the fenced in area. Do you have a large lot but small home? Can they stretch their legs playing outdoors on a daily basis? I think it's defiantly manageable if they can get of you can provide adequate exercise daily.
We have a space for them to play. We share a courtyard with several other houses that we use for our dogs. Most of the excercise that our dogs get is on leash runs daily though. That is my concern because I can handle two dogs easily but I don't knowabout three. In the fall they are putting in a dog park (fenced) right down the street from our house that would allow for some extra room to run. As well the house we are in is rented, so if space was an issue, it wouldn't be apermanent thing. I am ready to move on to more space next may anyway.
 

I Are Baboon

The Full Dopey
Aug 6, 2001
32,382
9,285
MTB New England
You can't take in every weepy eyed pooch that needs a home. MBC and I are involved in our local greyhound adoption group and would love to add a hound or two that need homes. We really can't though and think with our heads and not our hearts.
 

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
Ive got 4, but they are outside kennel dogs, and used for hunting. i will add though. The food bill is INSANE. and every vet appointment is quadrupled. They are 40 pound dogs-German shorthaired pointers.
 

RyanSG

Chimp
Apr 1, 2004
30
0
You can't take in every weepy eyed pooch that needs a home. MBC and I are involved in our local greyhound adoption group and would love to add a hound or two that need homes. We really can't though and think with our heads and not our hearts.
True, but difficult.
 

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,698
1,053
behind you with a snap pop
Are you guys planning on kids in the future?
If the answer is yes, then hell no on the 3rd dog.
We have 3 dogs and 3 cats ( two of the dogs are outside.)
I did not consider them THAT much of a burden until we had a baby.
And now all the indoor animals make my head explode on a daily basis.
They are now known as "The Last of the Mohicans."
And everytime I clean up another puddle of pizz, I start humming the theme song.

No mas.

Like Burly said, the less animals you have, the more you can love the ones you do have. We messed up and got too many.
And I feel even more guilty now that I don't get to play with the outside dogs as much now.
 

PonySoldier

Monkey
May 5, 2004
823
0
Woodland Park Colorado
1 Black Lab, 1 German Shorthair, 1 English Setter and an American Toy fox Terrier and they are all the greatest of friends..Couple of them hunt and a couple of them don't. Gets a little crazy at times but I do enjoy the company and their antics.
 

mantispf2000

Turbo Monkey
Aug 9, 2001
1,793
243
Nevada, 2 hours from Mammoth
We have 7-- a lab/chow mix, a cavalier king charles spaniel, 2 bichon frises, and 3 japanese chins. It all started when wife thought the spaniel would help my depression after losing Alaina. Then she wanted to start a rescue program. Took me the longest time to warm up to them, as I was really torqued whenever she'd bring one home without warning me. Almost broke us up. Yes, the cleaning/vet/food bills are high, however, after 6+ years, I have warmed up to them, and actually like helping take care of them.

Now, if I could just teach the chins to catch a frisbee.................
 

eric strt6

Resident Curmudgeon
Sep 8, 2001
23,185
13,439
directly above the center of the earth
I have 3, 95 pound Bouvier, 60 pound Aussie and a 28 pound Mini Aussi. The Bouvier just likes to hang out and get her head scratched while the two Aussie play a constant game of rope tug o war. All three live inside [2200 sq/ft house with tile floors] but we do live in the forest so they get romp time on the trails and we do have a 1/4 acre fenced dog run out back. 3 is no big deal...you just buy more dog food and scoop more poop.
 

T-Dog

Monkey
Feb 18, 2004
327
0
different shack, same shotgun
We had 6 at one point (the result of combining households) but are down to 3 now because of lifespans. I always thought 3 was a good number because I could still handle them walking and camping, but could take one with me and wouldn't be leaving one alone.
 

drkenan

anti-dentite
Oct 1, 2006
3,441
1
west asheville
Are you guys planning on kids in the future?
If the answer is yes, then hell no on the 3rd dog.
We have 3 dogs and 3 cats ( two of the dogs are outside.)
I did not consider them THAT much of a burden until we had a baby.
And now all the indoor animals make my head explode on a daily basis.
They are now known as "The Last of the Mohicans."
Did you guys get that puppy I left on your doorstep the other day?




^^ For real - I found that puppy under my house last Friday. Fortunately my friend took him in real quick. Now I get to play with him at work all the time. :D
 

golgiaparatus

Out of my element
Aug 30, 2002
7,340
41
Deep in the Jungles of Oklahoma
Depends on Size.

I have 2 dogs, Great Pyrenees and a German Shepherd.
If I had more than 2 it would be WAY too much hair, too much food consumption, too much sh!t in the backyard.

Now if you said how many cats is too many I'd say 1. Any pet that requires you to clean up its **** is a bad pet. If they would use the toilet or let me know when them need to go outside to take a crap like my dogs do I'd be totally cool with cats.
 
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boogenman

Turbo Monkey
Nov 3, 2004
4,290
973
BUFFALO
We have 2 dogs, and I sometimes miss being able to do my own thing with Sanchez. If I do try to do things on my own with him, the other dog gets depressed, I get to feeling guilty, and so I feel obligated to include her.
That is my problem.

It sounds like you will be able to handle 3 dogs.

I have 2 right now and I would not want 3. We almost had to take on 3 when my little dog had puppies, I'm glad we found a home for all of them. Puppies NEVER again!
 

macko

Turbo Monkey
Jul 12, 2002
1,191
0
THE Palouse
We've got four dogs...though one doesn't really count (he's a chihuahua). I actually just got back from running down the street after the chihuahua. Little **** like get out and run. The other three are an american bulldog (~90 lbs), a redbone coonhound (~65 lbs), and beagle mut (~50 lbs). It's a little much for the small place we're in, but if we land this house in Washington we're in talks over, it'll be much better.

The food bill can be kind of pricey but it's honestly not that bad.

Dogs are cool.
 

laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
I always thought 3 was a good number because I could still handle them walking and camping, but could take one with me and wouldn't be leaving one alone.
BAH, this is a good point that I hadn't thought of yet!!!! I can't leave Jack and just take out Roxi, he cries and cries.

Anyway, I gave myself a couple of days and have decided (with TN's help) that I absolutely don't want three dogs. Jack is just getting settled in to the groove and I can't imagine taking on another weirdo dog right now. It is sad because I am crazy about that dog and would love to make him mine but we don't have the finances, space or patience to deal with it right now. Once we get our own house with our own back yard and my dogs are digging up my grass I'll consider a third but for now we'll just be a two dog family.

Poor Neville. I hope everything turns out ok for him.
 

dhzion

Monkey
May 4, 2008
157
0
Mighty Zion
I have two at the moment but have had up to three. The biggest problem I noticed was the dynamic adding the third brought to the group. King was also a rescue, with a lot of baggage and issues, serious problems with strangers. He was a great dog within the home but brought an uptight skiddish quality to the table that the other two tended to pick up on. He also didn't listen very well and that rubbed off almost immediately, nothing worse than three stubborn dogs staring at you like you're stupid. He was forever the instigator as well, he'd wear one lab out then pester the other till they had had enough, he was totally the red headed step child, but we loved him. Also, my two labs never ever barked before King joined.

Sadly, Kings aggression issues never subsided and after too many close call biting incidents he had to go down last year. :plthumbsdown:

I guess if I could give any advice it would be there is a time and a place for a rescue and you have to gauge that situation yourself.