How Many Dogs?

[Jemma]

Just wondering what people think is too many dogs in one home? We currently have 5 in our home since my son has returned with his puppy. Everyone seems to be getting along fine so far, the only squabbles are minor ones over who gets to sit on whos lap at night :laugh: . The ages range from 7 months to 13 yrs.

So how many dogs do you have?

[rusty&biscuit]

I have 3 and I find it hard to imagine having more that I could truly bond with...as in, I manage to get individual time spent with the 3, and 2 are bonded with me, but I don't know how a fourth would go in bonding with me as well...am interested to hear peoples opinions on this too!

[Loving my Oldies]

I have 5. I have had up to eight, but that was when I was rescuing and rehoming. It doesn't happen overnight, LOL, creeps up!!

I also understand what Rusty&biscuit is saying, but all the different dogs have their own little quirks and needs and you try to satisfy them all. Sometimes, I might walk just one or two together and it feels really strange . . . . . AND EASY !!

[laneka]

I have 4, all house dogs and ages ranging from 10 years to nearly 3 years. Because we got them 2 years apart, bonding has not been an issue. 3 girls, 1 boy. All get on very well and eat side by side, they can even have bones 2 feet apart. Good doggies.

[smisch]

right now we have 7 LOL had 9 earlier this week but 2 went home... right now ages range from 3 x12week pups and then the 14mth lakie the 2 lowchen who are 2 1/2 & almost 4 and then a 5yr old afghan

[WreckitWhippet]

I've had anywhere for 5 - 15 and it doesn't worry me, if you ahve one you may as well have ten.

I've currently got 6

[Tralee]

I've had five at once, all large breed, and all Maremma.

I don't think you can have too many.

However, it becomes too many when they cannot be cared for, otherwise there is no limit.

[Bjelkier]

I had eight here recently and it was way too much for me to deal with and I was happy to see a few of them go.

Five is the most we are happy with. I have five here at the moment but will soon be down to 3

[The Spotted Devil]

I currently have just the two - I had another youngster here for a few months and that was full on but only because he was a puppy. I think 2 or 3 in active training is the absolute limit for my lifestyle. Each dog competes in at least 2 sports and retrieving, in particular, is incredibly time consuming. For that reason mine are moderately spaced out age wise. If I bred Em and kept a bitch that would be more than enough!

ETA: I should add that we have 3 cats and they also have a lot of one on one time. Add in a litter of foster kittens (sometimes with Mum) occasionally and that's enough for me!

Edited March 1, 2013 by The Spotted Devil

[Chezy]

I have 3 and that for me is my max , with exception of when I had foster . Full time worker I think more would not get the time that they need , so 3 for me is good , having done foster , I gave her time and can do so from time to time, but def could see that 4 would be stretching ,myself and them not getting all they should

[DeltaCharlie]

We have 9 here at the moment and will keep 2 out of this litter (due in 2 weeks), taking us to 11. They all live in a 3 bedroom house with us and are entirely indoor dogs (other than supervised toilet breaks and enclosed veranda time in nice weather). They hang about in the loungeroom with us, sleep in the beds (or under them as the case may be), and generally just cruise about.

We do have crates and pens set up around the place though so that if need be they can put away if they are annoying others etc, particular given that the young ones are quite boisterous and the older guys not so tolerant of the shennanigans :laugh: Everyone is either crated (bones) or put on individual beds in the loungeroom (wet food) at dinnertime and have to remain there for a few hours as we will not allow any play etc with full bellies, plus it prevents issues at feed time.

The key to large numbers of dogs is routine and sticking to it. Ours know the routine very well and know the boundaries, right down to the order that they are usually put out to toilet :) They will wait at the gate into the kitchen until the dog before them returns up the stairs :laugh:

Our ages currently range from 2yrs -13.5yrs with 2 pups to be added soon.

[Sayreovi]

I have 3 and don't find it too many, I actually find three quite annoying. I can't just take two anywhere, it's either one or all three. Don't mind taking all three as they are pretty easy going but if it's hot I would rather leave the old boy at home where it's cooler.

I am planning on breeding my girl (2) this year, so will take my number up to 4. Both my boys (8 & 10) will be mostly retired by then except for the odd trial and I am happy where my girl is currently with training/trialling so will be a good time to have a new pup.

Never had a problem with bonding, if anything my oldest is the least bonded too me due to his personality even though he was by himself for his first two years and my girl is the most but was with the boys when growing up the majority of the time.

[Guest Clover]

I have 4 at the moment ( 2 x 9.5 year olds, 1 x 6 year old and an 18 month old), I find it an easy number to manage. I can always take 2 out and one is not going to be alone at home. They all get their special time and training if needed.

[Remarkabull]

I have 4 and they are all inside with us mst of the time although the Dobermann sleeps outside now cause he can't usually go through the night without needing to go to the toilet and I'm tired enough!

I would prefer to have 2 or maybe 3 and will not have this many again at once until we stop moving around so much (husband is in army) and we have our own place. I will also be sticking with the same breed from now on as the size and personality differences can cause some issues when we go out, lots of juggling and making sure they're all in the right place etc.

[DogsAndTheMob]

We have four dogs and recently had two senior dogs visiting for a few months. The old girls weren't interested in anything except food and my dogs ignored them but, even so, my dogs seem much more relaxed without the two visitors.

I also think the pie is limited in terms of time and money to devote to the dogs. The more dogs, the smaller the size of each slice of the pie. This is becoming even more of a consideration as vets have more ways to help my dogs live longer with better quality of life... at a cost.

In the future, I will think very carefully before having more than two dogs.

[luvmybulldog]

I only have 3 ( 2 up until 3 weeks ago when I adopted a rescue ) and they have inside/outside access all day and sleep inside at night. Mine all get fed beside each other as well - If they have bones they all go to different areas of the backyard. They usually alternate turns on the couch - When one hops off another will jump on. Two sleep on the bed but the new one prefers the lounge. I'd love to have more but 3's my limit with my local council and the size of my land. My bulldog Crumpet is the youngest - she turns 5 this year and my Scottie and PBGV will be 8. When I first bought the new one home I got the evil eye for a couple of weeks from Crumpet but now her and Shabby can't get enough of each other - Hoover, my Scottie usually does his own thing, he thinks he's way too precious to be part of the pack but I've watched him from the kitchen window leading the girls in zoomies round the back yard. So far I haven't had any problems with them getting along - they are all pretty laid back - My neighbour tells me that they sleep all day when I'm at work.

[Elise+Hudson]

One!!! And at the moment this is enough, I will not get another till I have devoted enough time and attention getting the most out of my relationship with Hudson. :)

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I currently own 5 small/old dogs and then I have 1 or 2 fosters sometimes. I do 3 walks some days, depending on the abilities of the dogs - I have one that doesn't want to go some days!

The medications take a while these days.

I find that younger dogs require a lot more attention and exercise generally which doesn't suit me. I like to see the old dogs warm, comfortable and loved with all their needs attended too. So many people don't value old dogs but I think there's nothing better.

[YOLO]

Really depends on how many people there are, what you want out of the dogs, resources and council regs.

I would always prefer to have two. I can walk two comfortably on my own if needs be, or missus and I can walk one each together. Two large dogs fit nicely in the back of the wagon, and there is plenty of love and affection to go around.

Coco would try to steal Jasper’s food, so I we had to feed them apart. They could have become tiresome with too many dogs. I reckon we could have handled 3 (and almost did at one time) but I think beyond that it becomes challenging to give sufficient care and attention. Of course if you can devote yourself to dogs fulltime, then you could probably handle more.

Many metropolitan councils limit the number of dogs you can own.

[alpha bet]

Three, but about to run on a fourth pup from the next litter.

But I work from home and take different dogs out and about at different times, so each spends time one on one with me or others in the family. Mine are about 3 years apart in age - think its important to put a great deal of quality time with each pup in their first 12 months - we never run two pups of our own at the same time but often have different aussies Ive bred coming back to stay so sometimes we might have 6-7 aussies laying around the loungeroom.