Life With Three Dogs?

[mita]

We had 3 dogs for quite a while.... 2 shelties & 1 tibbie. No problems at all. Funny thing was the 'breedism'. The shelties stuck together. And the tibbie went her own way .... but was great pals with the tibbie next door & the racing greyhounds at the back.

Just had to keep all their health/maintence needs noted.... couldn't rely on memory. But that's still the same, now we have 2 tibbies & 1 cat.

[Maddy]

I have three dogs of my own (as well as fosters) and I guess it depends a bit on the dogs concerned. I've have seven dogs at one time (mostly fosters) and it's been an absolute breeze because the dogs all got along well and each had a good, sociable temperament. In contrast, I've had single foster dogs who made management very challenging for various reasons. If I was in the OP's situation, first step would be to introduce all the dogs and see how it went from there. Making a bit more time for dogs is easy, managing dogs who hate each other.. not so much.

[DeltaCharlie]

Actually, in a few Sydney councils they do have dog number recommendations - I don't know if they are actually enforcable under law in NSW, but the council area next to mine has a 2 dog rule - whereas mine doesn't have a limit.

T.

If I understand it correctly, councils can stipulate a "recommended dog limit" for their suburbs, although they don't have to actually use the word recommended when telling people about it :) If push comes to shove, however, they can only legally enforce it if there are neighbour complaints about barking, you are deemed to not have adequate space to house them, or if it is considered unhygeinic due to too much poo not picked up. That is NSW wide and can be found in the Companion Animal document.

[eschlachter]

Hello,

Well, funnily enough- we added dog #3 to our household ten days ago! First time I've ever had three. We have three different breeds (now), Kelpie X, Ridgy, and Irish setter.

The main thing I thought about was whether or not my first two would adjust or get along with another dog. I thought they would, and that has proved to be right (phew). Life is certainly busier now, but not extremely so. I won't lie, we've had to change our usual routine a bit...

To be honest- I could have five of my Ridgy Leia and five Rexies, and the only change would be in my food and vet bills. The big difference has been adding in a third 'personality', another character to incorporate into our family. The Irish is a busy little soul, and is only 6 months old. Really the only extra work to do relates to her age and view of the world. She came from a wonderful breeder, and lived at night in kennels with her family- here in Cooma it's so cold, the dogs are inside at night. Big change for baby- She's still struggling with the whole 'the kitchen bench is not a doggy fast food outlet' concept!

It's amazing how quickly you forget what puppies are like, lol. It's all good though. She loves all the exercising we do, and (quite) likes sleeping in her crate at night.

It's fun having three! You get three different dog opinions on the one subject all the time. Wish I had been fast enough with the camera this week to capture Leia's total WTF? looks at the puppy's reaction to some things this week :D

ETA- there is no sarcasm in this post, the breeder of my Irish is a truly awesome lady, the point I was making related to 'difference', not better or worse :)

Edited July 7, 2013 by eschlachter

[Santo66]

We are a 4 dog home, have been 5, all Rottis. They all run together, inside and out, no kennels, runs or yards. No problems. Mixture of entires and neuters, no issue there either.

IMO success is largely owing to owner management/commitment/time/leadership skills.

Our yard is small. We take our dogs out often - swimming, training, herding, agility, long trialling/showing trips, drives (we drive, not them LOL) running etc. They have a great life and are healthy, well rounded dogs. That said, we work from home with flexible hrs, so can put in a lot of time with them. Also my husband shares the dogs and we both enjoy our dog sports and shows together, so that helps.

I am a big advocate for altering whom I take and where. I mix it up, never necessarily take all dogs out together. It is important to me that they are comfortable with being left at home, either alone or with one other or whatever. I won't let them dictate not being left behind and set things up this way on purpose. I would never feel guilty about it. it is an important training session leaving a dog alone at home when others are being taken out and all part of learning to be confident and comfortable in their own company.

I have also done neuter class showing with my older bitch. Go for it I say. Very enjoyable, you will have a ball.

We are pretty much the same with 2 working line GSD's and a Malinois/Dutch Shepherd X.......our 3 are entire males no problems at all with good leadership and management. We don't walk them together only for the fact if something goes wrong it's hard to restrain 80 odd kilos of working dog in full drive for one handler, so they are walked exercised and trained separately between myself and other half.....we swap them over, take out different dogs. I enjoy exercising each dog, take one out for an intense 30 minutes, take him back home, get the next one and so on, it's fun

Edited July 7, 2013 by Santo66

[eschlachter]

Actually, in a few Sydney councils they do have dog number recommendations - I don't know if they are actually enforcable under law in NSW, but the council area next to mine has a 2 dog rule - whereas mine doesn't have a limit.

T.

If I understand it correctly, councils can stipulate a "recommended dog limit" for their suburbs, although they don't have to actually use the word recommended when telling people about it :) If push comes to shove, however, they can only legally enforce it if there are neighbour complaints about barking, you are deemed to not have adequate space to house them, or if it is considered unhygeinic due to too much poo not picked up. That is NSW wide and can be found in the Companion Animal document.

Edited- It's not in the Companion Animals Act, or regulations, sorry I answered without thinking it through 100%- but in State Environmental Planning Policies, and Local ones, that you will find noise complaint provisions and others that can apply to dogs.

Edited July 22, 2013 by eschlachter

[sandgrubber]

Like so many questions, the answer is 'it depends'. I keep only Labs, mostly mothers, daughters, grand daughters, but ive brought in different, unrelated lines, and sometimes kept a dog or two. I've never ended out with dogs that don't like each other. More often, I've ended up with dogs who are tightly bonded....I'm now working to go from two to three cause my pup and my old girl are 6 years apart in age, and I worry about what the pup will do when the old girl gets too old to play, and eventually goes to the rainbow bridge.I'd say:

1. Let the dogs have a say. If your two like the possible new girl, great. If not, your asking for trouble.2. The age thing is important in the long run. I prefer to have dogs of very different ages, so as to avoid ever ending up with oldies only, high vet bills, and too much heartbreak in the span of a few years...or an excess of puppy craziness with no older dogs around to teach them dog manners.3. I wouldn't worry about the new house being finished ... So long as your present landlord is ok with three. I've lived with three dogs in a space under 20 sq m. It was impossible to keep clean, and I couldn't have guests over....but the dogs weren't the least bit bothered.

Edited July 7, 2013 by sandgrubber

[kelpiecuddles]

Well if all goes well we're on!! It sounds like the plan is for her to keep Angelica until after her other girl(Velvet) whelps her next litter, she will keep one from that litter hopefully and then that pup will become velvet's ongoing companion and Angelica will come to us. She is waiting for velvet to come in to season and if the mating is successful then Angelica will come to us about six months after that so I'm thinking we are looking at 7-9 months in the future, all dependant on a successful mating.

At this stage we are looking at meeting up a few times and going for a walk with the dogs so they can meet each other and see how well they get along and then we'll go from there gradually. :)

[mish13]

:thumbsup:

[OSoSwift]

:thumbsup:

[kelpiecuddles]

Now we just have to cross our fingers that she fits well with the gang. Atleast we have plenty of time to try things out before a final decision gets made :)

[mixeduppup]

Maybe she could come for visits over the next months so your gang gets used to her and it will be an easier transition once the time comes.

[kelpiecuddles]

We are going to go and play on the beach for starters :)

[Loving my Oldies]

We are going to go and play on the beach for starters :)

Ooooh, can I come with my five, please.

LOL I was going to ask yesterday whether you were any further down the track with a decision, but decided that since it was only a couple of days since starting the thread, I'd wait a little longer.

Congrats. I'll bet Angelica's human mum is thrilled she'll be going to a Basset experienced home.

[Little Gifts]

How exciting!!!!!

We are a three dog house and anything less just seems wrong. But one dog is my sister's heart girl, one dog is my heart girl and our most recent foster failure is our mutual heart girl (although I'm sure she loves me bestest!). Having two adults to three dogs is much easier than one human to three fur kids when they are all different ages, breeds, sizes and in turn have slightly different care and attention needs.

Edited July 9, 2013 by Little Gifts

[kelpiecuddles]

She also just mentioned that if we wanted to she would be a good dog to learn show handling and maybe for my son to learn too so we might get to try our hand in the ring next year

[The Spotted Devil]

Sounds like a lovely opportunity! Look forward to updates :D

I looked after an ESS pup last year for a few months which was a nice way to see if I was ready for 3 dogs :laugh: In terms of house dynamics it was pretty good even though my Dally would have preferred a another girl :D My main issue is that my dogs are high energy and we compete in several sports so commitment to training is high. A youngster requires so much input...and my house/yard/car set up is not quite perfect....other than that it was a hoot!

[kelpiecuddles]

I have a photo :)

This is the beautiful Angelica on the left.. :)

[Meea]

I have a photo :)

This is the beautiful Angelica on the left.. :)

[Trisven13]

Oh she is gorgeous!!! I'm obviously a fan of the Basset breeds but I particularly love the tri-colour Basset Hounds!