How many is too many?

Yeah I would love to have a dog that didn't mind being left behind, so I could do exercise and training one on one with each... but alas that will never be how Scout rolls. When it gets to the point where I can't take Lily upstairs to potty for 30 seconds (all pottying is on leash because my yard is only 3/4's fenced) without Scout ripping out of her kennel and destroy all the blinds in the living room... you come to the realization that some trauma can't be trained out and you need to make some concessions for your dog's issues rather than trying to make them "just deal with it."

Honestly if I hadn't had some dental issues come up I'd be a good way there for saving up for a third dog/pup. I don't want to take the plunge until I've got everything I need money wise laid away... it wouldn't be fair to my current animals or myself. In fact I was working on that when I took Scout in. That wasn't really planned (though after the fact I'm glad of course) and she is like a black hole for money compared to Lily, lol. A lot of people told me I was nuts for taking her in too.

But oh man, in a LOT of ways having a third would really ease my stress and make life easier!!

Only problem I face sometimes is when I take one dog to go do something with. Lincoln has separation anxiety, and it worsens if I take a dog with me, so usually he comes with or he'll bark his fool head off all day. And if I take him, then Tsuki who also has separation anxiety, will pace and carry on too. And if I take a dog and leave Kiba, she puts up a **** fit too (though it's short-lived). It would be a non-issue if I lived alone, but as I don't, and people don't like being woken up at 5am on our trial days, it's something I have to work around.

Charlie and Stryder are my angel dogs. They don't utter a peep... unless they all start howling and then Stryder occasionally joins in lol.

I actually think that 3 is my magic number. 4 is OK for now, but now that I have a full time job, it's getting to be a bit much. Add that to the fact that Pen and T can't be left out unsupervised, and it can be super annoying. I think that if I didn't have my full time job and was self employed like I used to be, 4 wouldn't be an issue at all. But all of my guys aren't "just" pets, and have a purpose besides that (sports, confo, hopefully therapy soon). Makes weekends full as well as weekdays now.

The only thing throwing a wrench in the system is the fact that Kimma and Bubby are only 2 weeks apart in age. Pen is only a bit older. So I think that realistically, I may end up with another sports pup out of Bubby's second and final litter in a couple of years (which would make Pen about 7, and the girls 5). Then stick with that for a good, long while. Even though Bubby is currently away being hopefully bred soon to an awesome male and I will surely covet all the pups

ETA - Oh yes, and the other complication is that Kimma has SA so I HATE leaving her to take another with me because I come back to a mess of a dog.... I do it anyway because I have to, but I try to avoid it at all costs.

One big problem we had was that if one got sick, it seemed like at least 2 or more others would get sick. That is no fun.

A 6 pack combo of papillons and shelties or one or the other would be fine for me. But it's not ideal. When we had 6, I was doing 99% of the work and it sucked. I just can't divide my time up that much between that many dogs.

Oh and then having multiple senior dogs at once is also a money suck and can be quite stressful.

There's a lot on the 'just pet' front that makes me say any more than 3 is too much for me. And the only way 3 is happening is if I have a dog like Summer who is older and not very demanding. Walk her a few times a week and she is gold. Bonus points if she gets to go somewhere and see people.

Yeah, I agree. I mean having all 3 together when I am spending time over at my dads house really isn't a big deal. But my dads dogs are fairly easy peezy. They don't really require much to be content. Now they're very untrained which causes annoyances ... unnecessary constant barking and things of that nature, but really if they have to lay around on the couch all day, they are totally fine with that.

Jackson? Not so much. He really really is annoying if he doesn't get proper amount of stimulation, both physical and mental. I know my dad couldn't handle him on his own, LOL ... but it's fine and works out because I really only work with Jackson, and the others can take it or leave it. The JRT mix will a lot more when I'm there just because she has someone willing to put *something* into her.

But I can't imagine 3 Jackson's! So it makes a huuugee difference on number of dogs depending on their activity levels and personalities. Like having 3 Buddy's (stepmoms fat Dachshund mix) would be super easy, but also super boring for me!

It depends on a few factors. Right now, I'm studying and working full time. I'm not competing but I am 'training' with two - one fairly full on (Abby) and the other not quite so (Grace). The whippet is my jogging partner, my weekly visitor and I visit him on an almost daily basis. Things would be easier if he lived here, but with what I have happening, it's completely doable. I wouldn't want to add another dog now (other issues aside), but if I were just working, the whippet lived here and I was considering another dog with Abby (which I'm not) then I would consider a fourth.

When Grace passes, Abby will be an only dog (fingers crossed that she adjusts) unless Locke comes to live here at some point. Having an only dog if I move town will be very different for me, but I'll never truly have one dog if I'm still living near my whippet man.

It greatly depends on the individuals dogs.

Also wanted to say, if you had asked me a few years ago if I would have five dogs I would have said HELL NO. Because I don't think I could handle five 60-90 pound, active, playful, rambunctious dogs. And when I thought "dog", that is what was in my mind.

Cooper is six pounds, Gracie is 10 pounds, and Cynder is 30 pounds. Food costs are minimal. Toy costs are minimal. Supply costs are minimal. Together they take up as much space as an 80lb dog would. They have no temperament/aggression issues with each other or anything, ever. The only kind of stimulation they need to keep them satisfied is a brief game of chase/hand wrestle/beat Cooper over the head with a plush toy in the evening. The worst behavior problem they have is Cooper has separation anxiety and Cynder gets into the trash when we're gone.

My ferrets were 10x more high maintenance than these guys. Both financially and physically.

So having Chloe plus Future Puppy as well as the three munchkins doesn't phase me at all. Because even though we will have "five dogs", maintenance wise I've had quite a heavier load before with my other animals.

If they were all dogs that were high energy/special needs....I'd be able to handle at most three. Two would be more ideal. I think I'd cry if I had five.

^ Is what I'm worried about. Because we are looking at bird dog being 70-100 pounds. We are looking at Koolie or ACD being 30-40 pounds (reasonable). Boxer is 65. Rider is about 30. If we get an American Bull after Boxer, that is like, 120 pounds. Moses. It's gonna be a full house.