What is your ideal pack?

[PerformanceDog]

My ideal would be 2-3.

I would like 1-2 Koolies- pretty far apart in age, like get a pup around the time I was retiring the other from dog sports. Assuming I will love koolies as much as I think I will from the ones I've met, seen in hundreds of videos, and all the reading I have done.

and 1 Malinois, they intrigue me so much.

Realistically:
1-2 Koolies
1 Flat Coated Retriever for the SO.

So, I will probably have 4 for a little bit, as I will have my 2 schnauzers and we will probably be getting both the koolie and the FCR within 2-3 years, but Angel would be around 14-15 years old by then, and Chloe would be around 7.

 

[Laurelin]

I remember when you got Dance! Crazy. Of course I can't believe Summer is almost 11 years either.

 

[Locke]

I'm happy with just one young active dog, but I hope to add a kleinpudel puppy in 2-3 years.

My ideal pack is an older middle aged healthy active relaxed poodle, and a young crazy poodle. I like smaller medium sized dogs (20-30lbs), and would either have two ~20lbs or a 30+lb and a little toy 6-10lbs. I love those little toys so much!

 

[Annabell]

My ideal pack size is 2, although I'd be fine with 3 if one of them was older. I just still want to be able to foster dogs in addition to having my own dogs.

My pack would ideally consist of all pointy Australian dogs. I'm hoping Next Dog will be a purebred male ACD, but I also want to explore Kelpies, Stumpies, and Koolies in the future. Just some combination of the above 4 breeds would be perfect for me.

 

[Dekka]

I like 2 or 3. Small drivey dogs. Preferably ones that don't eat each other. No short hair (can't stand the shedding) if I can avoid it.

Though I want a whippet and a basenji some day.

I am not sure of JRTs when Dekka goes. No dog will be Dekka but poor JRTs would have it the worse. I can see me with more cresties. They are a lot like whippets only smaller with fun hair.

 

[Southpaw]

The more dogs I get, the clearer this becomes.

I think 2 is my max. Some days I would prefer just 1, and would probably be perfectly content with just 1 if that dog fit all my wants. I'm not really sure what my "pack" would consist of. Probably a boxer and ??? Some sort of herder I just don't know what.

 

[sassafras]

I don't even know anymore.

 

[JacksonsMom]

Well, I think 2 is probably my max number, for me personally. And even though technically Jackson is still MY only dog, my moms cockapoo puppy who is a little over 5 months now, has basically turned into my 2nd dog, minus the finances. And it does complicate some things but honestly, I've really been liking it, and really lucky that Jackson loves her sooo much, too and they bonded fairly quickly.

So I have to say I would like to stick to two similar-sized dogs and similar personalities seeing how well it's working out now.

I would like to try a herder, likely a MAS if I can find a breeder and dogs I really love. If it was the right fit, I think I'd do an adult rescue BC/Aussie/terrier or some mix of the sorts. A few small scruffy terrier mixes always appeal to me too.

There's a few breeds I really admire and want in the future (Aussie, BC, Koolie, MAS come to mind) BUT I always come back to the Border Terrier. So 90% sure that'll be a part of "my pack".

So probably one small terrier + one small/mediumish herder is my ideal pack.

 

[Fran101]

In my perfect world I'd have one happy go-anywhere love everyone dog like Merlin (although perhaps with less energy)
and a boyfriend with a dog that Merlin likes lol

In reality, I got VERY lucky with Merlin aussie wise (lower energy level, so good with people, so willing to sleep/hang out all day) and will likely end up with a more traditional low energy breed after, perhaps an older rescue. A dog that enjoys a nice jog but is happy to just CHILL all day.
Perhaps a frenchie?

literally the ONLY thing that makes me want more than one dog is the fact that I know Merlin would love a friend and like the idea of a dog having company of the same species.
I just don't want to deal with two dogs.
It's just so much easier with one in the city.

 

[JacksonsMom]

In my perfect world I'd have one happy go-anywhere love everyone dog like Merlin (although perhaps with less energy)
and a boyfriend with a dog that Merlin likes lol

In reality, I got VERY lucky with Merlin aussie wise (lower energy level, so good with people, so willing to sleep/hang out all day) and will likely end up with a more traditional low energy breed after, perhaps an older rescue. A dog that enjoys a nice jog but is happy to just CHILL all day.
Perhaps a frenchie?

literally the ONLY thing that makes me want more than one dog is the fact that I know Merlin would love a friend and like the idea of a dog having company of the same species.
I just don't want to deal with two dogs.
It's just so much easier with one in the city.

YES right. My mom getting a dog has been awesome. Jackson gets to live with a second dog and play and have the sibling relationship but I don't have to pay for anything for her :rofl1: and I also don't have to feel responsible for certain stuff that I would if it were my own dog. But certain things really ARE just easier with one dog.

 

[sassafras]

The only thing I know for sure is that I am not really a one dog person. I didn't think I could ever go above 3, but 4 is working out fine so god only knows BUT I think 2-3 is probably my ideal.

 

[Finkie_Mom]

I'm thinking that I need either 3 or 5. I like odd numbers for some reason. 4 is weird for me. I actually did just fine having the 3 adults and 2 Bubby-puppies here, though spreading out in age would have been even better.

In terms of breed, mostly Finkies and then 1-2 others. So 2 Finkies and 1 other or 3 Finkies and 2 others. Mostly girls with one boy at a time probably.

When nextpuppy comes along in 2-3 years (pending Jari starting to trial) I will just have to have 4 for a while.

And 5 would require my moving to a bigger house with more outside space.

74 Tollers

This made me LOL.

 

[SpringerLover]

I think two. A youngster and an oldster. I would also love to continue fostering. We'll see though.

 

[Paviche]

I don't really know anymore. I like a sporter/herder combo, but I'm getting into Silkens, too. I think my ideal would be: 1 Brittany, 1 herder type, and 1+ Silkens. But... we'll see what I think once I actually have a Silken. Definitely 1 Brittany for ever and ever.

 

[Elrohwen]

Haha you have it all planned out don't you? From kids to puppies .

Haha. Yeah, DH and I are both obsessive planners. And honestly, having a kid is way scarier than getting more dogs (which is why I'm getting a puppy this year instead )

 

[GaelicBlues]

I think 3 is an ideal number for us, two Border collies for me and one Brittany for OH. We have that now but they are closer in age than I would like (5 years, 3 years-Brittany and 8 months). They are young and active and time-consuming to train and work together and then they will all be old and decrepid together.

I would ideally like to space out dogs with 4 years between them but this never works out. For a long time we had 2 BC girls 1.5 years apart in age. I should have gotten another BC when the youngest was 4 rather than when I did when she was 7. My 2 senior BC girls died the same week That is why I would like bigger spaces between them.

I have the perfect age gap between my 2 BCs now, just OH wrecked it with his own dog plans

 

[JustaLilBitaLuck]

I think two would be ideal pack if I was living by myself. Three is completely doable while I'm living at home, since time/attention is shared, but I think three by myself would be stretching myself too thin.

I would ideally like one larger dog (50-75lbs) and one smaller dog (20-40lbs). A little spaced apart in age, 2-4 years. I'm not super set on breeds as of yet. When I'm living alone, I'll need to bring dogs to work with me, so they'll need to be well behaved in a crate/kennel run.

I think I'll always have a cat, too.

 

[RD]

My perfect pack? A border collie, a doberman and a whippet or a rescue mixed breed with similar chill levels. A GSD if I had the space for a larger, heavier shedder.

I'd prefer a female BC, and probably a female Dobe or GSD also. I feel like I jive better with the slightly more serious workin' girls.

In a super perfect world in which I had unlimited time to spend with my dogs and the money to throw into dog sports, I'd think about the right Malinois.

 

[FG167]

Haha. Yeah, DH and I are both obsessive planners. And honestly, having a kid is way scarier than getting more dogs (which is why I'm getting a puppy this year instead )

Hehe, we are also huge planners...and I'm 22 weeks preggo and hubs' pup was just born, he's two weeks old now. LOL I'm sure I'll be on here in the summer throwing a fit about a baby puppy, 5 adult dogs, and a newborn. We'll make it work

That being said....we plan "perfect" so totally differently than I did when I was younger/single. I adore having 2-3 dogs all my very own (perfect is 2 largeish and one smaller). If it was a perfect world, I'd have 1 GSD, 1 Kelpie, and one "other" (terrier or BS or something smaller) Realistically, I probably do better with 4-5 due to health issues, retiring dogs, and upcoming dogs.

I like to have one dog that is doing primarily IPO, and one that is doing primarily agility/flyball and then I like both of them to combo it in all the other sports I dabble in....Kastle is A LOT of work in IPO and has elbow dysplasia and an iffy hip, so no more flyball for him and once he's titled (dear lord, please let us title someday), he'll be retired most likely and then just be a SUPER active pet (and take anywhere dog, he's really lovely to have out and about and is a great pet dog), that dabbles in various sports that catch my eye. Jentry is a phenomenal IPO dog and a horrendous pet dog, horrendous. I'd LOVE to try flyball with her but she's such a B, I'm not sure she'll ever be a team player. Eden is a phenomenal active pet dog, and a willing but rather poor sport dog (sorry Ede, love you). Limit is...honestly dang near perfect - he's a fantastic pet, and he's perfect for me for agility, hoping to get a flyball team soon and he'll probably do that fine too. He'll try just about anything, with some coaxing.

DH is a GSD man allllll the way. He likes to work solely on one dog, he'll probably always have 2. So he's got his retired dog (Ickky) and his new pup coming (Preacher). He would really love a terrier in the house again someday so that will probably fill my "small sport dog" hole later on.

We are making plans for buying a boarding/training kennel in the future and that will open up a lot of doors in terms of how many dogs we can house/afford/and train.

 

[milos_mommy]

In real life or my ridiculous fantasy?

Real life:

1 boxer or APBT type dog
1 smaller toy-ish dog, a pug maybe or even small poodle, mini dachshund, pom
1 dog that's more of an easygoing family type dog - some kind of retriever, large spaniel, maybe even an aussie, GSD, something like that, or a really chill APBT or staffy/bull mix
Possibly something very drivey for me to work with, but honestly I think stuff like agility and major trick training is going to be on the backburner to work and being mom and stuff, lol.
and BF wants a bulldog, but we'll probably look for something more like a bulldog mix because of health reasons and I'd REALLY prefer to rescue....a valley bulldog, or Olde English Bulldogge or something.

I think 4 dogs would be our limit. Three is probably more realistic. I think we're looking more for personality than breed.

In my fantasy:

One or more rescued bully breed mixes
A pug
Another toy dog which is more drivey - toy poodle, pap, pom, or chi most likely!
A big protective dog, either a Neo mastiff or Rottie, maybe even a Corso or Presa Canario, and since this is imaginary life the dog won't eat my tiny dogs or my guests. Or I just have an awesome backyard area I can put big scary dog when people come over.
A retired rescue greyhound
A ridgeback
If I had my little homestead farm, I'd want a bernese mountain dog, too.