2 or 3 dogs??

[lv4dogs]

This could become quite lenghtly if I wanted it to be LOL.
to sum it up I agree with what everyone else said.

I had 3 dogs for years (until me & my ex broke up & yes I miss the dog more than him lol) but besides one addition to the major things like expenses (ex. food vet supplies), more potty time, care, grooming, cleaning & dividing attention. The excersize was not much different as I would excersize all 3 at once.

Like mentioned before yeah sometimes (it has to happen at least once) they may have their little (or big for some) tufts. Or one may bug the other (therefore cause problems like mentioned before for ex. not drinking etc.) but as time goes on you learn their individual personalities & kinda know how to prevent them or solve them or who to blame.

Me myself personally overall would reccomend a third dog to someone as long as they had the appropiate time, money & understanding. The only thing that is holding me back from another canine is finances.

I personally also would wait until a dog is about a year of age before adding another just because by then your other pup is out of the puppy stages (or just new dog stage if rescued as an adult) and you know them better by then, you know approx. if you can afford more $ & time by then and lots of other reasons but overall it gives you more time w/ the new addition at first.

I do reccomend having your current dogs meet the new addition first just to get an approx. idea as to how they will get along, even if there is a tiny scuffle they may be able to live together as if you are a good owner it only gets better with time!

If you can handle the way more extras for a puppy then that is USSUALLY a better chance that they will alll live together happily. BUT MANY many many shelter/foster dogs need good homes & you may get lucky & find one that has a background therefore you know that they are potty trained & how socialized they are etc... And even if not most shelters & rescue organizations will grant you a trial period, if things do not work out you could bring the dog back & try again with another.

[My Peanuts]

The dog in question is over a year, crate trained, house broken, knows basic commands, and gets along with other dogs. In all honestly I have never personally met her. I saw her on the Petfinder website. My puppy is over 10 months, and my adult is over a year; so all together I'd be looking at a 10 month old, and two 1 year olds. If it was up to me she'd be living here already!

I posted this on another thread, but this is Tatum, the pup in question...Tatum

[Cincy'sMom]

Tatum is a cutie!!! I love that face!!!

One other thing to consider ( and if I could change anything about our dogs, this may be it) The situation you would be in, and taht we arein is that all the dogs are very close in age (For us, there is 13 months from oldest to youngest) That is great now, but I'm nopt sure what it will be like when we have 3 senior dogs, both from a finanical and emotional standpoint. Obviuosly situations can change alot over time, but do you feel you would be able to care for three older sog that may have health problems? And the bigger concern for me is what if we loose them all close together?

[tikeyas_mom]

i have alwasy had at least 2 dogs in my house-hold. all my life. this is the first tim EVER in my whole life that we have owned three dogs. *it is great*

[Shelteez2]

I have 2 dogs, but I often dog sit and I get to sometimes take my dogs with me, so I've lived with 3 dogs and 4 dogs before.
I can comfortably handle 4 dogs, so that would be my limit (providing I was financially able to have 4 dogs). Any more would be hard to walk, and I'm not big on taking several walks. I like to get it all done at once :-)

Also just recently I was taking care of my co-worker's mini poodle in my house and it wasn't a big difference at all.

[pupslover]

i think it's all personal. are you financially capable, time capable, and is your house/yard big enough for 3 big pups. i have 2 now and seems my rooms keep shrinking lol. i want more goldens! lots more goldens like 5 in all. but i know i have to wait until i can handle it. otherwise, its just wrong. make sure you have the time to devote to 3 pups. enough to give them lots of love! if you're good for all that...i'd say go for it. puppies are pure happiness. you'll just have 3 times the luv. food/ dishes/potty time is all temporary. its like a baby...diapers are just part of the deal, but entirely worth it!

[lv4dogs]

Originally posted by Cincy'sMom
Tatum is a cutie!!! I love that face!!!

One other thing to consider ( and if I could change anything about our dogs, this may be it) The situation you would be in, and taht we arein is that all the dogs are very close in age (For us, there is 13 months from oldest to youngest) That is great now, but I'm nopt sure what it will be like when we have 3 senior dogs, both from a finanical and emotional standpoint. Obviuosly situations can change alot over time, but do you feel you would be able to care for three older sog that may have health problems? And the bigger concern for me is what if we loose them all close together?

I was just going to add that. yes as they age they will all be seniors at the same time. Unfortunatlly most senior dogs develope one problem or another, weather it be arthritis, weaker bladder control, blindness, deafness, thyroid problems the list goes on & on. But do you think you could afford that all at once? Also unfortunatly they do not live forever, lossing all at the same time would be devastating for me to handle. I personally like to have them about 3-5 years age difference mainly because of the "senior" dog moments.

[stacwase]

Originally posted by lv4dogs
I was just going to add that. yes as they age they will all be seniors at the same time. Unfortunatlly most senior dogs develope one problem or another, weather it be arthritis, weaker bladder control, blindness, deafness, thyroid problems the list goes on & on. But do you think you could afford that all at once? Also unfortunatly they do not live forever, lossing all at the same time would be devastating for me to handle. I personally like to have them about 3-5 years age difference mainly because of the "senior" dog moments.

Me too. My plan is to adopt dogs when they're about 3 years old, and about 4-5 years apart in age. So for example when Jake was 7 we got Max (age 2.5). When Max is 7 and Jake is 12 we'll get another 2-3 year old dog. We're just going to keep doing that, avoiding puppyhood altogether and never having more than one very old dog.

[lovemyshiba]

I'm with Cincy's mom on that one too.
Unfortunately, 2 of my dogs are 2 years old, and little Riley is just a year. That puts them all in their senior stage right around the same time, and wasn't very smart planning on my part. Plus, when the time does come, it will be so hard.

That said, when we had 3 it was great for many of the reasons mentioned. Kito likes to just sit by mommy and get head rubs, but Abbey and Riley love to play play play!!!!!! Now it's Riley and Jada who play nonstop, and Kito and Abbey do once in a while too.

We have the fenced in yard for them to go out, plenty of room to separate everyone if we need too, and can afford the vet and food bills. Obviously you have already considered these things.

Making sure everyone gets along is important too, it will make them much happier. Kito doesn't warm up to other dogs really quickly, but Riley was only 12 weeks when we got him, and he was fine, and to this day never ever picks on Riley.

Good luck in your decision--Tatum is gorgeous!!!!

One more thing--we don't go anywhere either, lol. If we do, we have a dog-sitter who comes to the house, and he knows the dogs and how they act. Just remember that another one is another one to find someone to look after if you want to go anywhere.

[My Peanuts]

Thanks for all your opinions. Unfortunately the decision to get Tatum is not mine, and I don't think it's going to happen now . I just hope she gets a good home soon.

Pupslover--it really wouldn't be 3 big dogs. Sylvia weighs about 14 lbs, Harley about 22lbs, and I have no idea what Tatum weighs, but probably around 50.

The best advice was the fact that they would all be seniors at the same time, it really made me think.

[anna_66]

I personally don't find 3 dogs that much harder than 2, expecially with Angus being older and the other 2 being young.
The girls have each other to play with which is nice. And when Angus feels like it he plays too.
The only drawback I can think of at the moment is when it's rainy & yucky outside I have 12 muddy paws to clean instead of 8

[pupslover]

oh..well that even wouldn't be that bad. but if its not up to you...then i guess you'll just have to see whats in store..

good luck either way. your pups are adorable!