My job was "eliminated" about two years ago and due to a lot of other family things going on I have not gone back to work although occasionally I do some temp work. So I will say it is much easier to give 6 dogs enough attention by having more time to give them attention. And things may have been different if I had not lost my job when I did and circumstances were not what they have been. But first off, no they don't all get equal attention but then they don't all want equal attention. My 15 year old Oreo has always been a "I'll let you know when I want attention" dog and tends to want to be off in a corner by herself and just wants an acknowledging petting every now and then. Snoopy and Pippi are the ones who want and need the most attention so they probably get the most. But I (and now that Carl is back home, we) try to get everyone attention whether they come asking or not. Jack likes to have his ears scratched but also likes his quiet time away from the younger ones wild ways. Yes, at times they are jealous but we deal with that by giving them turns with us. Dazzi is very well behaved so she gets to go on special trips to my mom's and sister's. Jack sleeps in our room because he will stay on his bed and not on ours. As far as things even though they each have their own bowl, they don't fight over someone eating out of theirs. They share toys, rawhide they can get a little possessive of but overall for six dogs of all shapes, sizes and breeds they do an excellent job of getting along.Of course I would 4 Dog Mother!! I would actually love to have more dogs, but I think Bud and Tash are too set in their ways now. How do you give them all attention equally? Don't they get jealous of each other? Both mine are pretty sucky and demand a fair bit of attention, I'm not sure there's enough time in my day to give even one more the amount it would deserve/require. If I pet one, the other moves right in for my free hand. If one sits next to me on the couch, the other gets on the other side, or (poor them) has to settle with lying on my feet. They love each other very much but watch each other carefully to ensure the other does not get more attention than they are getting.
One thing we have noticed is that having younger ones around keep the older ones younger. Before we got Dazzi, Oreo was an only dog for 11 years. She was overweight, could no longer jump on furniture, her back end was stiff and some winter days she could hardly get around. She couldn't make it around the block when we walked her. Now she has lost a lot of weight, she no longer has trouble with her back end, she can walk and walk around the dog park (although it is at a much slower pace than the rest of thedogs) and she can hop in and out of the van by herself. We never dreamed she would live to 15 and now we think she may live forever. She is friendlier than she has ever been and more tolerant of other dogs. In fact, we have found that with all of ours. Jack was not so tolerant when we got him at four years of age and now he knows they are his siblings and he better get along with them. And Dazzi is more tolerant with other dogs now too.
And another thing is that they all play together (well, not Oreo) so I probably don't have to give out as much attention because they get it from each other.
And my lost thought on more dogs is that while some ask if I can give them enough attention, I ask would they have been better off staying in the situation where they came from. Would Pippi still be alive if she had to stay outside in a dog house all winter? Would Jack have survived where he was with ear and eye infections and being outside all the time? Would someone else give Snoopy the medication he needs for his epilepsy? I know what kind of a dog mother I am, I don't know what kind of dog parents they would have if I had not adopted them.
My closing comment is that each person has to decide what is right for them and their circumstances and then deal with that. I don't think I would ever have six dogs at a time again - that it just happened this way for now. But who knows....
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