Has anyone got three dogs?

[FiveHoursSleep]

Is it much harder than two? I keep looking at rescue dogs and wondering if we can squeeze in a little one somewhere.
I've pretty much always had two and have two big ones( both rescue pups) atm, as well as 3 cats, 2 snakes, a hamster and an elderly rat ( debating whether to get a couple of younger ones too). Oh we also have 4 kids who do a lot of feeding , handling and cleaning out of the smaller pets but I do all the dog walking.
Would I be mad, or am I already there?

[LadyTurmoil]

My brother went from 1 dog to 3 when he started going out with his current partner. I don't think it's much of a difference as the two of them share the walking and general care. More difficult to find somewhere for dogs to go if they go away. His dog usually goes to 1 place and her two go somewhere else ( friends or family not kennels). Otherwise, thy take all 3 to France so they have to pay for 3 to be women's etc before coming back to the UK. More food, more vets bills potentially (vaccinations at the very least). What about fostering as a first step - might help you make the decision if you're unsure. Rescues are always desperate for foster families.

[LadyTurmoil]

*wormed not women's!!

[musicposy]

We've got four and it's only marginally harder than two. Like you, we had two and as one of our dogs is 12, we thought we could squeeze a rescue in. We ended up with two rescues!
They were trickier at first as one had real fear issues and we realised how well trained our current dogs actually were! But 6 months on and it is really no different. If you're walking two you may as well walk four.
The only things harder are, more dog grooming, more hair everywhere, more feeding expense. And there is always a pack of dogs round you. One dog following you to the toilet you can not notice. Four dogs in the toilet all watching you, you notice!

Some things I think are easier. As long as you can get one dog doing what you want, the rest copy. This meant that even though the new two had never lived in a house before, they picked all the rules up really fast as they just copied our other two.

I love our little dog pack and I know we did a good thing. Seeing the life our new two have now compared to how they are has been the most rewarding thing ever. If you can afford it I would go for it!

[FiveHoursSleep]

I'm not sure about fostering although I have considered it. I think we would get too attached so would end up with a failed foster!
Food and vet bills not a problem and we have house sitters living in when we travel.
Thanks for your replies so far. Has anyone else got three dogs?

[hmc]

I haven't got three, I've got two, but I plan to get a third in just over a year's time when dog number 2 (who is just 8 months old) is a bit more mature. I can't imagine it is any harder than two (apart from in the initial settling in stage)? Go for it OP

[FiveHoursSleep]

Mine are now 4 and 2, and reasonably well behaved. No one is trying to put me off, are they? :)

[Ticklemonster897]

From a different point of view, visiting friends/relatives with small children might feel the kids are more vulnerable.

[GobblersKnob]

FiveHoursSleep but the idea would be to BE a failed foster , just that in the unlikely event that it didn't work out then you wouldn't be stuck, also it might give you a chance to try a few different dogs with your two to find one that clicks.

[FiveHoursSleep]

We don't really have people who don't like dogs over. If people aren't intimidated by two large dogs, is another small one going to make a difference? In fact people bring their dogs around to play with ours!
Gobblersknob, that's not a bad point actually.

[EveDallasRetd]

I only have one at the moment, but had three and two before. Will no doubt have three/two again.

I have one friend with 8, one with 4 (used to be 5), and a couple with two.

Tbh I find one dog the hardest. I always feel so guilty if I have to leave her on her own. Going from 2 to 3 was actually very easy. My friend with 8 always says you need an even number though, so he'd recommend 4, not 3. My only rule is that it is MuttDog that does the choosing, not me - she's the one that has to get in with them; I've fostered before and had to turn down short termers because the Mutt hasn't liked them.

[moosemama]

I had three for over 10 years and didn't find it any harder than the two I have now - although that might say more about my most recent rescue than it does about the number of dogs, iyswim.

I did tend to walk mine as a two and a one, but that was because my older girl at the time preferred it that way and enjoyed the break while the other two were out with me.

Dh isn't keen to have three again, purely from the point of view of fitting them in the house and car, but he has agreed that we will need to in a year or so.

We're planning on getting a third when things have settled down with our youngest one (currently 16 months and decided it's time to be a teenager) so probably at least another 18 months to two years. This is mainly because our older boy is almost 9 and we already know the younger of the two won't cope without him. Both mine are large, the younger probably classed as big actually (older is 24" to the shoulder, but solidly built and younger is just over 28" and built like a strip of wind) so we'd probably be looking for a small to medium dog next time around, as the house is already pretty full!

[FiveHoursSleep]

Ooooh to easier with 4. Really? They said that about children...

[tomanyanimals]

We fostered but it depended on what dogs my boy would let in and tolerate he let a few in but it was clear he did literally tolerate them so even though we would of loved to have them we just fostered and did some training till a. New home was found. We ended up fostering a cocker spaniel 6 month old bitch which to be fair I was not keen on keeping as I like my big dogs but we knew we would be keeping her she was so petrified of people it was awful if u went near her she screamed like someone was being murdered and he sort of took her in and brought her over to us when we stroked him was brilliant to watch and we knew that was the right decisionfor us could you try that sort of let the dog pick?

[hmc]

Children so much more complicated than dogs though!

[FiveHoursSleep]

Yes, and they grow into teenagers.

[ginauk84]

I think once you have got two any more doesn't make much difference. I had four and really 2 to 3 to 4 didn't make any difference. The jump from 1 to 2 made the difference

[WeAreGroot]

We've got four at the moment though for me it's a bit like having three as our rescue girl is very much DH's dog and not mine so she spends all her time with him.

I think the biggest jump we ever had was going from one to two, since then adding another one hasn't really made that much difference

[Scuttlebutter]

We currently have four. I'd say, having experienced life with one, two and three, that three is the perfect number.

The big difference for us in going from three to four was that we no longer walk them singlehanded. This means I do a 2 + 2 walk which takes twice as long. DH is away for a lot of the week so this has really impacted on my time (I work from home). With three, I could do a single walk which helped so much in managing the time element. Having loose lead walking really nailed is a key skill if you have three.

The other thing I'd say is that once you get above two, it's much harder to find places to stay that will take dogs (especially if they are large). A lot of allegedly dog friendly cottages will say things like "up to two well behaved dogs" or make exorbitant charges per dog, which really mount up. You'll also find that whereas it's quite easy to find a neighbour/friend to dog-sit if you need a day out/night away with one or even two dogs, very few people are happy to be invaded by three or four!

We had three for a number of years - as we had two of our own and then fostered, which is a lovely way of doing it. Inevitably, we "failed" and then became three permanently. Possibly because of the utterly lovely dog we took on, we found that to be no bother at all. By that point, we'd already swapped our car for an estate and were used to thinking of dog hair as a condiment.

I'd also reluctantly say that having three or four does take its toll of the house. Even with an allegedly non shedding breed like greyhounds that don't get especially muddy, cleaning is a bit of a Sisyphean task especially if we have a wet winter. I am not remotely houseproud, but it can be very dispiriting when you've just got the house sparkly for visitors, and one of them decides to mysteriously bring feet fulll of oomska in from the garden.

[Booboostoo]

I've had four before and over a certain number of pets a new one makes no difference. If your day is full of walking, feeding, grooming, etc anyone, fitting one more in makes no difference. With our number of animals it's easier to get a house sitter in than send everyone off to kennels. Just make sure that the existing dogs are well trained and settled as the addition will be a stressful time in some respects.

[Bubble2bubble]

We had two for quite a few years, then three and now four. ( five at the moment but the fifth isn't permanent.).
Agree with scuttlebutter that the big difference is in the number of muddy paws coming into the house, and the amount of hair in moulting season. Other than that, if you are walking two everyday, then walking a few more doesn't make much difference. And I do feel a bit bad sometimes that what was a large estate car boot for two dogs is not large for four or five, so we don't do long journeys with the dogs very often.
Three is a great number - do it! :)

[cindydog]

I have 2 dogs and was minding a third dog for a week.I found it very hard work. I bring my 2 dogs on a coupler but with the 3rd dog I felt like I was walking a pack. Definitely not for me.

[TheFantasticMrsFox]

TBH I think it's a huge step to have one dog, slightly easier to add a second and then anything after that is barely noticeable :o
We have recently added a small Staffie (possibly X) puppy to our two working cockers. In our case she has changed the dynamic in the house completely but totally for the better. The boys are not so wrapped up in one another, vying for who can run fastest or retrieve quicker as she is bouncing along beside them hanging onto their ears We commented recently actually that they are rather like a gay couple with a favourite niece, extremely fond of her, really pleased to have her around and include her but ultimately slightly clueless about how to treat her :o
As mentioned upthread there is more hair, more expense for food, vet bills and insurance I haven't yet broken it to DH how expensive it will be to take the three of them to France next year but otherwise I would say go for it :o

[Lally112]

I don't find any difference really but ours are kennelled and we have 9, we also have 400 odd sheep, 60 odd cows and two bulls, two cats and six hens so hands well and truly full.

[musicposy]

I would agree with the above posters about the house - scuttle is right in saying having so many takes its toll. I hoover almost every day but we still seem to have huge tumbleweed balls of fur blowing round every corner and under every piece of furniture.

I also have to be honest, our house stinks of dog. I never noticed it with two but really do now. It didn't help that the two rescues very much came reeking of "eau de kennel" and that's been an incredibly hard smell to shift. I have windows constantly open, am obsessed with yankee candle, mop and hoover ridiculously frequently, and have covers on the furniture which are washed constantly, but I know the place still smells.

Luckily I've never really done the houseproud thing, so it's a small price to pay for all the joy you get back from them.

[Fab41]

We have three border terriers just now. We did have two, the elderly one died and one remaining was so sad on his own. He was 10, so we got a rescue BT girl who was 2 at the time. She was great, but seemed to get old before her time. So a year later we added a puppy BT.
The dynamic has changed completely! The two young girls charge around like lunatics, and my old boy walks over to calm them down when it gets too much for him.
Walking is more difficult, but we can go off lead in nearby fields which helps.
Food is a lot more, as number 3 has allergies. I now budget £200 a month for vet fees, food, worming, flea treatments and grooming.
I love my pack though, each one is so individual and they are great together.