A quick question for those of you with more than 2 dogs.  Is it a huge difference going from 2 to 3 (or more).  Have/Did you find that the pack dynamics changed greatly.  Any hints or tips?  Do you make any special effort to make sure that each dog gets 1-1 time with you?

Thanks
Jayne

1 to two is a change, any more adding on is just another bowle, just another poo....etc etc lol

Our dogs don't tend to get any 1-1 time unless they are young and need training.

On the day of shows the dogs staying at home get a walk in the morning whereas others get put in the car.

The current show dogs take it in turn in coming to ringcraft, youngest nearly always comes.

Rest of the time they are treated as a group of dogs.

Although I shall repeat that 1-1 time must be given to the younger dog untill trained!

Sometimes there have been afew grumbles when new addition gets to about a year and starts finding their place in the pack but never anything serious (although we haven't introduced a male for 8 years, which was one we bred, as we currently have 2 we don't want to upset the balance and the girlies are fine.  youngest has had a couple of "to-do's" with the two other girls but has been fine after about 10 seconds and they all live happily.  Alot depends on the current and new dogs attitude :)

I found a huge difference from 2 to 3 , but not  from 1 to 2 or then 3 up :-D

What kind of difference Blue?

Hi there, we've got 3 dogs the youngest being nearly 10 months, the eldest 11 years.

I didn't find it a huge difference going to 3 but they do all get 1-1 time with us, usually on walks.  They do get taken all together but we also take them seperately as well so they get spoilt :)

I haven't found the pack dynamics have changed but they have had the occasional (very occasional) spat usually because the pup wants the others to play when they wants nap :rolleyes:

After two I didn't find it changed much, but having even numbers I find better than odd.  At present I have four ranging from 4 months to 9 1/2 years.  I had three for about a year, and prior to that has five for two years.

I take all my dogs out together, but if I take two to a show then there are always two left to keep each other company now that I have four again.

I haven't had less than three for 9 1/2 years so can barely remember.

I didn't realise just how much work a third one made until I went down to 2! 2 was a dawdle in comparison. Mind you, when no. 3 came home again (she had gone on holiday for 3 weeks due to a season :D ) everything went back to normal and felt right ;) If you put the time in, and are prepared for another dog I'd go for it. It's always another one to cuddle :) Id have another if I could :D

I only have two dogs for the same reason that I have only two children :D I can't see how I would give more dogs the same attention or do the same amount of training with them. Also, two dogs in the car is easy - three would be more complicated. Two dog beds fit well into the kitchen, three would take up more room. Two were easy to take to agility and training classes (one in each of consecutive training classes) etc etc etc etc Am I just making excuses for not getting another dog or are these reasonable ?? :D :D :D

Daisy

Hi

I think also it depends greatly on the breed of dog. I am thinking about getting another whippet but dont tell hubby lol. I really dont think it will make a great deal of difference to us going up to 3 dogs with two being whippets and a russel. But I wouldnt want another jack Russel as I do feel that would be harder. Same as when I had the GSD as much as I loved him and miss him like nothing i didnt appreciate how much hard work he was. He ate more than these two put together in a day. Cost more to keep than the two of them. Made more mess hair wise. More cleaning up after as he had GSD size pees and poos ect. A lot stronger so could only walk him on his own. Needed a huge bed were as 3 smaller dogs would fit in his one bed.

I think it is a good idea to space them out ages wise to

Wendy

We've got 3 dogs, and i must admit it has been challenging at times with regards to exercise and feeding.. As they are all at different stages in life its been a bit of a missmash getting it right, the younger cant go out with the older as she plays too rough, the middle one cant be fed anywhere near the younger one as hes a food thief and she lets him :D

Having a time out spot though has been a godsend, as the older one needs her space now and we made her a den of sorts on the landing and if she cant go sunbathing she'll be found comatose on the landing..

The poo though oh dear has doubled and i loathe poo duty with a passion....

and i havent even mentioned the extra slobber

We've currently got a 5.5 year old GSD (male), a 3.5 year old GSD (female) and would be adding another male GSD.  He is being bought primarily for my husband to compete with (after training!) in agility and obedience as we currently do this with the other two. 

I agree about the age part.  Mine are two to four years apart, with ideally around 3 years.  This means that training (unless your a serious training/competition person) has reached the maintenance stage by two to three years old, and you then have the time for the new pups intensive training.

I two keep my girls as a group who mostly do things together.  for me it is as easy two walk them all together and pet them together or give them treats together etc.  So I do not find them much more work than one or two.

I came from a large family (brought up as one of five children, but actually my Dad has 8 offspring).

I have never needed or wanted such an intense one on one relationship as some people have with their dogs, preferring a more relaxed way of being with them as a group, where they interact with each other as much as me.  I get more pleasure from them being dogs with each other than I do with training them, and for me training is to make them acceptable in human society and easier to share my life with, but not something I get a kick out of doing.

So the breed probably does make a difference, and I would not have a needy high maintenance breed like my first dog again, it was altogether too intense for me.

The breed I own now suits me just fine, being very affectionate, but pretty self sufficient emotionally.

I can't remember a time when I've had less than 4 dogs - usually more, even as a child growing up, so I can't comment on the difference going from 2 to 3. But I did want to post to agree with Barbara that dogs are easier in even numbers :)  Sometimes it's just easier to take only two dogs, say for a family walk down the country Park or to a friends for dinner. If you have 4 the dogs are never alone. My two collies go to agility and the two borzois are left at home. Then the zois go racing and the two collies are left at home. I walk them all together.

Edited to say that mine don't get 1/1 attention other than a few mins training in the garden each day. They'll take it in turns themselves to snuggle up for a cuddle in the evenings :)

I can't remember really as I went from 2 to 3 in 1990 and have never had as few again. Have 9 right now. In my case, the pack order between the dogs I find is very important to keep the peace, and yes, each dog DO get individual time, including the oldies.(But youngsters get more as they get the extra training classes etc.) Even if it's just a walk on their own, a grooming session etc, each dog does get some time all to their own and they really love that time.

I think it does depend on possibly not the breed but the personality of the dogs.  We had 3 dogs and then nearly 2 years ago the eldest died. 
Now i don't know whether it was his personality or the fact that for a good while before he died he needed a heck of a lot of looking after due to his illness's (cancer & heart trouble)  When we lost him it was like a great hole in my life (i'm the main carer for our lot)  I seemed to have loads of time and gradually as the months passed i decided it was time for a new member to arrive, now we've been back up to 3 since last September things seem more normal.  I do hasten to add that we are actually thinking of a fourth now but thats in the future when our pup is older :)

Hi,
I'll agree with 'the personality of the dogs'. I found a lot of difference this time around going from two to three. My last lot of three were very easy,  great with people and other dogs, whilst the present three are a different story! The two older ones have issues with various things, one with collies and some people, the other with furry running things and some dogs. Latest addition is 8 months, hormone surging, large working breed male with 'Attitude'. As you can imagine walking all three is an interesting experience (two was much easier) I spend 1 to 1 time everyday with youngster and the older two, a few times a week, but I have noticed I have less time generally and it is hard leaving one whilst taking the other two out so I tend only to take one. My friend who is in the same boat finds it easier as she has a partner to help and this makes a great difference!  Time to change the OH me thinks!!!

I've got three and I'd never have three again.

Mine are now 9,6 and 3.  The dynamics of the whole family change when you have three.  I love them all to bits but its nowhere near as simple as having two.  They are trained individually and it takes forever; they are fed separately and it takes forever; they are often walked separately and that's no joke.

Stick to two.

We have 3 at the moment, two large breed Leos, one small CKCS.  My boy is big and strong, i walk him on his own, then i take my young Leo training on her own but i do walk the girls together no problem.  They eat seperatly only because the boy doesn't care if the girls eat all his food.  He is a soft thing but big and strong, hubby walks him at night aswell.  We all get along fine and they never fight, they come in in the evenings and all settle down no problem.  I am firm that when they do come in it is not play time but settle time. They have toys but only for play themselves, our young girl likes to have something to chew, boy loves to suck on a toy and goes to sleep...See i told you he was a big softy..
Yvonne

Are they too big or too different to walk together, and why feed separately, I find I can feed six dogs in five minutes all together in the kitchen by just standing in the middle until they are done (this is when I have had another dog to stay).

I find it as easy to keep 8 as I do 2 or 3...

2 are fed outside together.. the other 6 are fed in the kitchen.. with me in the middles to stop pilfering :)

The older 3 are all walked together.. but one always on lead.. no problems just hate fishing her out of the river..

the younger 4 are all under 13 months and also get walked together...

they live sleep and play together..

and on the whole just laze around.. open an occasional eye to see if I head off to the fridge etc... but my breed is a really easy breed to maintain.. no washing, grooming, stripping etc.. just a quick brush down

"the younger 4 are all under 13 months and also get walked together."

Now that is brave!!!!

It does sound like it lol.. but not really.. Wallace 13months is a big laid back bear.. Beanie and Hunter 6months are dozy plodders.. Teagan 10mths on Monday is a bit more lively, but very much in the mumsy mode and never likes to be far from me.. regardless of who I take with me..

Sounds much like me Kay -two small dogs fed together in one room, the 7 big ones in the kitchen, all sit and wait in front of their bowls until told they can eat (pup has finally learnt to wait!) and I just keep an eye on them so they don't steal each other's food. 10 seconds and we're done LOL.

I only feed seperatly because our boy just walks away and lets the girls eat his.  He is so lean we feed him on his own and he eats better.  Our girls would just eat and eat, even the little one will go looking for food.  That way i can leave them to it while i get on with other jobs, kids meals etc.  I walk him on his own as i like to have 1 to 1 time with him and the girls have their time aswell.  I like to enjoy them individually as they are very different characters, just like my kids.  I had 4 of them and they all liked their own time aswell. 
Yvonne

They are trained individually and it takes forever;

LOL it would drive me nuts to have just 3 dogs -I need to have reserves! If one bitch is in season, or pregnant, or has pups, there needs to be a back up for classes etc. When one gets too old to do much I need a younger one to train etc.  I'd get bored! :D Good job we're all different!

I've not found it a big difference this time around - actually it's made things seem more normal.  Maybe I should explain that :D

When my younger two were growing up my brother lived at home, he had a 5yr old (now 9) rescue bitch, quite bossy.  When I moved I took my two with me, but a few months afterwards I took on Soli, a 5yr old rehome bitch, quite bossy :D so it seems normal to us, we've slipped back into how things used to be I think.  Soli's taken a while to adjust, but she was a singleton in her last home.

Right, that's that explained... I do try to give my dogs 1-to-1 time, although I admit I've been horribly lazy of late but I'm getting back into it again!  I do agility training with them in the garden, obedience (competitive and general) training indoors and trick training, and usually a little bit on walks as well.  Walks I find the hardest with 3 - but I that's because of Soli, not because of having 3!  Because she's fear-aggressive with other dogs - not to mentioned untrained before I got her - I have to walk her alone during the daytime to work on her issues and lead walking.  To make sure she gets enough free running I also have to get up at 5.30am so we don't meet other dogs in the woods.

I found it no trouble going from 2 dogs to 3 just thinking of the initial walking, feeding, training etc. The problem I had was that when the 3rd dog (a bitch) got to 5 months old, my 2 boys (both same age) fell out with each other and although they are ok 95% of the time we generally don't risk having them in the same room now. :-(

one dog is lonely, two are company, three or more is a pack.
Yes! there is a diffrence, just like children, But! wouldn't be without them.

two was a doddle- three was harder work as two of the bitches didnt like each other-
having said that we have just added a fourth but that WILL be our last for definate....................
you have to know your limitations and how many you can adapt to