We have two dogs right now (ok more like 1.5 ). A 5 yo female Shih tzu/Maltese (Taylor) and a 7 mo male husky (Ryder). The Taylor is grumpy, there's really no nicer way to put it. Haha. The problem is my Ryder loves her and wants to play, she has no interest. When we see other dogs Ryder loves to play and gets along great. It seems to take pressure off Taylor, because Ryder is occupied and not bugging her.

I honestly never thought I would have our dogs outnumber us... But, we're seriously debating if a third dog might be a good idea. We own our own home and live in a rural area, so those types of things aren't a concern. Tell me if I'm wrong, but I feel the biggest part is the financials? We already take the time to walk, play, ect. And if anything I see a third helping with healthy play and activity .

So what made you get your third? And I would love any other advice or thoughts! Thanks!

Financials and where your younger dogs are in their training. Ryder is still a little young and has yet to go through the teenage years, so you could still have a handful. You just want to make sure he is secure enough in his training that bringing another dog in (especially a puppy or younger dog) doesn't make him regress in training or have him rub off bad habits on the new one.

We would love to get a second husky so Bode can have a playmate, but we are kind of in limbo right now with me being in my last year of Grad school and unsure about what's going to be next for us. So we are holding off considering we may have to move and it will most likely be a rental. Finding a rental with one husky and a cat is going to be hard enough, let alone two "dangerous" breed dogs.

Our first dog was Nara, a GSD. We got Paw Paw (our Sibe) to be her playmate. I wanted a breed that I was attracted to, as well as one that would have similar energy levels and size for wrestling/roughhousing. I give them both plenty of exercise, but I still thought it was best for Nara to have a "friend" and "brother." They got along great and still do. They were born 2 weeks apart, so it worked out perfectly. We bought Nara at 8 weeks old, and rescued Paw Paw just before he was 8 months old. When we moved here to Oregon, Paw Paw would spend a lot of time in our fenced back yard, because when he was inside with Nara, he would have nothing to do but sleep all day. Outdoors, he runs and chases things, and just walks around to explore constantly. I felt bad for him being outside most of the day alone. Nara couldn't be out there with him because she has a barking problem that we've worked on with professional behaviorists. She can't be outside alone more than a few minutes and she's disturbing the entire neighborhood, barking at squirrels, the wind, grass, you name it. She's a great guard dog, and has a different bark to alert us to something like coyotes, etc., but we don't want to be "those neighbors" that allow their dog to bark at all hours, all the time. So Nara goes out to potty with human supervision and comes right back in, and only stays outside if I am with her doing yardwork and can correct her on the spot if/when she barks.

I started searching for another "husky" since my Paw Paw can be outside all day and will NEVER make a sound. He's very quiet for a husky. I keep hearing about how noisy this breed is, but Paw Paw must be the exception to the norm. I found a husky/malamute/wolf mix in need of rescue, and thought that, since it was part husky, he would be a quiet addition. He was! Beowulf was 14 weeks old and severely abused and neglected when we got him. We have rehabilitated him the best we can, but he still can't go out in public due to sudden movements or noises. He plays great with Paw Paw in the yard, and both can be out there all day and the neighbors would never even know it. All of our dogs are inside dogs, but the ones outside get "extra exercise" by being able to walk around our yard and chase critters. When we move to Idaho this month, I'm hoping to find a home with a yard that has no neighbors nearby, so all 3 dogs can be outside together during the day, even if Nara barks, as there won't be anyone close enough to disturb, and of course, we'll still work with her on obedience to try to curb this habit.

Anyways, that's our story. We're strapped financially now and cannot afford to bring in a 4th dog, as much as I'd want to. If it were up to me, I'd be like the crazy cat lady, only I'd be the crazy dog guy, surrounded by as many dogs as possible.

I don't know that we're ready for another puppy puppy (just finished with the house training..).  We'd probably lean toward one his age or maybe a little older.  He does great with all dogs, breed/age/size, doesn't matter. He's been around adult pitbulls, shih zhu puppies, and everything in between and I've never had to separate him or tell him to chill out; I've literally never even heard him growl. So I'm pretty sure he'd just be excited to have a playmate, no matter the age of the other dog.

As far as training, he's really good for me, not bad for my fiance, but not quite as good as he is for me. For example, a couple weeks ago we visited my sister and they're lucky enough that in their area someone donated several acres of unused farm land and woods to their town. They fenced it all in for a huge dog walk area.  My sister lets her 1yo Shepard mix off leash all the time, but I was pretty nervous about letting Ryder off even though I knew it was fenced (he's never really been off leash).  Well, I let him off and he went off the path to do his business, I called him back and he literally just walked right on the trail in front of me as if he was on leash!  Even with my sister's dog trying to get him to go out in the field to play with her, he still just walked right on the path.

I got a third dog when I was happy with my two at the time and wanted to rescue another dog in need. So we got our third and it was only then that I learned that I am a two dog person. Lol I much prefer only having two dogs, but it took having a third for me to realize it. We managed with three dogs for years as I wasn't going to back out of the commitment I made when we rescued our third, but I always regretted the decision and won't be making that mistake again. It's such a personal thing though and will vary greatly from person to person. One thing I will say though is that I would never add a dog for the sake of a current dog's companionship. I would only get another dog because my human family wants another one and only if the newbie were a good match for my whole family (human and animal).

I must say getting a third was a bit scary for me. My husband wanted the third but he does not have a lot of patience. So when our previous husky Butkis was getting a little up there in age closer to 14 and our second (8)Beka was really needing someone to play with we got our first Third Baylin. This worked out wonderfully and the financial was the biggest issue besides puppy training. However my other two we well behaved and trained house dogs. So years pasted and then Beka got older 10 and Baylin 4 needed the playmate plus we were over our loss. We got Bourbon as a playmate for Baylin and it worked well. I think I will try to stay with this concept of adding a do after the eldest just needs a break. I would note that my dog helped me train the others so know you pup and his training before you bring a new one in. With your situation is sounds like it would work. I cringe at the boarding bill when we go on vacation with three pups though.
It is definitely different for all dogs and all people. Good luck.

Three was a major change from two! We didn't even do a puppy puppy, Ares was 5 months when we got him and obviously still had a lot of training that needed to be done including housebreaking.

I always wanted a third, boyfriend was not feeling it but I got my way haha!

Financials is definitely a huge change. We went from spending $50 on dog food every 1.5 months to spending that every 3 weeks. Plus vaccinations, neutering, kennel, dog license and park tags. It was a rough couple of months but after you get used to it, it becomes easier.

Jennet&Embry wrote:

Financials is definitely a huge change. We went from spending $50 on dog food every 1.5 months to spending that every 3 weeks. Plus vaccinations, neutering, kennel, dog license and park tags. It was a rough couple of months but after you get used to it, it becomes easier.

Good to know...

I think it is money, but can be hard to manage all animal relationships. I only have 2 hands, so when they are all in my face asking for attention I feel I am neglecting one too.

That said my reason for 3 dogs is I had 2 seniors. Lexi is still active and she always has had some separation anxiety. Dom is very much so a senior who likes to relax. With various health issues I got nervous how either of my seniors will act or feel when the other passes. Also the thought of coming home to a house with no dogs scared me. I got loki when my fiance said yes after approaching him about other dogs too. Lexi absolutely fell in love with him and is protective over him. Dom who is much older in how he acts seems to get aggravated with him. Probably similar to how taylor feels about ryder. Having lexi for loki does means for the most part loki searches for lexi or my cat bindi. He still bothers dom and neo (cat who does not like him), but not so much.

I would just say if you get a younger dog, you may end up with 2 who bother taylor. Not the end of the world, but something to think about.

Also though it can be hard, I think I would have three dogs again depending on situation. I would however never have more then 2 cats again though. That is just too much cat to manage for me.

We didn't get the third intentionally...it just kinda happened...lol. I wouldn't change it for anything though, I love my little red midget. The hardest thing for me to adjust to was the walking 3 dogs ( I say me b/c hubby can't go on long walks). That and the fact that Mya is a total alpha bitch so it took her some getting used to Asia. Financially, I don't know...i really didn't feel it too bad. I mean yeah, they eat more, but I was going through a 30lb bag of Acana every 3 weeks, now it's every 2 weeks. I didn't have to buy anything extra for Asia either. Just a collar and bowl. I had Myas crate, tons of leashes, toys, etc. The only thing I feel financially is the monthly heartwarm and flea prevention.

I currently have six dogs, which is crazy and I would never have anymore than three ever again! Three are senior dogs, so they are lazy couch potatoes and the other three are my crazy huskies. I was good having Nicky and Hayden and then Brandi some how got thrown in the mix and even though I love her, having two huskies for me was better than three.

Something you really need to think about is do you have time to devote to each dog. I feel bad, because I feel like I neglect my senior dogs sometimes. Then I have to make it up to them

Also, as others suggested, make sure you are financially ready to add a third dog on. I dread when I run out of flea/tick meds, since everyone is a different weight I easily will drop $400 for a 3-month supply. Heartguard is a pain too! These are buying online and saving money vs buying from the vet.

Just make sure your dogs are good and your life is good to handle adding a third member.

Maybe try fostering a dog to see how your dogs react to a third member and see if your ready for a third dog?

3 was a good number for us. Kinda lonely when I look back at it but it worked. Its really going to depend on you and the dog. I know some people who made the jump too quickly to 3 and ended up with a disaster of a household.

Be sure youre happy with your dogs now and their behavior both with each other and other animals before even considering another. Try and match personalities as much as possible.

Another thing to consider now that I noticed your age is your life plans for the future, like career and family.  All your pets will require individual attention to varying degrees depending on the dog and things like career changes and growing families can add challenges as the years pass by.  Obviously I don't know if you're in your dream job for the long haul, whether or not you're happily married, or even whether kids are a possibility for you in the future,  but these are things to consider as you contemplate adding to the pack.

Our third dog was a special case requiring more attention, more work on training, more attention to her medical/health problems, and therefore more money to treat her health issues than the average "normal" dog.  So both the financial and time investment was a major impact but regardless I was happier with 2 anyway.  Having kids made it so much harder to keep up with the dogs and I'll be honest, most days my dogs are neglected and don't get the attention or exercise they deserve but at the end of the day my kids will always come first. Of course things will change as the kids get older and more self sufficient, but in these early years it's the dogs that lose out unfortunately.  For example, I used to walk my dogs 4 times a day and regularly take them to dog parks and hiking in the mountains pre-kids.  Now, my dogs haven't had a single walk in the last 5 months, I can't even remember my last trip to a dog park, and they haven't been on a mountain hike since the beginning of this year.  Just an example of how drastically things can change over time with major life changes and a reminder to keep long term life plans in mind as you make decisions now.  I always knew I wanted kids so I tried to pick dogs that would be good with kids even before starting a family.  In the case of my third dog I followed my heart rather than my head and wound up with a dog that was bad with kids no matter how much I worked with her, so let that be a reminder to not let emotion get the best of you when you do come across a good potential candidate.

As for routine cost, that still packed a big punch in the routine veterinary care side of things.  If you take your dogs in separately for routine care you may not notice it as much. But if you take them all at the same time like I prefer to do, you really notice how much more you spend.  For annuals, bloodwork, and heartworm prevention I spend about $250 per dog, so 2 dogs was $500, and 3 brought it up to $750...not including food, flea prevention, or unplanned vet visits.

We definitely would/will wait for the right fit if we do get a third. As I said Taylor is a little dog, which doesn't always work with some dogs, especially since she's kind of grumpy. She's only 5, but she just wants to curl up on the back of the couch and be left alone. She's more of a barking cat, really. So we'd need to have the right fit for her. Ryder will love any other dog.

And yes, we do want to have kids in the semi near future. I grew up on a farm, so we always had lots of animals and pets. And my SO grew up with two St. Bernards and three labs after the St. Bernards passed away. So for us it's just a matter making sure all our pets are child friendly. Can't imagine growing up without pets. Right now I'd be much more concerned about Taylor with kids than a husky. Which again would mean waiting for the right dog.

Walking with an extra wouldn't really be an issue, as Taylor doesn't go with us regularly (only the odd walk my SO comes on) because she wants to come then doesn't want to walk. Carrying 15lbs on a couple miles walk isn't the best. The only issue might come if the third isn't great on leash. Which luckily Ryder seems to be a good 'lead dog', so that could help.

Fostering before is actually a great idea. Am I wrong, though, in thinking that people who foster a dog usually end up adopting it? Which I guess could work, if the other dog worked.

Not all people who have dogs and then wind up with children drop all their dog activities. The majority of people who are active in the dog training or sport world remain very active. While they may not compete as often they are still working with their dogs. Kids have more needs, but that doesn't mean the dog needs to suffer or lack attention/socalization/exercise.

It all comes down to priorities. I grew up with dogs and animals in the household so perhaps I was just raised differently.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that in all cases a growing human family equals no time for the animal family members.  Again, older kids are much easier and self sufficient.  After my daughter was born I was back out walking the dogs once a day, but being pregnant with a toddler who doesn't sleep well in a warmer climate has really made things difficult for me as the primary caregiver.  My husband works a lot of overtime and travels a lot so I don't have the help that some people might have with pet care...or even child care.  To make matters harder for me particularly, we don't have any family close by to help us out, and I just don't feel right asking my friends to watch my kids so I can take the dog for a walk.  Once my son is born I guarantee I'll be out doing at least once daily walks again, weather permitting.  Every situation is different. And I know my kids won't ever remember a time when the dogs didn't get regular exercise because by the time they're old enough to remember their pets, they'll be self sufficient enough to not require the amount of time a newborn and young toddler require.   And of course kids themselves require varying amounts of attention. Somehow I ended up with a very demanding daughter who never naps while I have friends with easy-going, laid back kids who'll easily nap 3+ hours a day.  Every situation is so unique, and I don't want people to think I don't care about my pets or their needs...quite the contrary.

Looks like we'll be getting an impromptu trial next week! My sister (who lives 5 hours away) is coming home for the weekend and then her and her bf are flying to Florida to visit his parents. They were looking into boarding their dog, so we offered for her to stay with us instead. She said she wanted to ask, but didn't want to put us out. Obviously we already know this pup so there won't be a need for acclimation like there would be with a new dog, but it'll be good to see about time management, how Taylor will react, and how three running our house could be.

Don't have to worry about becoming a foster failure anyway! How long will they be gone for? I've pet sat many times for people with multiple dogs/animals and never really had an issue, but then again maybe it was because I knew it was only temporary that I didn't care while having 3 of my own just wasn't my cup of tea. Good luck with it!

I think it depends on how many kids. We have one and she has been involved with our dogs since she was a toddler. When she got older she played fetch with the dogs and went on walks. At 12 she started walking our older dogs. At 13 she takes loki for walks on some days and plays with him a lot. Having a kid in our case has made having multiple pets easier for me.

I have had two dogs many times but this is the first time for me having 3.  It was quite an adjustment.  But I really think it's because of Loki's personality. I have a very submissive, quiet 2.5 y/o female lab, she is such a love!  No issues from her whatsoever.  Then there is Balon, (Balon and Loki are full siberian brothers from different litters) Balon is a little shy around people but once he gets to know you he is quite the lover.  Other then thinking I would never get him housebroken he has been fairly easy to raise.  He listens quite well and isn't destructive.  Enter the demon, I mean Loki lol.  He came in here like the wrath of hell and hasn't changed yet lol.  He is super sweet, loving, affectionate just like the other two, but he is hell on wheels lol.  He is just all about activity and bugging his brother and sister from am to pm   He completely destroyed two cushions on my couch by digging holes in them and ripping the material, he has chewed through not one but two ethernet cables from verizon and various other things. We have discovered of course that the more activity he gets the better he is lol.  I really think Balon is not a normal husky, and Loki is a normal husky lol.  Actually Loki has the most reliable recall which is strange lol.  Don't get me wrong I love them all to death, they are my babies.  Financially it is different, more food, more flea/tick stuff another crate, bowls leashes, harnesses etc.  But I really gotta say I don't ever regret getting Loki.  He has a crazy enthusiasm for life that I just love watching!

I should add that I have three grown sons still living here so I get lots of help with them! My youngest loves to walk Loki and that is great for Loki!  

Well, it's day three with three... So far, our biggest issue is that Nellie (my sister's dog) doesn't appear to have a mute button or an inside voice! We're not really used to having such a vocal dog. Ryder hardly ever barks, even when rough housing with other dogs, he doesn't make noise. Taylor barks a bit more, but it's usually at something, like a neighbor outside or a car arriving. Nellie barks, yip, and grunts almost continually, about just about anything...

She's super well behaved otherwise and her and Ryder love each other, so I guess I can't complain too much. Taylor has become the 'fun police', though! If the big dogs are playing, she'll stand a couple feet away and bark at them. Funny and annoying at the same time.