First off, no, I'm not pregnant

I think Aaron has finally been bitten by the puppy bug, and the rescue I'm currently working for has 7 week old puppies that are going to be available for adoption next month. We are very seriously considering getting one, but Aaron is hesitant for a couple of reasons. First, we are at least talking about having 1-2 kids in the future and this would put us up to 3 dogs. Probably not for another couple of years, but we are thinking about it. His concerns, and I'm sure there is a work around for all of these, are travelling with kids and dogs, and finding dog sitters (or as he calls it, dumping our dogs on other people). He's not very nice about dogsitting when our friends ask, and he doesn't like imposing on other people. We do try to take dogs with us when we drive somewhere, and in that case car space would be the premium. What have you guys done for this? Neither of us like the idea of a minivan, and Aaron isn't fond of the massive SUV's. I personally don't care. We were thinking about replacing his Subaru Legacy with an Outback in the next couple years, but with 3 dogs (really 2.5, Lulu doesn't take up much space) we'd have issues with luggage storage. My thought is to get either a roof top or a hitch mounted cargo container.

Anyway, I'm looking to hear back from people with what has worked and what hasn't, so I can deliver an ironclad argument that pushes him over the edge he's teetering on.

Thanks everyone!

HA!!! I saw those puppies you are talking about and OMG they are so cute!!!!! I am quite sure you will be getting one lol.

As far as traveling I have 3 dogs and 3 sons, but my sons are old (ok ok so am I lol) they are 26, 23, 21! Most of the time if we go away someone stays home and then watches the pack. Last summer we went to the lake my oldest hates it there so he stayed home with Balon who would have hated the non AC house lol. The lab came with us so she could swim in the lake! We didn't have Loki then.

Oh and I have a 11 year old minivan lol, but soon I am getting a Ford Escape, love them!

Hello Meredith,

So as if now, you only have one dog and no kids??

I have two kids, and two dogs! My kids are 12 and 5, and both my dogs are a little over two years now. It's been really easy to adjust to all the kid/furkid craziness! I only say craziness because yes kids are a handful and so are the fukids. My son promised me he'd help me with the puppies and he did....for a whole week!!

Anyways over the years I've adjusted to taking care of my kids, furkids, and the boyfriend! There's times where it gets crazy, but I guess it all works out. I know you said Aaron isn't to fond of huge SUV's...well I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and with the kids and dogs it's a pretty decent size...not too big or too small...it fits my family of 6! We usually try to take trips where we can take the dogs like camping, or to the lake...if we do end up going out of town we leave our furkids to my mom or someone I know I can trust.

I had the puppy making it a fam of 7, but in my opinion it was a little too much since I seem to be the only one in my family taking care of the dogs!!! When you do decide to have kids your mother instinct will kick in and you'll end up being SUPER MOM, and everything will all come into place!!

Meredith, I have several kids all grown and now we have two dogs so I guess I am not much help. I am looking forward to seeing your new puppy. If it were me doing it again I would probably just get a minivan or big SUV and make the best of it. We have a small SUV and we try to take the pups with us on some vacations of course the last one we took a cruise couldn't very well take them we choose to board them did not want to "dump" them on family members ( really did not trust them to keep the pups safe felt the doggie camp would do a better job keeping them safe). When my kids were small we had one dog and most of the time we board her when we took vacations we couldn't take them I guess you just need to plan for the boarding costs into your vacation if you have to board them.
It can get expensive boarding multiple dogs.

my sister and i drive a blazer and bravada and we have four tie downs in the back so with her one kid now and the three dogs we have we hook my two up by their traffic leads and a carabiner from menards in the back of the truck and tie her dogs leash to the chicken bar oppsite of the kids car seat. We have only had the three dogs and kid in the car together once so far but it worked out good. When my sister has her second baby in september our plan is to use three tie downs in the back for the dogs and we are planning on trying muzzles so they cant snap at each other along with getting a barrier so they cant get their paws over the seat by the newborn. Hopefully the three pups have calmed down a bit by then which would make that plan easier, but i do plan on getting a minivan of some sort or upgrading suv's to an extended trailblazer and installing tie downs ourselves for the dogs. I guess it would depend on how much you travel, we dont travel that much and when we do its only 1 1/2 to 2 hour drive away. For luggage i would do either the roof top carrier or the hitch mount like you said whatever ends up being easier access. Right now all we do is load the floor in front of the rear seats since my nephews young enough to not reach the floor yet but we may look into a hitch and a mount eventually because we are kinda short and dont want to be climbing the trucks to get stuff off. We actually want to check out the toyota sequoia ( the words butchered!) I think it was Just for the rear window rolling down

Thanks for the input! Right now we're actually at 2 dogs and no kids. I'm fully convinced that we can easily make it work, but Aaron is such a negative nancy about everything. Hell he's trying to talk us out of going to Japan this summer to visit his brother and sister in law (because it's something new to him, he hates new things). They're only stationed there until next spring, so we're going to piss away a great opportunity if I let his attitude take over.

If we do decide to have kids, which is a pretty big if right now, it's probably going to be another 2 years until the first one comes onto the scene, so we won't have any puppies.

Oh, and then he's completely against having a male dog, he's convinced they just mark everywhere. Yeah, when they're not neutered... He's just set in his ways.

My boyfriend is the exact same way!! We've been together for 15 years!! yep, and still not married...he's convinced if we get married we will split apart and get divorced because he thinks it's a curse or something...

Anyways you'll be just fine!! everything will work out for the best...it just has to!

First of all, WHATTTTTTTTTT A PUPPY?!! OMG OMG OMG! I really hope you get him/her! Ghost will be soooo happy to have a buddy to paly with! What breed are they? Mixed?

Well, as you know, I only have the 3 a**hole ninjas IF WE WERE to have kids we would definitely need a bigger car. We have the Cadillac SRX cross over. Us, the 3 dogs, and one more person fit OK with very minimal to no luggage.

I can see him worrying about males marking, jasper needs to get neutered soon he is occasionally marking and drives me crazy peeing out of the crate when i take bella somewhere and not him. I would think you could find a smaller suv to work for you or even the one your getting as i dont know much about the space in it. And i think it helps to have older dogs who have calmed in comparison to our three crazies. And i'd happily go to Japan!! Always wanted to visit!

Well you know I'm preparing to add a second child and have three dogs, albeit two small ones. We bought a Pilot specifically to be able to accommodate traveling with the kids and dogs. We have a CRV and there is no way we could fit two kids, luggage, and the dogs in it. The Pilot is packed full as it is right now and we will have to fit a second car seat and a larger double stroller in a matter of months!

When the kids are older you will have more space because you won't have to travel with car seats, diaper bags, strollers, playpens, etc.

We are going to buy a roof top carrier to be able to still fit the dogs after number two is born. I am sure we'll have to board the dogs more than we would prefer in the future but it's a trade off we just have to deal with. We also leave the dogs with my mom in FL when we travel longer periods of time. Sure it's a bit of a drive and there's the gas cost to get them there, but it's way cheaper and less stressful on the dogs than boarding.

Melissa, they're pure and absolutely adorable. They're on the Delaware Valley Siberian Husky Rescue website. I'm in love with Brutus (I want a red), Aaron wants one of the girls.

We actually got married after a fairly short time, that was the only time I've ever seen him willingly participate in a big change. Being active duty, I move around a lot and we've moved twice since July of 11. He loses his mind and totally shuts down. I'm pretty much done with the whole moving thing, so we are probably going to stay here when I get out after this tour.

Val, the Pilot just has 2 rows, right? You know that rooftop suggestion that you guys wound up going with was originally his idea, and now he's balking at it. Please do let me know how it works out for you.

Anyway, it seems like everyone here has managed just fine, and I think I've got some good ammo. I really do appreciate it guys.

The Pilot has 3 rows, it seats 8. But we usually travel with the 3rd row down and utilize the cargo space.

Noted, thanks. Aaron is pretty stuck on a Subaru, but I think there is a bit of room for negotiation there. They're dropping hints that they're going to come out with a new 3 row SUV as well, so we'll see what happens.

Puppeh! I vote for a boy! I love my red boy!

And yes, Pilot has three rows! Hondas rock! I have an Element and we can fit four people and two dogs in there easily, Lulu is small and can hang out on the floor of the back row!

Everyone has great suggestions as far as traveling with the pups, but I'd also suggest looking into a dog sitter, not just a friend to do it.

If you look through reviews in your area or even go through a service you can definitely find someone you'll both like. I think that's a lot better for everyone that asking a friend or family member to do it. I dogsit for the families of my mom's third graders through the summer and I love it. It's just a matter of finding someone who really wants to, not feels like they need to.

Just my thoughts! Yay for puppies!

OKay I have no human kids but have two small cars and three pups. (50lbs ea.)
We have a Jeep Wrangler that works for 3 sitting dogs and want a hitch addon or a small trailer. Not pratical at all though.
We have a CRZ which is only a two seater but surprise surprise is actually roomy for the dogs in the hatchback. We are looking into the on the roof cargo bag for a trip in Dec.

So ideas....try a large hatch back. Pacifica, Crosstour, Venza, you mentioned the Outback and I think Cadillac has a hatchback CTS. The dogs could be in the hatchback area, the kids in the seat area and when needed a cargo rooftop bag.
If it was not for the CRZ being sporty but a hybrid I would have ended up with on of these but I love my Honda!

Then there are the Rendevouz and other type crossover not SUV not Mini type vehicle that would work great.
Remind Aaron that the dogs are gonna lay dog and go to sleep after awhile it is not like they are gonn me make the circuit in the car.

No kids here yet but its something we're talking about as well. The equinnox isn't too big of an SUV and gets pretty good gas mileage if that's his issue. Or you could always go with a pickup truck, tie the dogs to the back and then have the cab (extended cab) for the human family. That's what we are considering going with here in the near future (hubby is really foaming at the mouth for a silverado at the moment lol.)

I will say the pilot sounds like a good idea, especially if you are only planning on two kids. The back row goes down for the dogs and the middle row contains the minions. I think if you show him enough puppy pix he'll come around, I know that totally worked on my hubby!

We have two kids and two dogs. They kids are 6 and 3 and the hairy kids are 3 and 13. We all fit nicely into a Toyota Highlander for trips around town, to the park, etc. We have a trusted pet groomer/dog care center here that we use if we can't take the puppies on extended trips. If you ask you can get your dogs boarded together so they're less apt to have separation issues. That's what we do. Anushka is always ready to leave because she loves the freedom of home, but Hannah (the old grumpy one) would be happy to stay there and get pampered.