Thinking of getting a 3rd dog. Am I crazy? (NIFR)

genmalone · April 2011

Is 3 dogs too much? My DH and I are seriously considering getting a 3rd cavalier. We got our first when we started TTC and the 2nd almost a year in. I'm afraid I'm substituting dogs for my lack of being able to get KU but I love them.

I'd love some advice from anyone with 3+ dogs. Is it alot more work than 2?

TIA!

faydre · April 2011

I really want a third dog!!! I've always always always wanted a ckcs !!

I've never had more than two so no real advice, just ogling your dog choice.

I am Marla Singer · April 2011

You are going to think I am crazy- but we have 4 dogs. Two are Cocker Spaniels, and the other two are Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.

The two bigger dogs spend most of their time outside, but the two Cockers are definitely inside dogs. I think going from 2-3 wouldn't be that much of a stretch, and I would have another dog or two if the city allowed it.

If you can afford the vet bills and extra food- I say go for it! Plus Cavies are tiny!

I am definitely an enabler though.
Good luck with your decision.

ChevTrucksr4Grls · April 2011

Go for it! I have three dogs - what's one more!?!?!

genmalone · April 2011

Thanks! Yours' are really cute as well! I can highly recommend cavs too. They are a great breed.

genmalone · April 2011

I don't think you're crazy! I'm not even sure how many Houston allows. I guess I should check into it but I'm sure its at least 3 or 4. Thanks for the feedback!

genmalone · April 2011

My thoughts exactly. Thanks! We're also go through a rescue so we're doing a good deed, right? Stick out tongue

bumpuser794640 · April 2011

Adding our third dog was only work because he was still kinda a puppy and really hyper. Now that he's calmed down, it's not any harder than 1 or 2 dogs was. I think if you really want a third dog, you should go for it!

genmalone · April 2011

I'm really thinking we will. The one we want is in Plano so we'll be probably be headed up your way this weekend. He's 1 1/2 so shouldn't be any different than the other two. They are 1 1/2 and 2.

jstrat53 · April 2011

You are not crazy. It is so weird that you posted this cause DH and I were just talking about this today. We have two and want a third but we want to adopt this time from a shelter (we didnt previously). We live in a townhouse and don't have a big yard. We want to eventually buy a single family home with a fenced in yard, we are gonna wait till then to get a third dog. If you have the space and a little money to spare (extra food and vet bills), I say go for it and don't forget to post puppy pics if/when you do!

kasey9kahne · April 2011

I used to have 5 rat terriers. Once you get past 2 its all the same. I think I used them to replace the missing children too. But, they were wonderful.

genmalone · April 2011

Thanks for all the advice. I feel alot better about getting another dog now.

WaitingOnTwoPinkLines · April 2011

We were a 2 dog family until almost 2 years ago. DH was adamant that we didn't need another dog - I wasn't convinced. I had finally accepted only having 2 dogs when a sweet little German Shepherd Dog puppy with PRAA & megaesophagus landed in my lap at work.

I begged & pleaded, but until I convinced DH that I would adopt her out, he wouldn't let me bring her home. Well, I did adopt her out (after surgery to fix the PRAA) but the family wasn't able to deal with her special needs. So, she came back to us (per our agreement with them) - only to "get nursed back to health" & then we'd find her a forever home.

That was September of 2009. She is DH's dog now, & gets away with murder compared to the other two. Three dogs is A LOT more work for us, even without her special needs. Now there are three heads that need petting instead of two. 12 paws to wipe instead of 8. Three mouths to watch outside (they really like the buffet left by the horses - ewwww!) instead of two. It also makes it a lot harder for us to go anywhere. We haven't taken a vacation since we got the third dog - partly because my step-mom refuses to keep our dogs anymore (we've had a falling out of sorts), partly because of her special needs, & partly because kenneling 3 dogs is expensive. My ILs don't really like for us to bring the dogs, so we haven't been to visit them, either (though they've been here).

All this to say, I love our dogs & wouldn't trade them for the world. But, they are a lot of work, & I'm not sure we could afford them if I didn't work at a vet office. We feed them the best we can (TOTW) & they never want for medical attention - even if we have to pay OOP (my boss gives us a deal, but we've had to go to referral vets before - no discount!). Three is definitely more work than two, no doubt.

More food, more worry, more mess, more love. Seems like an even trade to me

faydre · April 2011

jstrat53:

You are not crazy. It is so weird that you posted this cause DH and I were just talking about this today. We have two and want a third but we want to adopt this time from a shelter (we didnt previously). We live in a townhouse and don't have a big yard. We want to eventually buy a single family home with a fenced in yard, we are gonna wait till then to get a third dog. If you have the space and a little money to spare (extra food and vet bills), I say go for it and don't forget to post puppy pics if/when you do!

I just have to ask if you're thinking about getting a cairn to round out the color scheme?? lol

Dh always wanted to do that, get one of each. Don't know why.

Ya Never Know · April 2011

DH and I have two cats, and one dog. I saw a dog on the humane society website the other day, and I wanted to get him so bad. DH and I would love to have another dog, but we just keep thinking that if I do get pregnant, we think it might be too much to have that many animals. We really don't know what we're in for when we finally do have a baby, so we'll wait until that happens.

I already told DH though that if a baby isn't in the cards for us, then we're going to have a heck of a lot of dogs.

sarah0925 · April 2011

We have 2 dogs and just fostered a 3rd dog for the past month. We loved Jack (foster), but for us, 3 dogs was a lot of work. Walking three dogs is a lot harder than walking two, three dogs on the couch was us was crowded (they don't have to be on the couch, but they're all small dogs and we've always let them sit on the couch). When we had friends/family over with their dogs there were 5 dogs and it just seemed like a lot.

Jack got adopted yesterday by his forever family, so now we're back to two and it's much more manageable IMO.

GL with your decision. Adopting from a rescue is a great thing.

Rabitt313 · April 2011

I have four dogs, two mini-dachshunds, one golden retriever and one great dane. Going from two to three was no big deal because we got our second mini, but our fourth was a jump because it was the dane and he's like adding three dogs. But since your thinking of a smaller dog I say go for it the difference in time and energy probably won't be noticeable. If I could stay home and had more money I'd have a lot more dogs!!

genmalone · April 2011

Thanks Rabbit!

I think we're going for a 3rd. We should have our new addition by the weekend. They're so addictive!

KateBee · April 2011

Just wanted to say good luck with your decision! We just added a 2nd dog a month ago and I forgot how much work they can be! We also have two cats, so it's a full house. I'd say if you have the time and the money you should go for it.

jstrat53 · April 2011

haha. Actually we were thinking of going a different route next time. I love my cairns but I want to try something new! I think we would just go to the shelter and pick out something small-medium sized that we think is cute!

genmalone · April 2011

jstrat53:

haha. Actually we were thinking of going a different route next time. I love my cairns but I want to try something new! I think we would just go to the shelter and pick out something small-medium sized that we think is cute!

Rescues are the best! We called the Cavalier Rescue today and should be picking up our 3rd on Wednesday.

Thanks everyone for all the advice!

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