Sad, but true. These are all factors of my life living in a multi-dog household:
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- I can’t walk all the three boys at once. Okay. I suppose I could, but only if I could be guaranteed that we wouldn’t encounter another dog, bike, deer, cat, squirrel, stroller, or anything else that scares and/or excites any of the three. I suppose if two out of three weren’t reactive it might be different, but this is my reality. (Read: What I wish you knew about my reactive dog)
- Sometimes they get in fights. There’s only been one bad fight (Emmett and Cooper), but we have skirmishes periodically. Usually it’s between Lucas and Cooper over a toy. Sometimes it’s between Emmett and Cooper because Cooper is a master at pushing all of Emmett’s buttons to the snapping point. It’s never Emmett and Lucas. Hmm. Someone is clearly a troublemaker…
- I spend large parts of my day picking up poop. Three big dogs = a lot of poop. In fact, our city charges for trash by volume, so I can quantify my poop picking-up job: It costs me $2 per week. For poop. BTW, these are the bags I use. Eco-friend FTW!
- I spend more on dog food than I do on my food each month. Due to his allergies, Cooper eats this, and Emmett and Lucas eat a variety of the Complete Health proteins from this brand.
- When one starts barking, the others join in. Then no one can remember who started it or, more importantly, why. So they continue just to make sure all the bases are covered. Most of the time I can tune it out. Sometimes I lose it. Oh, and when I meet people who live in my neighborhood, I’ve actually been told, “Yes, I know exactly which house is yours! The one with the barking!”
Those of you who live in multi-dog households, how do you do it? Are there any behaviors or habits you’ve learned to live with or ignore? Any tips or tricks I might be missing?
Boy can I relate! The good thing about the poop is that the homeless people/bottle collectors rarely bother our trash unless they are new to canvassing our street. It only takes a whiff and they avoid our garbage cans at all costs! So there are benefits to the multi-dog poop issue, just sayin’.
I also can’t walk all 3 dogs at once. Someday. That someday will likely be when Maggie & Sadie are ancient dogs and no longer have the energy to get all worked up by other dogs, cats, birds, chickens, or squirrels. So check back with me in five years on how our three dog walks are going 🙂
I think that accepting a bit of chaos is part of a multi-dog household. Sure, some evenings I would like to watch a little TV without a dog park being held in my living room. I also would like to have a real spare bedroom for people instead of a room devoted to the dogs. (Actually, that last statement is wrong; I would like to have both which seems to be a size of house issue not a number of dogs issue).
HA! A dog park being held in your living room! I love it, and it’s so true here, too! I’m so glad to know I’m not the only one with walking challenges…
Hehe I walk to smaller ones then the bigger wild one alone
OMG thank you for the honesty, our 2 dog household is just as bad! 🙂
I feel like no one wants to admit that their dogs fight, but it seems as inevitable as when you have 2 kids, they are going to get on each other’s nerves.
The barking thing cracked me up. One can start barking in another room and the other will start just because she can, not because she has ANY idea what the other one is barking about.
And then there’s the chilly nights where BOTH of the 80 lb dogs decide they have to sleep with us (plus the cat who if you touch him to try to move him he will scream bloody murder). A king size bed feels very small then 🙂
Awww! The snuggling is what makes all the rest so worthwhile! 🙂
Haha, $2/week on poop!
I hear you on the barking. I have one bad barker. He barks when anyone passes by the house, if a car door closes up to 3 doors down, if he *thinks* he’s heard something, and especially if someone actually comes over.
Mr. Pants, another one of my dogs, sometimes barks from his hiding spot under the bed. I told him he’s not allowed to do that because there’s no way the boogie man is going to get him, but he doesn’t believe me.
And, even though each one of them weighs less than 12 pounds, I’m unable to walk the 3 of them by myself. Pants freezes whenever a noisy bike, stroller, or runner passes by – and we walk on the Monon Trail in Indy, where there is a constant stream of said passersby. Despite being afraid of noisy people, he thinks he can take on any dog who looks at him – even though each and every one of them is way out of his 7 pound weight class.
It’s a challenge! But at night, when I’m sitting on the couch with one dog curled up on either side of me and another on my lap, I realize I wouldn’t change having the 3 of them for anything.
You are so right. What a great way of putting it! All the challenges are worth it for the sweet moments!
Yes, its all true here too, but where would we be without them. Now that the weather is colder at night, I can cuddle with a dog to stay warm without having to turn the heat on. But along that same line, I have never been able to take a nap on the couch comfortably because I have a pit bull squeezed up beside me and a cat on my chest. I recently saw someone post a picture of their dog holding a sign that said – ‘I’m the reason we can’t have nice things!’ Well yes, that’s true too, but then I guess it depends on your definition of nice. I will never have a house that is free of dog and cat hair, but my house wouldn’t feel very nice without these monsters.
Agreed!!!
We just got a puppy! We have 2 puggles and now a 2 month old Shepard mix. I am excited to see them interact – the puppy is full of energy and the other two are stuck in their ways! Each day is a little better – it has only been 3 days – so fingers crossed everyone ends up loving each other. Time will tell!
I would not eve walk 2 dogs – no way I would try 3. We have 25 foot leads that we put them on in the back yard from the patio door. 2 would get tangled and you guessed it – 3 get braded!
What would we do with out them? 🙂
The group walking is a HUGE challenge. I’m relieved to know it isn’t just me and my boys!
We only have two medium size dogs. They bark. but digging a hole to bury poop in the back yard works pretty well. When my dogs really get to barking, I put them in my room and shut the door.
I’m glad to know my guys aren’t the only big barkers! I’ve shut the door when they’ve gotten going, too… especially if I have to be on the phone or something!
Hmm that’s a lot of things to consider! I am currently a one dog household (one german shepherd puppy is quite enough for now!) but in the future I think I might get another dog and become a two dog household. So my current pup can have a friend of his own kind. I’ll keep these things in mind for when I’m making that decision!
In the long run, having multiples is totally worthwhile. They have a friend to play with all the time. There’s a lot of snuggling and tons of sweet moments! But these are definitely challenges to consider before adding to your herd!
Very funny. I’ve never had more than two at a time and found it unmanageable. You’re a doggy diva in my book. 🙂
I always giggle when I see those leashes that are supposed to help someone manage several dogs on a walk. Who actually gets three or more dogs trained well enough to walk in unison with their siblings? 🙂
Oh, Pamela. Someone lent me a coupling leash, designed to walk two dogs on one. It was a DISASTER. Epic. Emmett and Lucas kept bumping into each other, then one would go to sniff one side of the sidewalk and yank the other one over. It was seriously a 3 Stooges situation.
Ha ha ha… Its funny…and it made me reconsider my thoughts about adding another one to my family. I guess one 8 month old baby and a year old Lab make enough noise as is in my house, so I can safely say… I will wait another year before I re-think adding another dog in my house.
I just stumbled on your blog. So freaking cute!! I have 3 Rotties and I have actually weighed the amount of poop I pick up from back yard every week. It ranges between 15 and 17 pounds a week!! I too, spend more on kibble a month then food for myself.
It is worth all the work, training, and expense when all 3 crawl into bed with me everynight! ( it is a good thing I am single)
I also have two-7 yr old 65 # mixed lab & a14 yr old min. schnauzer (who is deaf–but can she BARK!!!)-I thought I was a terrible dog owner, because I can’t walk them together in case we meet up with another dog, cat, squirrel, critter, etc. They go bonkers & are hard to control.So I walk them in the dark at 0400 when hopefully no other creatures are up. They also create lots of poop but they are the best snugglers in the world. Wouldn’t trade them for anything.
With 4 dogs all over over 50 pounds, it usually controlled chaos at our house. The dust bunnies alone are almost enough for another dog 🙂 Somebody is usually starting something whether it’s wrestling over a toy or playing tag thru the open back door into the backyard and doing zoomies. The plus side is no one can come up to our house without being spotted by our home defense team, even though I try to tell Missy it’s okay if the garbage men take our trash on the curb. When everyone’s crashed and cuddled on the couches, I think my husband and I wouldn’t change a thing.
We have four dogs of our own and foster up to two at a time…so that’s anywhere from 5-6 dogs at our house. The hardest for us, since we can’t walk them all together either and taking them to the dog park or dog beach often has to be done in groups (three, maybe four at a time), is when the dogs staying behind have to watch the dogs that get to leave get their collars/leashes on. It’s heartbreaking. Also, coming home is a daily struggle as I usually have four to five medium to large-sized dogs knocking me on my ass (literally) as I try to get through the door. We also have quite a few squabbles, mostly involving one particular dog, as well (our alpha male) but we akin these to sibling rivalry and rarely have to intervene.
Oh my, we had our little cousin Lu here for a week and MAN ALIVE! I am ill prepared for life in a three dog house hold. My secret? Individual walks. Yes, I could walk all three, but I found the one on one time to be very calming on the whole pack.
My other trick? Time outs in separate rooms with treat toys, like a well packed frozen Kong. It can easily buy me an hour to myself.
Oh…and knowing that I could send that third dog home after 7 days? Priceless.
We have a multi-dog household, and walking can be a challenge. But for the most part, we manage fine. We took the dogs on a hike this weekend, and they were all on their best behavior! 🙂
I had to laugh at the barking part… Bella is almost always the instigator, but Tavish immediately hops up to provide backup. I think he considers it an important part of his job as her right hand man.
Oh, how I can relate! We also have 3 large dogs and while this is good in many ways, it can be a hassle in others. I can’t walk all three of ours by myself at one time either. Theree are fights between my female and oldest male (altogether they are very, very rare), but my youngest co-dependent dog is occasionally bullies by them both. Together, they outweigh me by 50lbs. They once dragged me into a lake. Lol! But, it’s always great entertainment and I love them all dearly. Luckily, they all are terrified of our two cats – so when I need help controlling them, I send The Cog or the Mini Cog in to regulate…
ConGaRatUlations on winning DogTime’s 2012 Best Dog Blog! We are purringly happy that you won and will have to come and visit more often, even though we are cats!
Although I enjoy the quiet, somewhat peaceful household I have with one dog, I love when we have a foster dog around. There is always more stress with walking, picking up after them and even feeding them, but it is well worth it. I will always want more dogs 🙂 Personally, no matter how many dogs I own I want to be able to know I can safely walk them all together, even if that means they all wear Gentle Leaders. We don’t have a second dog quite yet (let alone a third!), but I can’t wait to add a second dog eventually.
Stopping by belatedly from the link via “I Still Want More Puppies.” We have always been a one-at-a-time doggy household, but I’ve contemplated adding another so Rita could have a friend. The thing that gets me the most is the walks! I’ve just finally started to get her to where she’s so much better on walks and I fear we’ll upset the apple cart by adding a new one in. It would have to be a very mellow dog!
Thanks for the look at life with multiple dogs! 🙂
Sorry, Maggie, I had not read your note about advertising and offering products. I was prompted to send my earlier email about my new website and handle as so many owners of three dogs have difficulty walking three, as some of the posts here indicated. The Uturner handle is really good for small untrained dogs and I have a lot of safety warnings about the use of the handle with larger dogs (as yours). However I understand your blog is for other purposes.
Paul
Just checkout my facebook page. We live with usually 14-18 dogs ranging from 10lbs to 110lbs. It depends om how many dogs we are fostering/rehabbing so their behavior is good enough to be adopted. We have 14 unwanted rescue dogs of our own and the rest would be the foster/rehab dogs who’s stay with us depend on how fast they learn to be a good dog.
I have 7 dogs. Yes, one decides it is time to howl and all the others join in. It sounds like the city pound. Yes I have a bully and a trouble maker too. The boys favorite thing to do is pee on stuff inside the house. They all share toys and bones although the bully and the trouble will take stuff from the less confident dogs. My dogs are all around 15 pounds plus we just added a 5 pound Chihuahua. She is half their size but she won’t be pushed around at all. Yes there is lots of poop that’s for sure. On cold they all sleep in bed with me and they all sit on the couch with me in the evening for t.v. time. There is always a dog or two to pet and snuggle with. I love them all.