If it were just you, I'd say Curb Your Enthusiasm. But since your DH is also involved, I'll just say that I hope you find the perfect doggie! It's very difficult for two people together to resist a common urge, lol.

DH and I would also LOVE to have a dog again, but it would completely freak out our two cats, and we just can't do that to these sweet little furballs.

Keep us posted...

If you both want to do it, and you have the time to take care of the dog, why not?

On the other hand, we have found that having more than two dogs is difficult for us. We had three, and then four, for a while, and it was a madhouse. We both work and we felt like bad owners. Vet bills for just run of the mill stuff really added up.

Is your schnauzer having any health problems that are going to get expensive or time consuming? That would be another thing to consider.

Can't wait to see the pictures of the new one :)

One dog, yes,
two dogs, maybe
three dogs - seem like a lot of work
four dogs - what difference will one more make? :)

Aside from possible vet bills to come from existing dogs and the new one,
and you do know how crazy puppies can be ( ours was a brat and impossible to train for the first 2 years, although I never laughed so much in my life) , I'd say force yourselves to wait a week and see how you feel then.

If both of you are into it so seriously, and can afford it, go for it.
You are already in love with that future pet !

How will the bigger dogs be with a smaller dog? That would be my concern. Also as was mentioned, vet bills. My MIL has a cute smaller dog; not sure of the type (kind of Benji looking) she just had close to a $1,000 vet bill for surgery she didn't count on. Something about the glands in his rear; how with this breed they have to be removed.

How about a bird? We had a cockatiel for many years; he passed right before we moved. We all miss the little guy; some of us are ready for another but my daughter isn't. You wouldn't think a bird had a personality; but this one did. He also talked. He also knew when it was night. Didn't have to cover him to keep him quiet lol

Y'know - there are countless pups in the shelter who desperately need someone to love them. I say if your heart is telling you to go for it, then you should. :-)

I have 4 pups. Our little family didn't feel complete until we added our last one. When our two oldest pass (14, 9) we are going to get two shelter puppies... at once. We want them to grow up rough-housing. Our current inside dogs do not play together.

There are so many pups waiting in shelters. I say take one home for Christmas. This world needs all the good animal owners it can get.

:O)

Can you afford it? Do you have enough time for another? Do the ones you have demand too much from you already?

My next door neighbors "gentleman's" farm is in foreclosure. She rescued dogs along with other neglected animals. She didn't have too many, however, and she took excellent care of the ones she had- but it is HEARTBREAKING to everyone that she had to find new homes for all these animals that have bonded together and are like her children.

If you can afford to medically care for them all and can give them all the proper attention they require, why not?

Well, I love dogs, but I think you're looking for devil's advocate-type answers, so consider that you might be living in a municipality or county where the number of dogs allowed in a residence is limited by law.

I would take another pup in a minute. However, DH feels 2 are enough for us at this particular time. We did have 3 until two years ago. It worked out well for us, should say me as I am the primary caretaker.

I will say that the older your pets get, the more veterinary care they need. If you have the means for proper veterinary care; enough energy for 4 dogs, and it is a mutual decision, then by all means, go for it. You've already raised 3 dogs, so you know the drill going in with a puppy.

My only suggestion would be to thoroughly research the breeds the of dogs you are combining before you find another to add to you current mix.

Best of luck. Please post a picture of your new addition:)

Yes, we can afford another mouth to feed, bathe and care for; and yes we've been through the puppy thing before. We started years ago with just Howard. He was the kid's dog. We then fostered and finally adopted the Rott we loved so much. She passed away from cancer 2 years later and then we moved to our current home. That Christmas my DH brought home Zelda, a roly-poly fuzzy yellow lab pup. Brand new house, dozens of guests for the holidays and fresh new puppy.

Z and Howard played continuously till she got too big for Howard and kept knocking him over. So then we got Max, as a companion for Z. He was a rescue and a total gem.

Now Howard pretty much sleeps all day and the 2 labs keep each other busy. DH works from home and when I get home we're always playing with the dogs.

We've also go small granddogs...a pug, a doxie and a chihuahua and our dogs love their pack mates. So a small dog would be accepted well...I'm just not sure if it would get knocked over too much. As for a big doggy...ONLY if we find a rottweiler at a shelter or rescue organization.

We can have up to 4 dogs before we'd need special permits. We also have 7 cats (4 inside/3 out). NO WAY we'd get a bird...I don't like 'em, plus with cats...ummm disaster.

I've decided to wait till Howard is gone...by then the labs will be older too and slowing down (they're 5 and still crazy). I just hope DH does not decide to come home with another dog like he did with Z. But we know that our next dog is going to be a rescue/shelter dog for sure.

Yikes, I'm the wrong person to ask. I have a huge Rottweiler tattoo on my leg. My breed of choice. I've had Dobermans or Rottweilers for 30 years.

I got mine as adults from rescue, the last one from the pound (a mix and he has a tail) and a little one I call a Notweiler from rescue.

However, at my age I have decided this will probably be my last large dog. I need something I can pick up and take to the vet when needed. My next dog will be a Min Pin. I can still have the black and tan look in a small package and they are great little dogs.

Another caution, homeowner's insurance can be a problem. If the insurance, the size and the GIANT holes they dig are not a problem, they're wonderful dogs. Oh and they're heck on wood floors.

Holy cow! A Min Pin and a Rottie are polar opposites personality speaking. Make sure you read up on the breed. My sister has one and He is an escape artist who refuses to listen. (Common personality trait for the breed.)

You could not give me a Min Pin. I have spent too many hours trying to save my sister's dog from himself. Once you know the questions to ask, you can quickly discover they are very demanding dogs that bite.

Research the breed really well, at least. You may be able to get them to the vet but keeping them from creating a stir in the waiting room or nnot biting anyone... well, good luck. They can be nasty dogs.

Barking up the wrong tree here. 3 huskies, a Rottie, and a Lab, not to mention the various fosters.

If you really want a rottie, I know one (NOT my girl) who is looking for a home. Nice dog, 9 months old, would be SO much better off than with her current owner who allowed her to be bred, not on HWP, etc. Owner is deploying and doesn't want hassle of taking the dog. Really sweet girl too. Puppies not included:)

Oh Meg....you HAD to tell me this. Well, if she can come to Oregon, she's got a great home!

We tentatively agreed to keep Teesha when her people were moving and needed her cared for for a couple months. She'd been chained (!!!) for most of her life and we were told she hated cats. We had cats, but hated the idea of her going to the pound, especially if she was as non-socialized as they claimed, so we figured our cats would be smart enough to stay out of her path.

She was with us one day and I could not stand the chain, so we took her off it. The next day I took her for a walk. From that moment on she was my girl. She didn't hate cats...poor baby was chasing them to play with them! She was a gentle giant, and no matter how hard we tried, she didn't want to live in the house. She'd come in and visit, but preferred her dog house. But she was NEVER chained again.

We'd take her and Howard to the park for walkies and she was sooo proud to be out. People were afraid of her (she was BIG) but she never pulled or was hard to walk,she'd walk sweet so she would get lots of hugs & kisses.

We calculated her age...we were told she was 5 but we figured she was at least 7, and had been spayed at some point. The POs really didn't want her, and were glad to relinquish her to us. One day we noticed she was getting thinner, but we first attributed it to the exercise. Then we noticed the tumors. They came FAST and she went downhill quickly. Our vet said it was probably liver cancer and there was no real point in chemo. So we waited as long as we could stand it and had her put to rest. She licked my hand as she went under, as if saying Thanks Mom.

DH and I loved that girl in the short time she lived with us. We know that the last 2 years of her life were her happiest and she sold us on those big lugs of love.

Here's another rottweiler fan. Our first dog when we married 33 years ago was a German Shepherd from Germany who had such a thick coat that even though I loved the breed I decided that my next dog would have less hair. We then adopted a black lab who I found out were considered 'inordinate' shedders- who would have thought that.

Then we had our first Rottie, then 6 years later another one. It was the first time we'd ever had 2 dogs at a time and if I could I'd always have 2 dogs. After they died we got 2 Rottweiler puppies, a brother and sister. Cleo died 2 years ago and Ozzie just last week. We're heartbroken.

We've been discussing getting another dog after the holidays but we thought we'd get something smaller that could easily sit in the back seat of the car when we go to our vacation home. Except we can't find any breed that speaks to our heart like rotties do. Ours have been 'gentle giants' as you mentioned, calm, quiet, observant, watchful but not paranoid, sweet and loving. And we all just love their expressive face. I don't know what we'll do.