Well I should just stay out of this seeing as how I now have FIVE dogs (& 4 cats)... we added #3 dog after pet sitting a friend's and realizing we could add a 3rd - had the room, money, etc.

There seems to be something about adding that third dog that people think you're nuts... but when you add a 4th & 5th, they almost seem to expect it! lol

Will the shelter allow you to do a trial? I think you need to bring the little guy home and see how the other two interact with him and he with with for a few days. Then if all goes well, he's yours and if not, your decision is made for you.

I say go for it! But then again, people refer to my house as a zoo!

Sher

I TOTALLY understand you're situation. I'm thinking of getting a 2nd dog (yes only a 2nd dog!) and the people in my life think I'm crazy. But none of them are dog lovers and they've only cared for one dog at a time and believe thats the best way.

But I think if you can afford another dog and have the space & time & love for another one then go for it! [then post pics :0) ]

Last January I lost my old dog Tara. She was 14, I adopted her from the pound, before I came along, she was severely abused.

About 8 years ago, we adopted another dog Meredyth from a rescue league because Tara was getting lonely. Both females got along great.

Then about 4 years ago, because Tara had so many issues, we decided that we needed an "interim" dog. We adopted another female, Anela from a rescue league.

This brings the total to three: big, bigger, and biggest dogs. All females, everything is great.

Then we lost Tara. The plan for "interim" dog to sort of fill in the empty space did not go well. Something drastic had to be done.

Enter a 4 month old puppy, Kai, adopted from a rescued league.

Three dogs is a huge amount of time, money and work. I already knew that. I'm not complaining. But, three is my absolute limit. And, I do realize that. If I didn't have the luxury of working from home, and being in and out all day to let them out and check on them, it would never work.

There was concern among the rescue leagues when I got the pup that three large females living inside together could be an issue. Fortunately, I looked long and hard before the pup came along. Real problems can develop if personalities are not matched. Rescue league where pup came from called both of my veterinarian's, sent someone to my house to inspect things, and they did a thorough background check on me.

The reason for all of this was simple. The rescue league didn't want the dog to come back or have any issues in her new home.

If you have the time and resources, three dogs that get a long well is wonderful. If you don't have this situation, things can be very difficult. You should be able to take your dogs to the pound for a meet and greet. That should tell you if they are going to be happy with one another.

Good luck!

SG

As a mom to 3 dogs, I really can't say don't do it. If you have the time and money to care for the dogs, why do you care what your family and friends think? They don't live with you. As long as there's no dog hair in the food when they visit, why is it their business? When the topic of animals comes up, my co-workers and people who don't know me hear that I have three dogs. They look at me like I have three heads. Well, how many kids do you have??? Is what I am thinking but not saying.

There's more vacuuming, food, vet visits, occasional medications for things that come up. We don't have any behavior issues, my dogs are 12, 5 and 3. All get along well. The two younger ones play actively in the yard, love to "play ball and frisbee", swim in the pool, swim in the creek adjacent to my home. They are work - no doubt about it. There are days when I vacuum twice a day particularly if I am having a dinner party.

When I am having a big dinner party (more than extended family), I will gate the dogs off in my office while we have cocktails and hor de overs, because all of the food at eye level would just be too enticing. After the dinner, I let them come out unless there are guests who are opposed to dogs. I do accomodate my guests since I have chosen to invite them.

The pros - I don't need my winter down comforter. For the past couple of years we've had a summer weight comforter on the bed, the winter weight comforter hasn't seen the light of day. I have two 100 lbs of labrador body heat.

Unconditional love. Hysterical behavior at times. I cannot imagine my life without them. I love playing with them, watching them play amongst themselves and am privileged to be with my old gal to the end of her days. She's old and takes alot of meds, but she is my shadow. Although she has terrible hip dysplasia, if I went up and down the steps 12 times a day, she would follow me. I learned awhile ago that I had to prevent this so I gate the bottom of the steps until I am ready to go up to bed for the night.

Lastly, when you have 3 dogs, no one is left alone when another dog passes. I went through losing one dog and having my next oldest dog mourn terribly. We were mourning, but she was mourning differently. She had lost her buddy, and it was terible watching her mope.

So, in our house we now have a three dog rule now. (I'd have more but DH says three are plenty) I know, some may think that's a crazy way of dealing with death?? I don't really care what others think. As long as I can handle the finances associated with the proper care for my pets, have enough love to go around, can keep my house clean and as free of dog hair as possible, I am happy :)))

The only thing I will say is that it has to be a unanimous family decision since it is a lifetime committment.

Best of luck whatever you decide.

I'd do it. But then again, I've banned myself from the shelters for that very reason. I'm not allowed to go look unless I'm looking to take something home. The last time I went I almost came home with two very large puppies who were going to grow into humongous dogs.

Do bear in mind though that this dog may just be shy and docile because he's in a shelter. He may turn out to be completely different once he's in and settled. If your other dog is still a bit of a handful, are you prepared to deal with TWO that don't listen much, get into trouble (probably together!) and harass the cats? I'm not saying he will be, he might be very well behaved already. And he might even be good for your other more active dog. Someone to keep her extra busy and occupied.

If you can afford it do it. My DD lives right next to me and i have 2 dogs,she has 2dogs and 2 cats,our babies are all together a lot. each has a different personality and there is never a dull moment. No one in our family has pets and thinks we've lost it. Thats fine i've always marched to the tune of a different drummer anyway.Also would'nt give up the love of my animals anyway.

Our cats rule the roost over our dogs except for my littlest dog who is smaller than the cats.
vickie

I meant beat of a differant drummer.

We have 3 dogs, had 2 dogs for 6 years, and then a third adopted us, just came wandering up our driveway one day. He's a lab, the sweetest dog ever. In our case, it did change the dynamic 100%, and in a good way. The other 2 (female boxer, female boston terrier) were constantly bickering and their fights were getting worse and worse. We even considered separating them after a big fight which resulted in surgery for the Boston and a huge vet bill.

But once the lab came along, things changed. They all get along wonderfully now, in almost 2.5 years not so much as a scuffle or snarl between the two ladies. Everyone (including us)is a lot happier. We are so glad we decided to keep him, having three dogs was the best decision in our case.

Thank you all so much for your insight. It really helps me to not feel so crazy. My dream in life is to have enough money to be able to open my own shelter/kennel, if that explains how much of an animal lover I am. I just don't want that love to cloud something that should be obvious, you know?

I would love to hear more opinions, experiences, warnings, etc., so please keep them coming. I appreciate all of the input!

Afford means heartguard and frontline monthly ( or equivalents) decent food and trips to the vet when needed.

Just want to make sure everyone is on the right page about "afford".

This also means carpets need replacing a bit sooner, leashes, toys, beds, treats, and PLAYTIME=time!

I think if you have financial concerns already you should hold off. I have spent thousands on vet bills which were all unexpected. If a dog breaks a leg, can you afford to have it fixed? If the new dog has to have a couple of TPLO's (3K each) couple you pay for it? I would rather make certain you have enough to provide a good quality of life to those animals you do have than a less quality of life for everyone. The reason I bring this up is because in your post you put down that it would cost extra money...seems like that is a concern already. Those with without money concerns, a huge house, no time spent away from the home, a huge yard, time to leash walk everyone for 45 minutes a day and training as well....just my 2 cents

We all make the time and manage the money to have what's most important to us. It's about choices, and I've said that too many times before so I won't go into it again :-) My pets are not just my family, they're my hobby so I have no compunctions about spending the time or the money on them.

I would ask why you want another dog. Think through what drove you to 'go shopping' in the first place. If you have room in your heart and your checkbook, 3 dogs are very manageable.

I never planned to have three dogs. But I do, and it's very workable. The only downside is that I can't foster full time anymore and I miss the new personalities coming in and out. And the fostering was very good for my dogs. They are extremely flexible and well socialized. If you like to experience and work with different dogs and behavioural issues, fostering might be a good option for you. You can't keep them all, but you can make a difference in their lives and enjoy sending them off to good homes.

The way I read OP was that she did have the means to care for the additional dog.

Also, whatever a TPLO is, I doubt that it is common enough that you need to worry about it happening 2x. I have had dogs all my life and never experienced it.

Also, the 45 minute walk a day. I keep seeing that posted. Where did you hear that. I have 3 well adjusted, well behaved dogs. I don't walk them for 45 minutes a day. Come to think of it, I don't know a single person who does that. What exactly is the walking doing for the dog besides exercise and you can get exercise in lots of creative ways other than walking the dog on a leash. I would think that would get old very fast.

Our trainer, recommends training for short sessions, not lasting 45 minutes, rather 10-15 minutes a couple of times a day. Of course, a formal class will usually be a 45 or 60 minute class, but that is usually a 6 session training class that you are paying for.

None of my dogs have ever had anything majorly go wrong with them. But if it happens, that's what a credit card is for... or I suppose pet insurance if people have that. Doesn't seem to be big here, I don't know anyone that has it.

My dogs don't get walked 45 minutes a day either. In fact when its real cold out like now, they don't get walked at all. They go out to do their business and they're all back at the door as quick as they can be. When we do walk its more like 15 - 20 minutes at a time and that seems to be fine with them.

Thank you for the additional replies!

Just to clarify: we can absolutely afford another dog (including Advantage, Heartguard, high quality food, pet-sitter/boarding, vet visits, collars, toys, etc. etc.) It was something that I mentioned so it was clear I had thought of it. There are plenty of "extra" things in my life that I can (and probably should) cut back on if need be. No expense is spared when it comes to my pets; they're spoiled and very well cared for health-wise.

I also don't necessarily agree that all dogs need 45 minute walks every day. We have a large fenced-in backyard, and that's where my dogs get their exercise. Madison runs laps around the yard (she's a beagle/greyhound mix), and Thor does his best to catch her (he's the unmotivated lab mix). They come back in exhausted and happy. While they love their walks along the nature trail by our house, they only enjoy it in the warmer weather.

I've still not made a decision, and it's still eating me up. We've been dealing with the death of a very dear friend's grandfather (who was more or less family to us as well), so that's been occupying much of our time and thoughts in the past couple of days.

Thank you again for all the wonderful insight, and I'm always open to more.

We currently have three dogs (all large) and I will not happily have three again. I guess I am different than all the other posters, who say "go for it".

Your posts refer to "we" and "us", so I am assuming there are two of you (humans) in the family? Our home life is two humans and three dogs. It doesn't add up. There are big things and little things. For example, we might participate in a March of Dimes walk and take the dogs with us. Two dogs are easy for two humans to walk, three dogs are harder. I do realize that three can be trained to all walk nicely on leash, and that many people walk at least that many, but the question is - will you put in the time and effort to train the dogs so they can all be walked?

There are other things - we sometimes take the dogs when we travel. Taking two large dogs in our vehicle works well, three (for a long trip) does not. Can we find a motel that will allow three dogs? I don't know, we haven't tried it yet. If we stay with friends, they might tolerate two dogs, but will they tolerate three?

We have been doing agility with the first two dogs - once a week, DH and both dogs and I go to class. Well, now we have to leave Dog #3 at home. He isn't "part of the pack" when we work on agility. Also, I will be taking him to obedience, so it's another night out.

All of these issues can be worked out, they are just examples of the way the dynamics changed when we acquired the third dog. Also, if I lay down on the floor, all three dogs want to cuddle and be petted. That's great, except I only have two hands! One dog is constantly pushing at me because s/he isn't getting petted.

All this may sound trivial, but I truly do NOT like having three. We took Dog #3 for a variety of reasons, and he is certainly loved, but as I said before, I will not happily have three again.

Just my $0.02

We have three English mastiffs. We never planned on getting a third but our vet told us one was at the SPCA and we went to check him out. Here are the questions we asked ourselves before deciding to bring him home.

1) Can we afford food, meds, vet visits? Enough in savings for an emergency bloat operation for three dogs?

2) Do we have the time to care for him individually, feed him, and keep him separated from the other two mastiffs until he is healthier and has bonded with us? (Training starts after bonding.)

3) Do we have the time and patience to rehabilitate him? And to obedience train and exercise him regularly?

4) Any sign/history of dog-to-dog agression or agression towards people? How did he respond to us in person? Leash trained? House broken?

5) What is his physical condition/conformation? How about his hips, joints, eyes? Any possible long-term health problems we couldn't deal with (emotionally, money, time-wise)?

6) How did he and our dominant male mastiff get along at their first meeting at the SPCA? (Both we and the SPCA insisted on this.)

7) What are our observations and intuitions about him, based on our experience of rehabilitating rescue mastiffs? Specifically, how had the severe abuse and neglect he'd suffered affected him? Was he too damaged (physically, emotionally, psychologically) to be rehabilitated?

8) How would we handle any agression on his part if he later demonstrated it? (We have run into this before with other rescues who were severely abused, but not yet with this breed.)

prairie_love's comments on living with three dogs are also very pertinent.

It helped me to remember the following:
1) if it's right, it will happen, so there's no need to rush into anything. Take each step, observe the animal, and react with your head as well as your heart.

2) sadly, there will always be animals who desperately need a good, loving home. You owe it to yourself, your family, and to each creature to choose carefully and wisely.

3) if you know someone else who has more experience in rehabilitating abused animals, ask them to come along, observe the dog, and give you their opinion. (My husband's input was crucial throughout.)

This story has a happy ending. We've had Teddy Bear for a year and a half, and he is a joy. The other two mastiffs love him, and he is a valiant and vigilant watchdog. I've even figured out how to hold two mastiffs at once!

Well, the little guy came home with us last night. :)

I was about 70%-30% towards getting him anyway, but attending the funeral yesterday gave me the push that I needed. Life is too precious to 'what-if' all day long, and his is a life that we can absolutely change for the better.

So far so good! The poor little thing (we haven't decided on a name yet) was so timid yesterday, he plopped himself down on one of the doggie beds, and barely moved. Not to go outside, not to investigate anything...and if he did move, he 'army-crawled' on his belly to get where he wanted to go.

No accidents, and he only whined at three a.m. to go out. We have a crate for him, which is more to help him transition and to give him a safe place than anything else. Madison (the hyper one) is crated as well, but that's for the safety of everything in the house :)

Everyone's getting along well, which I'm frankly suprised at. Thor has been through a few foster dogs living with us, so I expected him to be OK with it all. Madison has been much less interested than I thought she would be. My boyfriend is working from home today, so he's been giving me updates. Apparantly the little guy has been much more active, and is investigating the world. :)

I have a couple of pictures, but they're not uploaded yet. I do have the picture saved from the shelter's website, but I don't have the means to post it. If someone wanted to do that for me, I'd be happy to e-mail it to you.

Thank you all again for your stories, opinions and advice; they really really helped me, and as I said previously, it's nice to know that there are other animal lovers out there who don't think we're insane. :)

So happy to hear everything is going well for you! Sounds like a keeper...

Cheers!

I hope my experience helps you decide...Against my better judgement I took in a 3 year old Chinese Crested who had previously lived in 5 different homes. I didn't need a 5th dog, but this one was covered with scabs, had broken ribs from being kicked and cried constantly. She is now 6 y.o. and has been the worst decision I ever made. But I wouldn't let her go for any amount of money. She still has terrible skin problems, has no teeth and needs special food. She resists house-breaking. She hates the other 4 dogs and they hate her. But she brings her own special-ness to us. She sleeps with me and climbs on my lap whenever I sit down. When company comes she brings them a cookie that she hoards a supply of in her crate. She does a cute 'singing' trick that everyone loves. Like I say, I wouldn't have had her with her problems if I had thought about it, but it works for us now, and I love her.

Wow,

Anita22, it's nice to hear that there's someone else out there who has THREE Mastiffs. I thought I was the only one. My partner loves dogs so much, and we had two Danish Mastiffs and a Pomeranian. When the Pom died, I told him he could get another dog, but I never imagined we'd end up with an English Mastiff puppy.

But then again, sometimes the dogs just find you. I'm glad you decided to go for it, ligirl, since you'd be regretting it terribly if you didn't.

After all, how can you resist a face like this? :)

What a couch full! Throws aren't they wonderful?

I am glad it is working for you and the new dog, what ever the name will be, is doing well good for you

Sounds like that dog will have a great home with you. Not many people would be attracted to a dog like that, so good for you for taking notice.
A beagle/greyhound mix? I have a hard time visualizing that. Do you have a picture?
mwkbear, those are great looking dogs. Where do you sit? :)
1 dog is all I have the energy for at this time, plus my dh isn't an animal lover, but he does tolerate them well and spoils them some. He does have a heart for them.He didn't grow up with pets, so that's probably part of it. Next time around, I'll find a dog that steals his heart like one puppy did a long time ago. We already had 2 dogs at that time, so I didn't feel we could take on another one, hard as that decision was.
Enjoy your new baby!

YEH!!! you got a new shelter dog!!!

I live on 20 acres and have 16 dogs (all fixed). I keep them basically in three groups. I have lots of fencing and cross-fencing. My husband has electrified the bottom of the fence in some of the areas. I do have several that would kill each other if they got together but I've got it managed well. So I laugh when people think a third dog is "crazy."

I don't work and that's helpful, of course.

Late last year I did give my pug to rescue. There's a strong pug rescue group in my state so I knew she'd probably find a better place than here. I didn't think I could keep her from becoming obese. So I recently replaced her with a new shelter dog. He's so cute. He's gentle and quiet so far - an important thing when you have so much canine energy in one place.

So many, many great dogs in the shelters - I could find one any day in there that I would just LOVE!!.

vicky

Well, another night and everything is going so much better than I could have imagined.

He's still incredibly shy, and we're pretty sure he'd been beaten in the past (any unexpected movements towards him causes him to drop to the ground and just cry pitifully).

He seems to have fallen in love with Madison and just follows her every move, especially when they're out in the yard. He hasn't quite learned how to keep up with her when she's doing her laps around the yard, but he's content to just sit back and watch for now.

He's only had one accident so far, so even that's going well! We're still working on a name, and I hope we get one soon, because I don't want him to start answering to "Doggie" or "Little Guy" :)

labmomma said it very well. We also could not imagine our house without the 6 dogs. but then, before the dogs we could not imagine having 6! Ditto on not needing a comforter :)

Shy dogs are a lot of work and you get small, infrequent rewards when they make tiny steps of progress. Still, our shy Husky has been a blessing. I never thought I would need a support group, but that husky really humbled me. I joined the yahoo group shy-k9s. For those simple questions like "What am I doing wrong" and the answer usually is "nothing. Just take it slow, keep caring, and the dog will respond"

I'd say go for it.

MWK they're adorable. I think I would need 4 couches if I had 3 dogs. We already can't get the beagle and boxer to lay anywhere near eachother or they start shoving and kicking eachother and giving evil looks until one gets fed up and moves to the floor. The boxer even hates someone sitting beside him for long. He likes his cuddles but if he's trying to sleep and you sit beside him, he kicks and shoves and takes up more than half the couch. I don't even get to cuddle with the bf when the dogs on the couch!! Never get both men in my life at the same time, lol.

I'm so glad the new dog is working out!! My beagle does the same thing as your madison and her laps and we have a friend with a little CKCS and he just can't keep up with her, he's also learned to just sit and watch when they have play dates!

MWK, what beauties you have. Our sofa fits only two and a human LOL

ligirl, how wonderful everything is working out. Have you decided on a name yet? ;)

No name yet, Anita :( I don't know why we're having such a tough time with his name. Usually we're pretty good with them!

Everything is still going great, he's really opened up in these few days!