I have 2 dogs right now (and 3 cats), but I've fallen in love with my obedience partner at school (Tracker). He needs a home in December, and I'm very tempted...we're very attached to each other!

I'd love to hear pros, cons, etc.

I have 2 of my own, and my husband and I take in foster dogs as well. We usually have 3 in the house at once, although we have had 4 on occasion. Three is not much more work than 2, but 4 can be a bit hard, especially if three of the four are large ones. With three, two of them were always playing together, and it made me really happy to see that. Walking them was not too bad.
Since all of mine are always collies, there is additional brushing/grooming that is a pain in the a$$.
For me, the pros outweight the cons, but I also have not run into an antisocial foster dog, so all of them have always gotten along.

Thanks for the response . HOW do you walk them?!? Do they all have their own leash and you feel like an octopus? Or do you have one of those "multiple leash" things? I have a Basset who walks slower than a snail, a Bassador that walks at a normal speed, and Tracker's a VERY TALL Coonhound. His legs are taller than my Basset is high! So walking them is a concern...I suppose I could walk them in "shifts"...

When my hubby walks them during the day, our two go off leash (not much traffic on or street at all) and the fosters are on leashes. When we both walk them, we just split them up, 2 and 1 or 2 and 2. We try to pair up ones with similar paces. If your yard is fenced, you can of course just let them out for a while to play and then take the faster ones out for a real walk after that.
We actually fell in love with out latest rescue dog and really wanted to keep her, but we placed her with her new family last night. We should be getting another dog this coming weekend.

Kate - one of my friends has three full grown labs and fosters St. Bernards, often two at a time. She loves it, though I'm sure her food bill for all of them is crazy. I say go for it, as long as he's a good match to you and your other dogs. The more the merrier!

Thanks again for your responses. I do have a fenced yard, so thata's a definite bonus. And most weekends I have 3 - 4 puppies from the local prison therapy/training program, so I'm somewhat used to a crowded house. The difference is, puppies are small , and they sleep in crates, etc. I'd definitely have to stop doing the prison puppy program if I got Tracker, but there's actually a waiting list of people who want to do it...

I thought I'd post some pics so you can see the "cuteness factor" I'm up against here!

I have a "blended" family that totals 4 dogs and 2 birds. I have a boxer, my husband has a chow cross (Champ and Ivory are both 8 and we've only been married 5 years), my daughter has a pug (CJ is 2 yrs old) and my husband and I got our baby this spring, a pug called Peanut. I guess they are like having kids; you just open up your heart and make room for one more. I honestly didn't think I ever wanted more then one at a time but as I've grown older they have really helped with the nest emptying out. We have a nice blocked in back yard so the only walks we take are for my exercise and I normally just rotate who gets to go with me.

The only problem I have is when everyone wants TLC at the same time, Ivory likes to push everyone else out of the way and Champ is one that is the most stand offish so I have to make it a point to bring Champ to the front to get his fair share of pets and hugs.

If you are feeling attached to Tracker I wouldn't hesitate, but then you are “talking” to someone who spent 10 years with 2 Newfoundlands and a boxer ... talk about dog hair. I tease my husband that when he married me I had 300 lbs of dogs and he can let me have 2 really big dogs again or up to 12 pugs (I was just kidding but it got me Peanut).

Evangeline

Just had to share. Go for it, if you can afford it, money wise and time wise. We have 3 dogs and a cat(inside). My baby is a 100lb 10 mo old bloodhound. We have a 2yr old bloodhound and a boxer as well, but they are all outside. We have a "dog house" that is the size of a utility shed where they all have their own beds and it is heated in the winter. Just enough to keep them warm, but allow them to go out when they want. I guess it's more like a kennel because we have hopes of breeding bloodhounds one day. The yard is about 3 acre fenced and I do a lot of lap walking with them around the inside of the fence, so I don't have to worry about leashes. Playing ball and catch with sticks keeps them well exercised as well. So, again... go for it if you have the ability

I have to agree with everyone else. Go for it. My hubby and I only have one dog a Chocolate Lab and Australian Shepard cross (Sheba), but my mother lives with us and she has a miniture dachsund (Holly). We have also just recently aquired my aunt's dog a miniture sheltie (Sassy). They all range in weight from 8 to 15 to 85 pounds and think they are all lap dogs.

When hubby and I go for an exercise walk we always take our baby, Sheba, and one of the little guys. We usually try to rotate them but my mom's dachsund has a bad heart and we don't take her as much as we use to.

I loooove dogs, but I don't have any. The reason I don't have them is because at this time in my life, I know I wouldn't be able to dedicate the time required to raise a dog well.

One of my close friends is a dog freak - she limits herself to two, but her boyfriend has six, I think? They are very active in things like flyball, agility, bitework, obedience, etc. I don't know what any of that is, I just hear the jargon.

That is a beautiful dog, though.

Hi everyone Thanks for all your responses -- I love hearing about other people's dogs!

I spoke with our kennel supervisor today to see if anyone one had applied for Tracker yet. I didn't think anyone would have yet because his ad won't be online until Friday -- I actually really just wanted to request that they let me know if anyone applies in the future.

ANYWAY...the supervisor gave me some VERY good news! Good news for TRACKER, that is -- which, in the end is good news for me, too, I guess. A woman in Vermont who owns a farm (and has horses and dogs) has applied for him! I'm actually totally thrilled, because I think that is the BEST possible situation for him (being a Coonhound and all). So I'm a little bit sad for me, but very, very, very happy for Tracker. Which is the whole point, I think . The woman's application hasn't been approved yet, and she hasn't met him so it's not definite. But I hope it works out -- for both of them!

I've decided that if he ISN'T adopted by the end of the semester, I will take him home. But a farm in Vermont? With horses and dogs? I wonder if she'll adopt ME, too!!!

Good for tracker. Either way it sounds like he will get a good home, Not bad for a dog like him.


I currently have one dog, we lost our 2 labs last May. With 2 small kids I am liking having one dog that loves to go with me although I think that as we reach empty nests (10 years out)? I can see replacing each child with a dog or 2!

Yay for Tracker. Even if the application is denied, you just know you're gonna take him. I know I would, if I were you. He's adorable.

Great (potential) news about Tracker! DH and I got VERY attached to the last foster we had, but I am glad she was adopted by a nice family b/c that means we can continue helping the collies.
It was super hard to leave her with her new family, but I felt really good about it at the same time.

Hi Kate,
Yes, I have 3 dogs and 2 cats. 1 jrt, 1 old white boxer and one baby 9wk old white boxer. If you have the energy, you can have 3 dogs, especially if they bring you happiness. good luck, Holly