how many of you have 3 dogs?

shredmaster · #1 02-16-2006, 05:09 PM

the reason being, i'm thinking of getting a 3rd. we have 2 cairn terriers now....wizard of oz toto dogs for those of you who don't know. a female that is 3 years....my #1.....male that is 1.5 years old. they get along well. we saw this other little girl in a petstore......adorable. i told my wife to not go into those places! she did for some reason...usually i'm the one going in. granted, more vet bills once a year, etc......but overall i want to know who has 3 and is it crazy? looking for insite is all. i'm trying to forget about the dog but it is rough. she has been in the store for 2 months and no one wants her. i have a weak spot for animals, especially dogs.

thanks,
steve

Big Job · #2 02-16-2006, 05:36 PM

Hi there Steve,

I have worked with all sorts of dogs my whole life. For your situation here are some suggestions....
1) Providing the cairns are introduced to the pup and get to know her then you will be fine. Puppy's 'play' with dogs all the time, out little Yorkshire Terrier used to 'cut heads' (so to speak) with my German Sheppard the whole time, no injuries or trips to the vet.....
2) The other thing to worry about is when the bitches come in season every six months. If they are kept together during this time then they are likely to want to rip eachother appart, so itsbest to separate them as much as you can for the 8-14 days. However, for some crazy reason when bitches live together the often 'heat' at the same time! Take this into consideration.
3) Obviously your dig will be going wild at this point too.....

I dont think its crazy wanting another dog, we have got about 20. And they (for the most part) get on fine. Just make sure you can care for her! And be warey when introducing the new one, if you decide to get her.

shredmaster · #3 02-16-2006, 06:07 PM

thanks for the advice. the 2 dogs now are fixed...and the 3rd would be as well. if that is the case, do you still have to worry about the in-heat time of the year? probably not i would think.

my oldest would check her out and walk away, not wanting part of her i'm sure. jack, would tackle the hell out of her and roll her around i'm sure. i was thinking that the oldest, 3 year old, would feel less wanted. i thought that same way when i brought jack into the home when she was the only one. it's all good....but he bothers her at times to play and she just can't be bothered half the time. the main reason for the 3rd is that she has been in the store and no one is buying her. she is adorable. you can't save them all, i know. i have thinking to do and i don't really want to go through house training again but will if i have to. 3 would be fun. we'll see man, we'll see.

steve

Andy43 · #4 02-16-2006, 06:29 PM

I have three cats.

Liggy · #5 02-16-2006, 06:54 PM

Hey Steve
I had four Jack Russell Terriers, its only recently that i have lost three of them within a year. The only bit of good advise to give you is :

Watch out if you get more than 1 x bitch. As you know dogs are pack animals and in every pack there must be a leader. That leader is 99% of the time a bitch.
Two or more bitches will fight for dominance and i mean fight. The worst case scenario is the strongest will fight until any threat to her are dead.
Where Dogs will fight over sex and getting 'the leg over', two or more bitches will fight to the death.
After 10 years of owning my dogs, i sought advise from a behaviouralist because one of my bitches would not tolerate the other 2 x bitches (she was fine with the dog though).
She asked me if through their life had i noticed things like??:
The dogs fighting to get through a door way,
Bullying at the dinnerplate,
The dogs fighting to seek an individuals attention.

I had noticed all of the above and she went on to tell me that if i had taken note when the dogs were pups, it could have been stopped. They were acting on behalf of dominance !!

The way I combatted it was to take the 'dominant' away from the others (she spent the last half of her life, away from the others and in my vehicle and with me at work)
This brought peace into my household after that.

If i hadnt bought my Wife her boxer dog, i wouldnt think twice about having multiple bitches again, but i would know the signs to look for now

I hope this helps m8

Texter · #6 02-16-2006, 07:28 PM

1 very big dog.

shredmaster · #7 02-17-2006, 12:14 AM

thanks for all the advice again. 4 jack russells? wow! and, sorry for your loss. that is terrible i know....i'm sorry.

my wife got the first cairn when she was living at her mom's house...that dog stays there. she is female. then i got a female and then a male. when the 2 females are together they are fine! they act as if the other one isn't there and when they do play, they play.....it's like 2 males or whatever. it's cool.

so my female is definately the alpha dog...next to me. she tells the male how it's going to be and when he chases her, when she has had enough, HE KNOWS! it's funny cuz she will spin around and go for his neck and just hold him there.....not hard. then she lets go as fast as she grabbed on. he just freezes as if to say....holy $*#$!! then she just stares at him and waits for him to move...he doesn't. he just stares at the wall and waits for her to walk away. it's funny.

maybe bringing the other girl in is not a good idea. my wife does not want another dog since we are going to have our first kid in a couple years we think. i told her it isn't a big deal. she wishes i would forget about the dog. i really have to think this one over.......i just can't bare her laying in the small cage when she could be home with us. if someone would just buy her i would feel more at peace and this is what it boils down to. but she is a cutie. i have thinking to do. i don't want my current female threatened. i know my wife is right but she said no to the last dog...2nd one....and he is a great guy! 2 are great and luckily they got along after a time.

ibanezcollector · #8 02-17-2006, 12:28 AM

I have 2 dogs and have contemplated at 3rd.

But right now I have a Cane Corso(Italian Mastiff) and a Boxer.. Which in this house is alot of dog.. The Corso is 147lbs and the Boxer is around 70lbs. Throwin another in the mix would probably push me over the limit both physically and financially. LOL between there regular visits for checkups and what not and a sheet load of dog food haha I would need a part time job. And the dog I would like to get is a Dogue De Bordeaux(French Mastiff, Think Turner and Hooch)

littlegreenman · #9 02-17-2006, 01:40 AM

We have 5 dogs. 2 Schnauzers, a Rottie/lab cross, a Pitbull/border collie cross, and a jack russel/border cross. I'd love to just have 3 again LOL!!!!!!!! Of those 5 dogs, 3 are females, no problems with dominance, the jack/border cross is king of the hill and the other females are fine with that. They didn't all grow up together either, the Rottie cross is my dog and is the most recent into the pack, at first she was on top, all the others submitted to her, but it's changed to the jack being back at the top.

The food bills are high, and it's overwhelming at times. I don't think I'd personally like 3 terriers simply because they're typically yappy, dunno what yours are like, the schnauzers here are yappy and they are the ones that bug me the most :P

Big Job · #10 02-17-2006, 06:09 AM

Steve, no you would not have to worry if she was fixed within a year. First season in around 18 mths.

Bigjob

Liggy · #11 02-17-2006, 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Job

Steve, no you would not have to worry if she was fixed within a year. First season in around 18 mths.

Bigjob

I wonder if thats the mistake i made??
I had the 1 x Dog 'fixed' because it was the cheaper option to having 3 x bitches done. We just didnt want any more pups running about.lol

Oh, and Steve - Good luck on your first child (2yrs too early but what the hell)

Soon they'll be more of them than dogs running about..........lol