How do you manage so many dogs in your house?

Question

Can't speak for myself, I only have 2 at the moment and the most I've ever had at one time was 3.

How about those of you with a lot of dogs? How many dogs live in your home and how do you manage all of them as far as feeding, play time, walks, car rides, cleaning dog hair, etc.? What's your routine?

I know how to take care of my pets, I'm just wondering what how other people live daily life with a lot of dogs in the house (not outside in kennels)....Eventually my husband and I plan to move out to the country. We are both suckers for dogs...we laugh that someday we're gonna end up with ten dogs running our household.

Answer 1

Hi,

I have 4 dogs. They are all strong personalities and they get and need a lot of attention. Three of them are rescued from the street and they have really become trusting and loving again. Which makes the hard work worthwhile.

They have a minimum 2 hour walk in the countryside everyday and they have a big garden, conservatory and kitchen to runaround in. Occasionally they come and sit with us when we watch TV in the evening. They are happy and we use a child gate to separate them from the rest of the house.

We've learned that to curb 'bad behaviour' dogs need to have their basic needs met:

lots of exercise
mental stimulation
attention and companionship from each other and from us

They are rarely left alone in the house for more than a couple of hours. If we go out in the evening we hire a dog sitter to keep them company.

My family think I'm crazy and are always putting me down for having so many animals. But I have my four dogs better behaved than my mum does her two little lap dogs.

Answer 2

I have an 8 year old black lab that is male a 6 year old black female. Two one year old yellow lab boys a Maltese terrier that we are unsure how old he was dumped in the creek bed beside my house a 2 year old male beagle and a 3 year old male cat.Who thinks he is a dog. All in the house. We love them to death. Feeding time and coming home from being gone all day are about the only problems because they get so excited. Other than trying to out pee each other in the house. They are outside about 20 times a day just to let some of the energy out otherwise I could not handle it. It is chaos most of the time but then again what in life isn't. We love them to death.. But no more 7 animals is enough....

Answer 3

I have seven dogs. Five of my dogs are well over 100 lbs. They stay in my house. We have a doggie door with a large run surrounded by six foot privacy fence. I also have a boyfriend and two children still at home. We walk them, take them to the park on weekends, and play wrestle with them all of the time. I work from home so they are rarely left alone. You would be surprised to hear my house is less than ll00 square foot. The dogs have run of the living-room and outside during the day, at night when everyone is home the kitchen gate is open also. Our heat bill has gone down. I guess with so many warm furry friends in the house it helps.

Answer 4

Actually, I have 3 dogs (2 Chihuahuas and 1 Shepard mixed), 5 cats and 3 birds. It's so much easier to get all the feeding done in the morning, I change the litters and pick up the dogs messes outside on Sunday, the easiest day to do so because that's when I have free time. The Chihuahuas need a lot of attention and are happy if you just let them sit with you when your watching TV, the Shepard is lazy so we don't have to worry so much, but he absolutely loves taking walks, even mentioning them gets him all excited, some days I have to skip walking him because I have too much school work, but I do walk him as much as possible, almost everyday. The cats keep to themselves most of the time, their happy if you just pet them once and a while, maybe while I'm doing my school work, whenever, they are easily pleased. Anyway, to get to the point having a lot of animals if fairly easy, it's time consuming, but fun.

Answer 5

Accept that there will probably be a few hair round. Children who're raised with pets honestly are much less prone to expand allergic reactions later in lifestyles, so being a little bit accepting is helping. I received rid of carpets and installed rough flooring whilst the time got here to switch my carpets. Instead, I have discipline rugs that may be vacuumed and effortlessly wiped clean and tossed once they get too dangerous. I additionally invested in a Roomba and a light-weight stick vac for fast blank-ups. My puppies are informed to stick out of specific rooms (visitor room, dwelling room, kitchen) and don't seem to be allowed on beds and furnishings. That is helping plenty.

Answer 6

I have two Maltese dogs. They are groomed monthly and don't shed. They are very lazy dogs so they don't require a lot of exercise. They run the house and the yard. They are never caged. They sleep wherever they want to.

I would never have more than one dog unless I was home all day. I don't work so I am with them all day. When I leave them it is to run errands, etc. or I take them with me if I can.

I don't agree with "ALEX P". She has SEVEN dogs in her laundry room? She must put them in there while she is at work. That is not a healthy environment for the dogs. They are in the laundry room longer than they are out if she works all day.

I think I treat my boys more like my children. I would not have them if I could not care for them like I do.

Answer 7

First thing - make sure that you don't exceed your county/cities ordinance on the number of animals / dogs you are allowed on your property. Those that have more then 3 dogs usually need to apply for a fanciers license or a kennel permit.

With that - you need to work with the individuals one at a time to build a relationship with and to work basic commands and behaviors. Then you can do eventually do group commands and have control over them that way.

Crates are good for short term management. Crates should also be required in vehicles for transport. Walks - rotate dogs on separate days - if you have 2 - take one one day the other the other day.

The more time they spend with each other the more they will bond. If you want to eliminate separation distress/anxiety - they need to learn "alone" time to adapt and cope to being away from their housemate.

Check out Patricia McConnell's "Feeling Outnumbered" DVD. It's wonderful. She also has a lot of other good products.
She lives in the country - has 4 dogs, sheeps, etc.

Feeling Outnumbered?


Patricia McConnell

Feeling a bit outnumbered by your pack of dogs? Maybe there’s a bit too much excitement at the door when visitors come to call? Or perhaps there’s some tension between two of your dogs and you want to be sure it doesn’t escalate. Feeling Outnumbered is designed to help with all that and more, by emphasizing fun, positive exercises that teach your dogs to be patient and polite, rather than pushy and demanding.

Included is how to teach dogs to be polite at the door, how to stop dogs from competing for your attention, the value of a “Group Stay,” and much, much more. The exercises, clearly illustrated by Patricia McConnell in her own home, will be most useful if you and your dogs have a few basic signals under your belt, but whatever your stage of training expertise, this video will help anyone who loves their dogs, and wouldn’t mind living with a little less canine commotion!

VHS @ 29.95 ea.

http://www.dogsbestfriendtraining.com/books-retail.php

I limit myself to two dogs - otherwise we would have a dozen. Plus my husband can only tolerate two.
I only walk them once they are great at loose leash walking by themselves. Feeding in separate areas to diminish any resource guarding problems.

Answer 8

With feeding, none of my dogs are "aggresive" eaters, so i have a gigantic bowl and fill it to the top for all my dogs to share. During playtime, i usually play fetch, because then all of my dogs can race for the ball/frisbie, and that gets them more fit and more excersise than it would with have with a single dog, because most dogs have a competitive side. For walks, I can take 2 or 3 leashes on each hand, so i take them all at once, but be sure to keep their leashes short. I have a van so it is no problem taking them on car rides, as for the bathing, most of my dogs stay reletively clean, so i bathe them every 2 months, but i bathe them all at once, i soap them all up and then have them stand together and i spary them. lucky for me they all like baths so they don't try to hide from the spray behind the other dogs. By the way, i have 5 dogs :-)

Answer 9

put them in your laundry room!!! i have 7 of them!!!