Is there a legal limit for how many dogs you can own?

Question

I have 5 dogs
2 cats
2 rats
4 hamsters
About 45 mice in a manison doll house looking cage
2 Bunnies
3 Bulls
1 parrot

I have lots of animals most live in the heated and aircondtioned barn, Except for the parrot cats and dogs. I was wanting to get a barn dog to protect my pets from some coyotes that have been lurking around but i already have 5 dogs and was wondering if there is a legal limit on dogs. I mean we have plenty of room for him on our 8 acres. And weve been wanting to get some chickens but are afraid the coyotes will get into the barn at night. We were hoping to get a bernese mountain dog

You people dont need to trash me for my amount of animals. I have more than enough money to care for 10 times the amount of animals i have and the all get attention everyday from the nieghbors 5 children who come over and play with them everyday and those kids bring friends too. The kids help me feed them everyday and sometimes take them home for a week to have a pet to play with at home. They see a visiting vet once every 3 months, my pets are well taken care of. So dont asume my pets arent taken care of.

Answer 1

No , as long as you are in control of your dogs . There shouldn't be a legal limit no one minds a owner who is in control of there dogs but they can't stand owners who let there dogs run riot

Answer 2

You'd have to check with the zoning laws in the area where you live.

Imo, with 63 animals, you already have too many. What's the point of having pets that live in the barn? Especially when it's not secure from predators.

I suggest that you take measures to protect the animals you already have, before getting more. Unless you are very wealthy, and have alot of help I can't imagine how anyone would have the time or resources to care for that amount of animals.

What would happen in the event of a catastrophy, like a fire? Could you afford the astronomical vet bills if something bad happened...if one or more of your animals become ill, or injured? What would happen to them if something happened to you?

Time is a huge issue. Every minute that you spend on the new animal, is a minute lost to all of the rest. Eventually everyone suffers.

Space doesn't matter. Acreage means nothing if you don't have the proper time or resources to provide for all of the animals, no matter what happens. If you haven't mastered caring for the ones you have, don't expect a dog to do it for you.

As for chickens, they need to have a secure coop, with attached fenced enclosure, with chicken wire on top and bottom, to prevent animals from burrowing in, or climbing/flying over.

As long as you have a "FREE LUNCH" sign outside, you will always have predators threatening your animals. Protect your animals with fencing, enclosures, buildings and human supervision.

Answer 3

The laws are different for all areas. In rural areas, the laws aren't as restrictive normally as in towns and cities. Our county has no restrixtions whatsoever, no animal control and I wish they did have some kind of laws against puppy mills because I know of some that are really bad but no one will do anything about them. Check with the local animal control office if there is one in your county. They should be able to answer your questions. I suggest you get a Great Pyrennes. They are the best I have seen at protecting their livestock.

Answer 4

Almost every place has a legal limit on the number of dogs AND animals you can own. In my rural neck of the woods, it's 5 dogs per household. Exceptions are made for livestock guardian dogs, and herding dogs, since I live in an area with large sheep herds (numbering in the thousands).

You need to check the local laws in your COUNTY, not just state, but the county you live in can have it's own laws.

~Garnet
Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Answer 5

The number of dogs and/or other animals you can have varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. If you live in the county, outside city limits, you should contact your county mayor, or whatever the head administrator is called where you live, and ask them. They could either tell you, or direct you to the proper person. If you're in the city, then someone in the city government would be able to tell you.

Answer 6

Check your county's animal control ordinance. Where I live, you are allowed up to 6 dogs if you live on 2 acres or less. Above 2 acres there is no set limit.

Answer 7

Sometimes its not a matter of how many can you legally keep but how many can you actually care for. Can you afford the food, housing and veterinary care for another dog? Do you have extra time for training and walking and grooming? It sounds to me like you already have more pets than you could possibly care for to the degree that animals need care (i.e., not just throwing a bowl of food down but giving each one personal attention).

Answer 8

It depends where you live. Most states are a limit of 5 if living within "city" limits. If you are in the country I think you are pretty safe although I would check in your area to make sure, what a terrible thing if you were only allowed a limit of 5 and they came to check on you for something and ended up seizing your babies..

Answer 9

Not in my town, I have nine.
I live on a native reserve in Northern Manitoba Canada, and I could have as many dogs as I want. There is a woman in my town that owns over 30 dogs.

Many other towns have different laws and rules on how many dogs a person can gave. You'd have to ask council members or police in your area about that.

Answer 10

I know in my county the limit is 4 anything over that you have to have a kennel license.. and that holds true out in the "country" as well as within city limits.. (I think they do have exceptions for farmers who use the dogs to work, but that's about it)

Answer 11

In many areas there is a legal limit wrt how many pets you can own -- the total includes cats and dogs combined.

Contact your local animal control (you can do this anonymously) and ask them what the limit is (if any) for your area.