From Two to Three~ HELP

O.K. ...So here is the deal-

While my beloved Hogans Breeder was down in Florida picking up one of her girls~ She asked me to watch her 5 Five week old puppy's and their Mum, and with Sandy's very generous offer of back up via phone if anything should go wrong~ and my Vet on call if I was in a panic in the middle of the night the girls and I accepted the offer....All the puppy's were/are sold so I figured it wouldn't be a problem as my young girls wouldn't get attached because they all have family's....and it was only for 6 days...so no problem right?

Mum Ginger....( Cotillion Shall We Dance) had complications during delivery and had to be spayed....Little did I know that I would fall madly, totally and entirely in love with her. She is the sweetest, most well trained ruby, with eyes that gaze so deep into your soul that you get lost......( can you tell I'm totally smitten...even just a little...smile)


I cant imagine my life for one minute without her in it, and my breeder has offered her to me. I really thought that our next dog would be a dog we could show- but with my going back to work, we simply don't have the time for the next few years......so- I have to pass, I cant do something half way and there is always time god willing.

We are taking her on a two week trial to make sure that she is a fit for us, and we are a fit for her- but I am scared that its going to be a challenge to fit three dogs on a routine schedule...and I want to give them all the best of what we can- so advice everyone with two or more....what makes things work in your house and any little tips or suggestions are greatly appreciated....
( and a little excitement for us wouldn't hurt either....*wink* )

Wow....I think Ginger is meant to be yours...What a sweet story. I have 3 dogs with no problem at all. I would probably even get another one if it was a story like yours ...... As far as tips or advice, I really don't have any. We just treat them all the same, share our attention. and love. and go from there. Seriously, we have never had a problem. I can't wait to hear what you decide and see pictures of your Ginger. Hmmmm, I think you said it all when you said you couldn't imagine your life for one minute without her. To me, that sounds like true love.....Good Luck and please keep us posted. Judy and Dixie

I enjoy having three. It means sometimes I can walk one and spend one to one time and there are two left behind for each other. Other then insurance, food and vet bills I dont notice a difference. I have just cut back a bit on things and extra money needed has not been a problem. Once you have two three is sooo easy

we'd recommend that you go for it, just sounds as if it's meant to be for you all, with our 3 we've never had any bother at all,we buy our food in bulk from the local Pets at home(big bags of JWB)so it's not that expensive, and to be honest I'm pretty certain that Lisa would quite happily squeeze another Cav into our home

The fact that there is so many multi dog households on this forum, in itself is probably the biggest thumbs up you can get

She sounds lovely! I would go for it. Having 3 dogs doesn't seem like any more work than having two, and as others say - it is so much easier to spend one to one time, because the two left behind still have each other for company.

In the car, we'll often put 2 cavs in one crate and 1 in the other, so you don't have to worry about needing more space for an extra car crate. When we have to travel, our favorite kennel knows to switch them around with each other so they have some alone time and some time together (we get 2 runs for 3 dogs). We use a calendar to keep track of nail trims, etc. And when you're watching tv with the family, there will be almost enough cuddlers for everyone!

I think everything happens for a reason. I hope it all works out. I have 6 pups. The cavaliers all get fed in their crates and my collie eats by himself. I have a fenced in yard so out they go with supervision. It all works!

Do I REALLY need to say anything??

I think you'll find that 3 is not much more work than 2, just a little more money for food, vet bills, etc.

Oh, and 4 is not much more work than 3. And so on. That's how I got to where I am

Other then insurance, food and vet bills I dont notice a difference.

Click to expand...

:lol: That's a fair amount of difference right there! Well, more seriously though, that could be a deciding factor for a lot of people -- the financial impact can be significant when things go wrong, and insuring an older dog is sometimes pointless -- you will probably have to pay 50% of the costs anyway once she turns 8 or so, and if she hasn't been insured to date, she will not be insured for any single thing that can possibly be linked to anything she has been treated for in the previous 6 years of her life (and I don't think the insurance policy can be transferred generally, anyway, so this is probably going to be the case regardless).

As long as the finances check out, from food to vets to boarding costs, then you probably are not going to have any issues keeping in mind you already have had some experience of managing three, with her there. You will have an idea of what it is like.

My own experience: It is a lot harder to walk three, especially together, and they may need to be taken out separately or in two groups; and really dogs should also all get solo time daily with their owners and not always be dealt with as a group, so that can be a bit time consuming. I have found it far ore difficult to keep an eye on three than on two if I have them somewhere offlead for example, which means sometimes they cannot be off lead (Lucy can't be offlead as she's deaf so that leaves me with three to manage) . So there are indeed some compromises that can affect the other existing dogs too. But these are minor issues if you enjoy giving them all time and can give the increased time to your group of dogs.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I walk each of mine separately. It is difficult to walk 3 at once. I just see it as being extra exercise for me!

Sometimes we walk all three in the metroparks, so Colin takes 2 girls and I take the boy. Same at the vets.

Hi
If its walks that may be a problem you can borrow Luke as when our three girls go out ( in about 45 mins ) he takes Poppy and i take Daisy and Rosie till we get to our lead free area.

We have 3 cavies and love em all to bits, we don't see any difference in 2 or 3..just a lot more walks as I have to walk em seperately, unless hubby comes with me on his days off. Ginger sounds lovely..go for it and hope you really enjoy her and she works out well for you. Good Luck.xx

Adding a third dog--especially one that's already trained and well-mannered (and not a devil dog like our 3rd, Holly!)--isn't that much more complicated than having two dogs. The vet bills are increased, obviously, so you need to seriously consider finances of adding a third dog. We've decided to cancel our dog insurance on the two and simply put the same amount of money into a separate account--the insurance deductibles, co-pays, and monthly payments simply don't add up.

As far as routines go, I found that the other two dogs did most of the training. We have had zero issues on that score. The separate one-on-one time is important--training classes really help with that. Taking Holly to separate classes than the other two really helped me bond with her (though it sounds like you're really bonded already!!).

Good luck!

Cindy