Is 3 a crowd?

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Good morning everyone!

Most of you know that we raised Winnie from puppyhood and then added dear Bob to our family last year. They are both 3 years old, a great pair and get along wonderfully. But, we are dog lovers and have the room and finances to add more! :-)

So, I have a question for all of you 3 dog owners... how was it going from 2 to 3? What advantages/disadvantages have you seen? We have our eye on a 1 year old male Standard Poodle that needs a new home....

Thanks for any insight you can give me!!

[Diane, Baker & Oskar]

I would say it is quite dependent on the personalities of each dog...we have 2 doodles, 8 & 4 years old, and watch our daughter's dog for usually a week or more at a time.  Our 4 year old, Oskar, is a guy who thinks everything belongs to him...he is quite relaxed with Scooby & will even defer to him sometimes.  Then, when Scooby has been, say, in the front seat of the car too long, he will quietly move in & displace him.  Everyone is calm & they get along well.

When our son's doodle comes to stay, it is quite different.  Oskar feels competitive with him, and will be agitated a good part of the time.  He watches everything Oz does & might hump.  They play and there is never any real fighting, but the dynamic is quite different with each dog.

Ideally, you could foster the poodle for a week or so & see how it goes.  Good luck !

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Two is a piece of cake, three adds quite a bit more  to make it work. Food, flea etc protection, vet costs - that's a given. Three are much less acceptable if you are taking them anywhere.  If you eat out with the dogs, three is way more disruptive to other diners than two - I don't know why, but it is.   If you walk your dogs - two are one for each hand, three, not so much.  Then there is the change in the dynamic of the 'pack.'  Charlie is energetic, pushy and excitable.  He totally changes Clancy and Ned's excitability.

Ned was raised from a puppy.  When he was two, we adopted Clancy who was the exact same age (even share a birthdate).  They are 9 now. We lost our Springer two years ago and added Charlie last year.  Charlie is three.

My three all get along well.  They have their hierarchy. We wouldn't be without any of the three, but it is harder in many ways.  We RV so the we see the downside of 3 over two for leashed potty walks, for fun walks, for outdoor restaurants.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Well,that was a stupid post!  Weird!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Lori, I have no advice, since the most dogs I have ever had are Fudge and Vern, but I just wanted to say I think it is great that you are considering helping another dog. Keep us posted and good luck with your decision. 

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

Hi Lori, How wonderful that you are thinking about giving the young poodle boy a new home. We have Wally and Charlotte, but our daughter's doodle, Monty, stays with us quite often. The three of them get along swimmingly. I'd say that the only negative (and it's really not a big deal) is that additional walks are often required -- when one of them doesn't do his or her business on the same outing. Also, there is one more dog to trigger the others in barking concerts. I don't have trouble walking all three dogs at the same time, but some people might find that tricky. If you were to add him to your family, when would it happen?

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

We got him last night! So, after several long texts and phone calls, he came to our house yesterday to meet all of us. It quickly became apparent that he will fit right in. He is an absolute dream- mellow like my Bob, but goofy like my Winnie. For only being a year old, he is very laid back. Because I'm kinda anal about having clean dogs in my house, I have already groomed him. Lol I would have never guessed that he has only been groomed once- very cooperative! He'll be groomed like a Doodle- gonna grow out his mustache a bit. :-) Everyone slept well last night, ate out of their own dishes this morning and we are now having a relaxing morning. There have been no growls, no ruffled feathers, just peace. We feel that this truly was "meant to be" and couldn't be happier!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

He is gorgeous! What's his name? 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I am so happy for all of you!! I wish nothing but the best for all of you. He is gorgeous!

[Laurie, Wally & Charlotte]

Oh, Yay!!!  That's all I have to say -- Yay!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Congratulations!  He is gorgeous.  How could his previous home have given him up since he seems to have such a winning personality?  This is totally YOUR and HIS win.  Hooray.

[Amy and Annabelle]

What a gorgeous dog, what did you name him? Is he the standard poodle you had your eye on?

[Lori, Winnie, Bob and Indie]

Yes- he is the Standard Poodle that we had our eye on! His name is Indio, and we are going to call him Indie. We are in love.... Oh, and by the way, "Indie" was a name that we had on our list when we trying to think of a name for Bauer, who became "Bob."