My husband and I currently have two dogs who get on really well. However, we're thinking about adopting a third (a rescue). But I'd love to get some advice, as I don't want to mess up their dynamic by bringing in a third dog.
I'm probably overthinking it, but I keep wondering if one dog might end up being left out with three?
I’d love to know if any of you have more than two dogs and how it’s going?
Or if you tried it and it didn't go particularly well?
Or perhaps you've decided to stick with two, and if so, why?
I know I’m asking a lot of questions, but I'm looking for as much feedback as possible.
I’ve already had a look at other forums where people were asking the same thing, and some of the stories were really interesting! But I’d still love to hear from people on this forum :)!
So please, feel free to share your experiences!
Thanks so much in advance!
Translated from French
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I’ve often had three dogs (even four for a couple of years); I have to say, I didn’t really give it much thought at the time.
In my last group, I had a female who was the absolute boss, a very submissive male, and another male who would occasionally challenge her authority (the dog’s, not mine!) but they all loved each other, I think.
The first time, it was three females with about a two or three-year age gap between them. There was a fairly good split of responsibilities among the three, and everyone followed the eldest (except at dinner time, when she was no match for those four-legged stomachs—my Scotties).
I hate only having one dog, and when the oldest one gets on in years, I have to start thinking about the next generation, so there are naturally periods where I have three.
Hi there, I’ve had several different pack setups over the years. At one point, I had three dogs: two females and one male. The two younger ones used to gang up on the older female whenever they got the chance. It was rare, but it usually turned into a bit of a scrap. The big troublemaker, Casse-Noisette, would start it, and the younger female would join in too. The older girl was already getting on a bit and was used to being an only dog when the male arrived—a very dominant lad called Casse-Noisette—and then the other female was added later.
Then I had four dogs: two males and two females. It started with one male and my original girl, then we added a female puppy, and later a six-month-old male. No issues there; they got on brilliantly and the group was really settled. The only thing was the six-month-old male—as he grew up, he’d occasionally try to (gently) act the big man with the older male. But we were always there to keep the peace and it never went any further. There were never any fights or bites, nothing like that. It was all very civilised.
And now: I’ve currently got a male and a female, and we’ve added another female puppy (well, she’s not a pup anymore, but that’s how old she was when she joined us). It’s going well so far. The two females do needle each other a bit at times... we’ll have to see how things go once the youngest reaches two and her personality has fully settled. Supervision makes a massive difference.
You have to be careful with multiple dogs; it doesn't always suit those who have an exclusive or very close bond with their owner. My girl, who had lived alone with me for a long time and who I was incredibly close to, wasn't aggressive towards the others, but she didn’t really like sharing her time with me. In that first setup, the older dog didn’t appreciate the newcomers either. She wasn't the one looking for trouble, but the others could sense she had a special place in our hearts (since she’d been with us alone for so long) and they got jealous. This was despite the fact that all the resources were, of course, shared out equally.
Oh, wow! Thanks so much for sharing your experience! I must admit, I’ve been thinking about it a lot, but hearing stories like yours is really reassuring. I'm not too worried about minor scraps—my current two have had two or three little fallouts before, but nothing serious. But I have to say, I am scared of a proper, full-on fight, and I can't help thinking that three dogs would be much harder to pull apart than two.
Hi, the most important thing is that they get along. Test how they interact by letting them meet on neutral ground (outdoors, for example) and then in your home (if you haven't already). If all three of them get on, there’s no reason why living together shouldn’t go smoothly. Make sure you give them all the same amount of attention, and that they have enough personal space, plenty of walks, and everything else they need for their well-being. If there is some minor friction at the start, you just need to give them a bit of time to bond. It could be a really good thing for them to be a pack of three, as dogs are very social animals. Best regards, Camille
Thanks! Of course, we’ll do exactly what we did when we adopted our second dog; both of them came from the RSPCA. When we adopted the female, they’d already met in a paddock at the rescue centre. I’d never adopt another one without introducing them to my first two first. Thanks again for your reply :)
I’ve had several experiences with dogs living together;
Three dogs: two females and one male. The two younger ones would pick on the older female whenever they could. It didn’t happen often, but it would turn into a proper scrap. The male—who was a right handful—would start it, and the younger female would jump in as well.
The older girl was already getting on a bit and was used to being an only dog when the male arrived (a big dominant lad, a real pain), and then the other female was added to the mix.
Four dogs: two males and two females. It started with one male and my girl, then we added a female puppy, and later a six-month-old male.
No issues there; they all got on well and the pack dynamic was great. Only the six-month-old male, as he grew up, would sometimes try to (gently) act the big man with the older male. But we were always there to keep things calm and it never went any further. There were never any fights, bites, or anything. It was all very civilised.
And now: I have a male and a female, and we added another female as a puppy (she’s older now, but that’s how old she was when she joined). It’s going well for now. The two females wind each other up a bit at times... we’ll have to see once the youngest hits two years old and her personality has fully settled.
Supervision plays a huge part in it.
You have to be careful when you have several dogs; it doesn’t really suit those that have a very exclusive or extremely close bond with their owner.
My girl, who lived alone with me for a very long time and who I was very close to, wasn’t aggressive towards the others, but she didn’t really like having to share her time with me.
In that first group, the older girl didn't appreciate having others join the family either. It wasn’t that she was looking for trouble, but the others could sense she had a special place in our hearts (because she’d lived alone with us for so long) and they were jealous. This was despite the fact that all resources were shared out equally, of course.
The most important thing is that they get along. Test how they get on by having them meet on neutral ground (outdoors, for example) and then in your home (if you haven't done that already). If all three of them get on well, there's no reason why living together shouldn't work out. Just make sure you give them all equal attention and that they have plenty of personal space, walks, and everything else they need for their well-being. If there are a few minor tiffs at the start, you just need to give them a bit of time to bond. It could be a really great thing for them to be a pack of three, as dogs are very social animals.
I’ve just adopted a third dog and it’s absolute bliss. Dolly is 12; she was a bit jealous at first, but she’s quite independent and has her own little ways. Iris is 7, and she and Rudy, who’s three and a half months old, are already the best of friends. Rudy is a real little sweetheart and has definitely won everyone over!
