cheryl33 Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 How many pets in one household would you say is too many? is it fair to have 7 or 8 or more dogs in a small house? (eg a terrace?) how do you give them all one to one attention? is it fair to have one dog in small flat? this is ME heehee - I have been criticised by two family members over this and they told me to 'get rid' of my dog cos it wasnt fair to let him live in such a small place let me know what you think xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanishPastry Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 tell them that the house isn't actually for exercise, you go OUT DOORS for that I never got that argument. I have lived with my dogs in one room apartments (when I only had Akita) and that was never ever a problem, cos she got so much fresh air and exercise that all she did indoor was sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EGAR Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 Same as Doggie Mom, I had two dogs when I was a student wayyyyy back then and lived in a rented tiny flat, it's not so much the quantity of time you spent but the quality, they were both happy and well adjusted doglets. I now have eleven living in my house at present, 6 are my own, the other 5 are rescues. But I am in the fortunate position to open the door in the morning and let them out. Lots of land and no immediate neighbours apart from a few cows . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yena Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 (edited) I have 6 dogs in a semi-detached 3 bedroom house the outside garden is about 50ft x 40ft. On a night 2 or 3 will choose to sleep under the stairs in a room with floor space of 4ft x 3ft surrounded by coats, shoes, and vacs. The others sleep in the kitchen which is 10ft x 17ft. Each dog requires different amount of looking after and demands certain amounts of my time. If asked are we over crowded, I don't think so, the dogs are happy and healthy. They might bark at times, but, that normally if somebody comes to the door or they hear a noise, and lets face it most dogs bark. There is nothing wrong with a dog living in a flat and if you've not got outside space that doesn't make it wrong either. If you love and care for your dog (which you do) what more can you give them. So tell your family members to shut up, it sounds like they don't know what they are talking about. Edited June 14, 2007 by yena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKYSIAN Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 (edited) I have 4 dogs in a small 2 bedroomed house. My back garden is tiny BUT and this is the important bit...all of my dogs get 1 hours off lead run in the morning and at least 1 1/2 hours off lead run in the evening - usually with friends and their dogs so plenty of other dogs to play with too. They are all absolutely knackered and spend the rest of the evening flat out! My dogs don't bother my neighbours or cause any issues at all! (Infact my neighbour has a jr x chi who is never exercised and she is louder than my 4 put together!!) I know people at work who's dogs are left all day but they don't really excercise them!! Now that to me is cruel. I believe if the dogs are stimulated,happy and well exercised then where they live doesn't really matter that much!! Oh and as far as getting my attention, Sidney gets me to himself once a week for training and if I'm going to horse shows or somewhere where I can't take all the dogs I usually just take him (he's the well behaved one!!). But other than that all my dogs get cuddles and loves whenever they want! Cromwell and Sidney sleep with me and by choice Tiz and Cooper sleep downstairs. Edited June 14, 2007 by JACKYSIAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheryl33 Posted June 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 but how many dogs is too many? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EGAR Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 You have too many if the dogs are suffering and the care is slipping. IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKYSIAN Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 It's as many as you feel capable of coping with, how many you can afford and how many you can give 1 to 1 attention to. 4 is enough for me. 1 is enough for others. There are many here who can cope with 10+ (which I could if I didn't work, had a partner to help me and had more money!!! ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
one.eyed.dog Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 We all know you look after Henry. so ignore other people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanishPastry Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 To be honest, with 3 dogs and 2 cats we are pushing the limits a bit here where we live. But we are home quite a lot, the animals are happy, and now that Lex has really settled in, we have no issues at all regarding the space (other than us falling over a sleeping dog no matter where we put a foot down ) Too many is when you can not cope... like, how long is a piece of string? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yena Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 but how many dogs is too many? Every time we've got another we've thought it's to many. Than you get used to having them around and it becomes the norm. Been a multi-dog household does cause problems, we have to count them in when they've been in the garden, because we have occasional locked 1 out. The other problems walking them all together, it as to be done in shifts. I would say that if lived by myself I could personally cope with 3 dogs (depending on their size). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheryl33 Posted June 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 wow, Ellie, no comments about letting him out the cupboard once a day and throwing him a few scraps? are you feeling OK? haha xx (my dog doesnt live in a cupboard BTW!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EGAR Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 Haha, Yena, that is funny as I had one too many last night . Panda had gone on walkabout and snug into my kitchen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melp Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 Depeneds on the type of dog, your work commitments etc etc. The most we've had at one time is 5, 4 of them elderley greyhounds and one equally elerley staffyx. That was easily manageable but 5 collies say, for me would be hell. I just couldn't manage one to one quality time with that many active dogs but other people can and do. Space wise we have a 4 bed victorian house. Lounge 13 x 12 Dining room 14 x12 Kitchen 15 x 9 Garden 80 x 21 Dogs sleep wherever they like downstairs but have access to the whole house during the day. I'm here almost all the time and they're never alone for more than a couple of hours max. They sleep almost all day so numbers are irrelevant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 With 10 cats, 3 dogs, 4 rats and a hamster I feel I've got as many as I can cope with. Everyone baulks when I say I've got 10 cats and I expect they imagine a house full of them but that's so not the case, infact I struggle to get all 10 in at once, they're all so different. One is a house cat so she's always about, four often disappear for a day or two so I suspect they're getting fed elsewhere, that just leaves the youngest five who are in and out like yo-yo's day and night through an open window they use as a catflap. I know that if needed, I can afford to pay for veterinary treatment. All bar one look to be in excellent condition and are happy, healthy cats as my vet will testify. Athena has allergies & hormone problems and permanently looks skanky and I do get paranoid that people will look at her and judge me as a bad owner. Sitting on our wall outside she's not a good advertisement! My dogs are all young and get along well with each other. I've often thought about adding an older dog to the mix but I doubt one would enjoy their exhuberance. Ella sleeps a lot but the other two are always up and down doing things, playing together or playing in the garden. An oldie would get bounced on and I certainly don't want another youngster so we'll stick at three for a good while yet. Ours is a five bedroom detatched house with a big garden and I don't feel I have space for many more. Too many in my eyes is when you cannot afford to care for them properly or you haven't enough time to devote to the ones you have. For some people that's a larger number than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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