# Raising 3 puppies at once.....



## Izanami (Apr 10, 2007)

Hey yous guys,

Ok, i was wondering what advice you'd have for someone who's raising 3 puppies??

I plan to have three puppies, and i've read stories of it being done before. So i was wondering if anyone here has raised multiple puppies, and if so, how many?? and what was your schedule like?? I mean did you have to work/go to school, or did you devote your whole time to your puppies at home???


I'll be in college soon, so i'll be busy, but i shouldn't be too busy. I don't plan to go every-single-day. So i'd have days off. 

I just really love Golden Retrievers, Huskies, and now the American/Canadian white Shepard. So i'd like to raise all three together. So they'd be use to each other/friends.

And also i'd like to get a kitten first, before the puppies, for a couple years, and then bring the puppies in, to be raised with a cat. =)



Any ideas, opinions, or comments??? =^_^=



Thanks!


-Izanami-
*~xxx Nami // Iza


p.S.::
What kind of training would they need??
I heard Huskies, and maybe Golden Retrievers, should go into training because there actually TOO nice, and shouldn't randomly go up to people as much as they do. What do yous guys think??


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Honestly, with your school schedule, I wouldn't try to do three at the same time. One is enough of a challenge with housebreaking, training, excercising ect.


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## ratdog (Mar 24, 2007)

I don't really have any advice on raising 3 puppies I've never had more than one and I usually adopt so they havn't been puppies, but what comes to my mind is have you ever thought of having triplets? It might be kind of the same but you can't put diapers on the puppies! 

I did have a husky though and she was a great dog, and my friends have a golden and shes great to. I don't know anything about the other breed but if they are long haired to be prepared for a lot of brushing. 

Sounds fun good luck!


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## 3212 (Feb 4, 2007)

Honestly I think that as a college student and someone who hasn't owned a dog I'd start with one. 

Being a college student also I know it's tough to have a dog and make sure you spend enough time with them and on training. Our Bridgette was already 1 1/2 when we adopted her so I imagine a puppy will be EVEN more work (even though Bridge was a major handful). 

You can always think about adopting other dogs in the future, but as a first timer I'd suggest starting with one and waiting on a second until the first is trained and well-behaved. They are SO much work and you can always introduce more in the future.


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## sheltiemom (Mar 13, 2007)

I have two puppies right now, three and four months. I am a stay at home mom, so I am here with them all day long, and my husband works mostly nights, but even with two adults in the house it is a challenge at times. Some days I am outside taking a dog to potty every half hour. I understand why you want more than one, but if you are not going to be home all the time, I'd recommend starting with one and adding more after a year or two.

To answer your other question, I do think obedience training is a good idea, but I have never heard of a dog being too nice, especially huskies. I've actually heard they can be very destructive if not exercized properly, however I have no first hand experience with the breed.


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## peace36 (Jan 29, 2007)

I have 2 puppies. I am a stay at home mom like sheltiemom. I would not get 3 puppies if I was not a stay at home mom or work from the home person. The breeds you are talking about from what I know do take a lot of work and it is fun if you have a love for that and the time. I would start with one lower maintence puppy or maybe even two so they are not alone when you are away at school. 

Maybe something smaller or medium size and not so hairy.

Hairy is fine but with what your schedule will be like I do not think you will enjoy all the extra work.


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## Nagem (Feb 6, 2007)

As a fourth year University student (with less than two weeks to go of final year!), I am going to tell you that getting three puppies is a bad idea. Unless you plan on being a hermit, you are going to want to spend at least a few of your evenings going out. Puppies do not work so well with a social life. Say goodbye to spontaneous weekend trips, the remote chance of having any money, and housing that is easy to find. Sure, it can be done, but I wouldn't even consider it until after you've already been in school for a year or two. Your friends will be going out to the bar on Friday night (and probably every other night for that matter) and you will be sitting at home because your dog is not able to hold his bladder that long.
Puppies are a lot of work, a lot of commitment, and are around for a long time. They require trips to the vets that sometimes have unexpected costs. I don't know what kind of background you come from, but, unless you're getting financial assistance from your parents, you're going to have to work. So maybe you will only have 15 hours of class a week, but you'll need to put in at least 20 hours at work a week in order to feed both yourself and your dog. Not to mention, training a dog in an environment that is as inconstant as University life tends to be is going to be an incredible amount of work.
Dogs are not something that should be taken lightly. I'm not saying that you are not putting thought into this, but I just don't think you have all the information available to you that you require at this point in time to make an informed decision. If it's something that you really want than it is not going to hurt to wait a couple of years or so before you seriously commit to doing it.


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## Izanami (Apr 10, 2007)

LoL @ hermit.
Gah, thanks for all the responses.

Ok, i think i'm having to admit my lil' dream of having three at once is crazy. >.<
And as a soon-to-be college student, really i was worried about any dog. I figured a cat would be a lot easier. But i really wanted dogs also! =(
Blah, it's going to be hard to just pick one, but i guess i'll know when i go to look for one =).

Thanks again for all the resposnes!!


-Iza-



Nagem said:


> As a fourth year University student (with less than two weeks to go of final year!), I am going to tell you that getting three puppies is a bad idea. Unless you plan on being a hermit, you are going to want to spend at least a few of your evenings going out. Puppies do not work so well with a social life. Say goodbye to spontaneous weekend trips, the remote chance of having any money, and housing that is easy to find. Sure, it can be done, but I wouldn't even consider it until after you've already been in school for a year or two. Your friends will be going out to the bar on Friday night (and probably every other night for that matter) and you will be sitting at home because your dog is not able to hold his bladder that long.
> Puppies are a lot of work, a lot of commitment, and are around for a long time. They require trips to the vets that sometimes have unexpected costs. I don't know what kind of background you come from, but, unless you're getting financial assistance from your parents, you're going to have to work. So maybe you will only have 15 hours of class a week, but you'll need to put in at least 20 hours at work a week in order to feed both yourself and your dog. Not to mention, training a dog in an environment that is as inconstant as University life tends to be is going to be an incredible amount of work.
> Dogs are not something that should be taken lightly. I'm not saying that you are not putting thought into this, but I just don't think you have all the information available to you that you require at this point in time to make an informed decision. If it's something that you really want than it is not going to hurt to wait a couple of years or so before you seriously commit to doing it.


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## sheltiemom (Mar 13, 2007)

I think starting out with a cat is a good idea. Much lower maintenance. I got a cat the second I moved into my first apartment when I was 19, and I still have her. She is 11 now, and she has moved with me six times. Only problem is when I finally got dogs she was older and doesn't like them very much. I guess no plan is perfect.


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## BabySophieCorgiEyes (Apr 4, 2007)

Izanami said:


> LoL @ hermit.
> Gah, thanks for all the responses.
> 
> Ok, i think i'm having to admit my lil' dream of having three at once is crazy. >.<
> ...


Good Idea, I reccommend the golden retreiver. If you are going to get a puppy, do lots of research on the breed. Also I would reccommend you get the puppy this summer so you have time to potty train it before you go off to college. I wish you the best of luck. It will be hard, but don't give up. It is worth it in the end.


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## Nagem (Feb 6, 2007)

Cats are much easier and allow much more freedom. Plus, if you start out with a full grown cat you can introduce dogs fairly easily. Starting out with full grown dogs and introducing a kitten can be problematic.


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## skelaki (Nov 9, 2006)

Your best bet right now is to get a cat. If you want one that is very dog like get a Siamese or possibly a Cornish or Devon Rex.

Believe me, college is going to be a lot more work than you think. And you will want to socialize also.


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## zyclonenuz (Feb 25, 2007)

Izanami said:


> Hey yous guys,
> 
> Ok, i was wondering what advice you'd have for someone who's raising 3 puppies??
> 
> ...


first of our family have 4 puppies now and I take care all of them when my mom and my sis is working and (thats from 5am to 5pm). It is a real challenge but for me it's ok because I don't have any work or stuff to do. I suggest you try one first and see how it goes. but if you are going to college soon it is a bad idea to have 3 puppies at the sametime. trust me when I started out with 2 puppies and they are a handful.

Huskies are very energetic so be prepare for a long walk


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## anjamaka (Feb 4, 2007)

I am a university student (sophomore) with 2 years undergrad and 4 years grad to go (oh joy!). I have two dogs, Sadie, a GSD (2 years, we just got her... two days ago). Also we have a crazy Border Collie/ Siberian Husky Mix. (He is sweet and smart but soooooooo hyper and crazy). Let me explain something about Huskies, they have no sense of recall, if they get out... they keep going and going and going for miles before they realize they even went a mile, and then have no idea how to get back. My Aunt has 3 of her own (huskies) plus her sons momma husky (the producer of them all) and another little one (that makes 5) 2 get loose and they spend hours (sometimes days) just looking for them (they get out of the house, away from the fence, huskies are smart.. but they do what they want) if you are a young adult, in college or not... do you really want to spend your time searching for your dog? I'm a college student and I am only god maybe 5 hours a day, I have friends, but they know my dogs come first. My husband is a teacher so he is gone from 6 am to 3:30 pm, not tooo tooo long especially cause I am home a lot, but even because of our schedule and our busy lives my dogs are living with my parents (dad is a disabled stay at home dad) until we move into a bigger place. It is tough to take care of animals, we are getting our third as my undergrad graduation celebration, which is two years away (gonna be another GSD I love them) and we are already looking at shelters, trying to establish a reputation.
Do you really want a puppy? If you are gonna get three I would look into a rescue, I have had puppies, and Sadie made me change my mind, I don't think I would ever get a puppy again. She is perfect, well behaved, beautiful. I already know what she is like full grown, house trained, amazing...


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## icepaws20 (Apr 9, 2007)

Hi All,
Firstly, Im not sure where you live but i think you would find it pretty impossible here in the UK to find 3 reputable breeders of those breeds of dogs that would approve of letting you have a pup knowing you are getting 2 other different breeds of pups and you will be going to college aswell!

When we were deciding on the breed of dog we wanted we narrowed it down to sibes and alaskan malamutes. We went to see a breeder who had 5 of each,all working and show dogs. My husband and i and our two children spent 2 days with her and the dogs before she decided she was happy to let us have one of her pups,so we went on the waiting list.
After many conversations with her we decided on a malamute,As although i am a stay at home mum and would have had time for either breed, the mal was best suited to us, As said before the sibes recall does tend to be on the ify side and all the breeders we ever spoke to told us you could not let them of the lead as they would just keep going and going,which makes sense really if you think about how they are worked.
I would not recommend you getting a sibe as your first dog if you had never had experience in all the needs of a pup.
I have had westies and English bull terriers and now a mal,none are the same and all have different needs.
I would stick to a cat for now.

Good luck.

Kirsty and Koda xx


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## Keno's Mom (Nov 20, 2006)

IMO its better to have 3 well trained dogs in the house - so you should only do one at a time and space them apart enough that you have them totally trained before adding another dog. They will still "grow up together" - being 6 months to a year or so apart is fine. Especially if you want to get different breeds.

The breeds you are choosing have different personalitys and requirements, so you should work with one at a time. 

It is a good idea to start off with a cat, because they will be full grown when you get the puppy. Good luck.


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## Renoman (Mar 20, 2007)

I was reading through your posts and was very relieved to see that you are rethinking your idea of 3 puppies at once. I have always had multiple dogs but I wait until the youngest is at least 1 to 1 1/2 y.o. (usually older) before bringing in a new puppy. 

I can tell you that if you bring in 3 puppies at the same time and do not have sufficient time to spend with them as a group as well as one on one you will end up with more problems that you can imagine. If each pup does not get enough alone time with you they start to focus solely on each other and they establish their own leader. You become the outsider - it's that pack mentality thing. You then have a difficult time establishing yourself as the pack leader and maintaining any kind of authority with the group. You end up with an out of control group who will challenge you at every turn. 

Until you have the time to give a puppy the attention and time it deserves, I would hold off.


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## lindseyanne (Apr 15, 2007)

ya that would be hard!!! i'm a stay at home mom and i'm getting a puppy in 4 months i would get a cat but i'm allergic


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