[Guest]

Ok as you all know, we have a Lab and of course our clown Molly.
Our son is dying to get a Pug--clearly much smaller than our two girls and my husband is fine with a small dog, just not another 60 pounder. He loves animals and is a HUGE help (he is 9).
We have the space and it would not be financial issue to add a third dog.
Our girls get along great. They had a fight Monday of this week however had not had one in a little over a year.
I am kind of torn--do we mess with the status quo, things are good, the girls are trained, get along etc.
Any thoughts from those out there who have added a third dog would be appreciated. I would end up looking at a male since we have 2 females and we all know of the issues with 2 females. Would probably also look at a younger dog.....
Any input would be great!
Jennifer

 

[Lucent]

In total Megan and I have 4 dogs on a regular basis. My dogs Gordon and Missy, and her family's dogs Roxie and Flash. (yes they were named Flash Gordon on purpose) We have 2 males and 2 females and for the most part they all get along fine. Roxie was the first and she is Alpha since she is a 90lb beached whale of a dog. Gordon came second (60 lbs of basset hound love he was a puppy) Then Flash (50ish pounds of malamute/shepard) arrived as a foster dog who we still have. Then Missy came along as a puppy, she is now about 35lbs of Staffordshire Terrier. All in all the only real issue we had was Roxie defending her food but no dog fights or anything like that. Hope that helps a little.

 

[Milly and Lily]

Well, I can tell you we have had three dogs always. And they have all been females. The problem I have is that my bully, as many bully breeds are, get along less well with others of the same gender. This may not be a problem for all breeds, but I would recommend to be on the safe side get the gender opposite your alpha. This should help with some of the alpha issues that can come up. Of course socialization is critical within your house. What i do to either correct or prevent alpa issues is that with the new dog, only good things happen when they are with the other dogs. They eat at the same time, take walks together etc. But if you have the time, money and space and it sounds like you do, then I say the more the merrier.

 

[Guest]

Jennifer, I cannot say what might work with your family, but when I worked in stables we had a small pack of about five/six dogs at any given time, not including my doberman who came to work with me, and somehow it all worked. They sorted out their own pecking order and hierarchy and-despite the odd quick squabble- got along fine. Pugs are good natured/rough n' tumble little chaps too, so I think you would probably be fine with the new addition.
Arlene and Opus

 

[Elvismom]

We have 6 dogs, 3 bassets & 3 pound puppies. The break down is 3 males, 3 females. We feed them separately to avoid possible food aggression. For the most part there are no problems, but every so often one will get mad at another for a reason that escapes me. We let them work it out unless it looks like someone will be hurt. They understand their pack order in a way I never will and as long as they remember that I am the Alpha life goes along smoothly.

Good luck - I hope you find the perfect dog very soon.