How many dogs is to many??

Brushbustin Sporting Dogs · Post by **Brushbustin Sporting Dogs** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 5:51 pm

I seem addicted to dogs and have a horrible time saying no to people. I just purchased another puppy that I will pick up nexy weekend. I guess I'm just looking for my next all-star. I own Josie, Ebbie, Tanner, Star, Dixie,Reno and one muttly shorthair/wirehair. Am I getting in over my head. I'm single no girlfriend, probbaly cause I have to many dogs. But whats the norm for people. How many dogs should one man own???

Robbie

Post by **ezzy333** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 6:07 pm

You are single so I think it is however many you can take care of. My problem is the more you have the less time you have for each and thats hurts the dogs progress. Right now I have three with the pup and that will probably cut down the time each gets to spend in the field. I like to hunt two and this past year I always hunted with a friend who has a setter but the three worked well together. None of them ever failed to back on sight and that made it easy to work with them around birds. But many times three is just too many.

Ezzy

Post by **kninebirddog** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 6:13 pm

well lets see I have Mikey, Picabo, Blazer, Bullet, Bear, Bailey, Lil Boo, Yotie, Rikki, Buddy, Monster, Crush, Spirit

and a BorderCollie cross Named birddog some are for sale and I have a few others in plan

that doesn't include Bobs Dogs he has the setters and pointers

PrairieGoat · Post by **PrairieGoat** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 6:17 pm

How many can you feed, water, pay vet bills for (especially as they get older), keep entertained....and yes....love?!? I think this is something that each of us has to answer for ourselves....for me the number is two, or maybe one if my older pup keeps trying to chew on my arm whilst I'm trying to type!

Birddog 307 · Post by **Birddog 307** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:00 pm

Rob sometimes I think my nine is to many. When I have other things to do sometimes it is hard to get stuff done as my dogs come first.
Allen

Chief_dog · Post by **Chief_dog** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:19 pm

I'm in much the same situation as you as far as being single and not having to answer to anyone on how many dogs I keep. Personally, I've found that I can keep several older dogs at a time and it's not much of a hassle, because all they really need is some conditioning to keep them ready. However, I can only do a couple young dogs justice at a time. The higher that number of pups/young dogs grows, the less I get done with them. I've got four adult dogs and three puppy/derby dogs right now. Honestly, I'd be much better off with two puppy/derbies instead of three.

Post by **kninebirddog** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:29 pm

I like having a few young dogs to work cause actually it helps prevent from over working a dog
helps to keep sessions on good notes

Englishsetterhunter · Post by **Englishsetterhunter** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:54 pm

the most ive ever owned at one time is 2 english setters and i only own one now which is a puppy!!! well shes a year old AND CANT WAIT FOR HER HUNTING SEASON and i work with her 45 minutes + every day thats kinda hard to do with 9 dogs or however many you got and i dont think i could give that many dogs that much affection and i dont have the property for that many well my dad doesnt have the property im a kid so i dont own my own property but still its gotta hard to allow all those dogs to run around all the time my setter hunts around in my yard all day i could never kennel her i think it would suck the life outa her even with running five miles a day with her well i run five miles she quarters infront of me the whole way making it atleast triple that for her so im fine with just ONE DOG FOR NOW

Prairie Drifter · Post by **Prairie Drifter** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:02 pm

I have Hooter, Magpie, Canyon, Raven, Pearl, Sage, Willow, Jenny, Bodie, Chisum, River, Trouble, Lobo, and Flint. You have too many when the next one makes you have too little time for each one. When I wasn't breeding, I think that 4 was about right. If one gets injured or sick you can still put in full days several days in a row and have dog power enough to rotate. I got down to one dog one year and about ran her to death hunting 40 days. As a breeder, I have dogs that are getting too old, pups, and dogs in their production and hunting prime. I have dogs that are still being evaluated and on the chopping block as a breeding dog until they pass. Sometimes, I go through several dogs that don't make the cut as a breeding dog before another top prospect comes along. So, it's relative to your situation. Take the time to evaluate where you are before looking into those puppy eyes.

Brushbustin Sporting Dogs · Post by **Brushbustin Sporting Dogs** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:14 pm

I do get to work my dogs quite often. They ar ein 6x12 runs all day for one. I rotate everyother day running boys and girls. On the days I run them they go for 30 minutes 2 an hour. On days I don't run them its quick 15 minutes of yard work. On weekends we work birds atleast the ones that need it. Once a dog is broke I work very few birds maybe once a month. The worst thing is my ages are Josie 7, Ebbie 2, Tanner 2, Star 1, Dixie 6 months, Wren 10 weeks, and Reno will be 10 weeks when I go pick him up. Having all those dogs so far thie spring Tanner has went from chasing birds to standing broke most the time, Star I've had for a month and is now senior broke, Dixie went from a run off that you had to chase down to a dog that handles and comes with me when she not chasing junk birds so I think I've done a pretty good job of keeping them worked thus far. I'm a firm beleiver in 15 minutes a day. You can acheive a ton in a good quick 15 minute seesion its quite amazing actually. I'm just in that stage of trying to find that one dog ya know. I can say I'm pretty blessed with the dogs I have now actually just trying to find exactly what I want in my future program. Thanks for the fun responses...

Robbie

Post by **kninebirddog** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:16 pm

Prairie drifter...
I hear you there

if you want a breeding program and what to do it right..it is best to be prepared to make those choices about selling dogs that don't fit to companion hunters they may make fine hunting companions but do not cut it for breeding..
I am 4 years behind where i want to be cause i have had to let some females go for one reason or another and a few of them were serious punch in the guts..paid top dollar for a couple of pups that did awesome in the field peds to match only them to fail OFA so off they went to homes spayed hunting companions one will never show any signs as she was only subluxated mild...i was told to penn hip her that her rating would fall in to a better percentile ...Sorry she failed OFA on down the road she went.

or sires that just didn't have the total package..handle nice but I am not thrill with his point...selling him ....he is a nice birddog nothing i want to reproduce though

so yep depending on what your trying to do....you'll go through dogs till you get those that are the keepers then you ahve the ones that have done well and are retired...they add up quickly

Don · Post by **Don** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 9:48 pm

I have had to many dogs. When you find your in a position where you have dogs not being worked because they are just,,,,,,second stringers, you have to many. To get much more than four dogs into top shape and keep them there and keeping them sharp on their bird work, is a full time job. Most of us have a day job too and it don't include dogs usually. That blows 8 hrs. I'm retired so in theory I could have more than four but, I also have a place that needs taken care of and other animals to tend to. There are only so many hours in a day. this time around I think I'll stop at three. Squirt and Bodie are really to close in age, means two retired dogs at the same time. Then again maybe I'll go for four! I'm not getting any more dogs after my 97th birthday!

wems2371 · Post by **wems2371** » Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:01 pm

For me, they're companions first...................so it's how many can I handle in the house, on the couch, and in the bed?

My older lab mix is 11, so we got the pup last year to learn from the older dog, take her place in the field, and soften the blow just a teeny tiny bit when she passes. It has been great for making the older dog livelier and happier I do believe (when she's not being harassed). We are looking to get a 3rd and final dog next year, and I'm already guilt ridden about whether the current babygirl will get enough attention and time if we do. I think 3 would have to be my final number. I do have a spouse however, and at times, I would be willing to trade him for another dog.

Denise

Crystal kennels · Post by **Crystal kennels** » Fri Jul 04, 2008 5:39 am

I agree...its when you can't afford to pay for vet bills, feed them properly along with heartworm prevention and flea and tick control. It's too many when you dont have time to spend with them and they end up 'sitting'. It's too many when you are tired from scooping poop and exercising them. They should be a joy.....not a hinderance. I know of a person who has 30 dogs....they all live in crates with NO bedding. She is a collector....... it's sickening. The dogs have no life.

We have 2 senior citizens Jordan and Indy.....Joshman....Abbey...Kia..... and one strange Doberman Cardi. My husband has his K9 crime fighter named Teaka.

I always say..its a priviledge to have dogs...not a right.........

Judy

gonehunting77 · Post by **gonehunting77** » Fri Jul 04, 2008 8:52 am

Robbie, I can't talk about how many dogs is to much. I think I'm there most days. Then it takes me four dogs to get throw a hunt in Sept and I still have hunts booked for next three days. You can always go without sleep, food, cloths, etc for awhile. I wouldn't go without a good dog for a day. But I do no you are a little on the doggy side that's probably the girl friend problem. I also no there something they don't like when they ask you. Do you like the dogs more then them and you say, "and is there something wrong with that". HaHa !! Yes that's happened I look back now "better choice of words come to mind" Lets see JACK,JILL,DAZE,JUNE,ZOEY,COEY,MIA,PEACHES,think I still own more just on loan and JILLS six little ones. Rob should I claim scout !! Keep buying, I don't want to be the only single guy!! HAHA !!!

Tim

mtlee · Post by **mtlee** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:46 am

gonehunting77 wrote: I also no there something they don't like when they ask you. Do you like the dogs more then them and you say, "and is there something wrong with that". HaHa !!

Thats the last thing I said to the girlfriend at the time, immediately after that she became the ex-girlfriend....

I've got 2 now, would like to end up with 4 over the next year or 2.

romeo212000 · Post by **romeo212000** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 11:38 am

I dont think most girls and women understand the bond a guy develops with their dog. I like my dog more than most people , LOL. See when you dont get your way, you get pissy for three days until a) we give in and you get your way, or b) we decide your not worth putting up with and tell you to take it or leave it. In either case you are mad at us for several days. And you wonder why we spend so much time with our dogs. If I have a difficult training session with my dog and she is giving me a hard time and I have to come down on her, I go out to her kennel 20 minutes later to see her and she is thrilled I am there. Made it perfectly clear to my now wife when we started talking marriage, I will hunt (a lot), I will have dogs (thats plural), and I will spend a great deal of time and frankly money to do what I love doing. If you cannot accept that, we probably should not be married. She loves our dogs but we have gotten into a few arguments regarding that. I reminded her I gave her fair warning and that pretty much ends it.

Crystal kennels · Post by **Crystal kennels** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 11:57 am

romeo212000 wrote:I dont think most girls and women understand the bond a guy develops with their dog. I like my dog more than most people , LOL. See when you dont get your way, you get pissy for three days until a) we give in and you get your way, or b) we decide your not worth putting up with and tell you to take it or leave it.

WOW! Glad I live my MY husband...we work together as a team. We both love and work with dogs....I am a vet tech..he is a K9 officer........ We both bond with our dogs and share the good times and the bad. I have seen many men 'get pissy' for three or more days........ ugh..... Romeo212000..it works both ways with men and women. I train the field dogs here and compete with them...we BOTH hunt and our marriage is 100 % effort on both our parts. I am very thankful for my relationship with my best friend (my hubby).

Judy

Post by **kninebirddog** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 12:00 pm

When I left the EX ...I took the truck the travel trailer and the Dogs ...I Left HIM the house and the cat

romeo212000 · Post by **romeo212000** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 12:11 pm

Crystal kennels wrote:
romeo212000 wrote:I dont think most girls and women understand the bond a guy develops with their dog. I like my dog more than most people , LOL. See when you dont get your way, you get pissy for three days until a) we give in and you get your way, or b) we decide your not worth putting up with and tell you to take it or leave it.

WOW! Glad I live my MY husband...we work together as a team. We both love and work with dogs....I am a vet tech..he is a K9 officer........ We both bond with our dogs and share the good times and the bad. I have seen many men 'get pissy' for three or more days........ ugh..... Romeo212000..it works both ways with men and women. I train the field dogs here and compete with them...we BOTH hunt and our marriage is 100 % effort on both our parts. I am very thankful for my relationship with my best friend (my hubby).

Judy

You are an exception my dear, as is my wife 99% of the time. She loves our dogs as much as I do. I love my wife but most women are not like you. That is why I said MOST in my previous post. It is women like you that give all birddog owners hope in finding a good woman. My intention was not to offend, I think you misunderstood the message behind my post. Yes some guys act as I have stated above as well. But I have dated, and known enough young ladies and women to know that is usually how it goes down. As I said you are not who I was referring to. It is the others who do not understand our passion for our dogs and what we do.

snips · Post by **snips** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 12:25 pm

I really feel sorry for couples that do not share in the dog-hunting interests together...They are missing out on alot.

romeo212000 · Post by **romeo212000** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 12:30 pm

I keep trying to get my into participating in my gun dog obsession but she seems reluctant for some reason.

Post by **Kiki's Mom** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:38 pm

I dont think most girls and women understand the bond a guy develops with their dog. I like my dog more than most people ,

That can be said of most men too.

My dogs are VIPS in my life. I left the last guy who thought he could come between my passion for the dogs and the field and put him first. He and I had been together 10 years and HE just DIDN'T Get it! At least not until til I said "Adios Amigo, I'm chasing my dreams without you from here on out".

He suddenly developed an interest and even, FINALLY after 5 years of watching my truck pull out of the driveway on the weekends to go to the trials and dog shows, came to his one and only field trial. I was so disgusted and fed up with him by then that I planted his happy butt on a rank old rent horse, handed him the bird bag and said, "see you later". I never looked back.

I'm now married to my best friend, partner in all things bird dogs, Brittany, Field and Show. I met him after I found the courage to walk out on the old relationship. I took the horse trailer, ATV, and the dogs, left him the house, the truck, the cat and the broken heart.

Post by **Kiki's Mom** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:42 pm

I keep trying to get my into participating in my gun dog obsession but she seems reluctant for some reason.

Does she even like your dogs? If so....get her a pup of her own....but a word of caution: If there wasn't a gun dog in the relationship when you met, don't try to ask a leopard to change her spots. Just remember to make the time to do things you know she enjoys with her so that come hunting season and time to train, she will be more willing to let you go off and enjoy your time with your dog.

romeo212000 · Post by **romeo212000** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 11:01 pm

SHe loves our dogs. Just not a hunter.

tfbirddog2 · Post by **tfbirddog2** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 8:09 am

Three dogs Daisy,Sassy,Sammy, one pup Raven at the limit for space and sanity I think big dogs are a peach, the pup the time consumer now.I love my dogs as much as my wife and two girls. Wife is finally see my passion for the dogs 71/2 years of it and my passion for guiding of 6 years.She like to shoot her shotgun but doesnt want to hunt has gone turkey and deer hunting but not bird hunting though, said dhe will this year with the girls they want to watch the puppies do there job sometime.Once she started getting me and the passion I have for hunting like I used to have for the greatest sport on earth FOOTBALL it made our relationship better, cause instead excepting me she inbraced me.You do have to stop somewhere when it comes to enough time for them all.Guiding and hunting for me with four is no problem. For you ladies on the thread and forum I love to talk to you about hunting,birddogs, and guns its a breathe of fresh air scented with some kind a smell good perfume, and insite in the female mind of the hunting sports.

Yawallac · Post by **Yawallac** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 8:34 am

Girl, Lady, Sarah, Magic, Duke, Casey, Sue, Rebel, Mary, Spot, Whitie, Kate, Jim, Belle, Ben, Buck, Ozzie, Pepper, Lottie, Rock and Jack.

....not necessarily in that order!!

romeo212000 · Post by **romeo212000** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 3:50 pm

I honestly feel like I could only handle four bird dogs and one duck retriever at a time. Especially with the costs of field trialing my pointers. Entering 3 dogs in a Double Double for a weekend at 140.00 a dog can get expensive when you are hitting upwards of 5 trials per season.

3Britts · Post by **3Britts** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:16 pm

I am going to dido those who stated the limit is feed, vet bills, care for etc...

I have three, Ron, Tania and Summer. I would like to have more but the space and time needed to train them has to be taken into account. My wife also doesn't want any more dogs. She loves the dogs we have now and would not trade them for the world. I guess that I am blessed as she wants me to take the time to work and hunt the dogs as much as possible.
Summer is the puppy and needs the most care. The other two work well together and are helping me train Summer right now.
Three also works as I have two sons, one 14 and the other 12, who handle a dog each when we hunt. This allows us to take several groups out when we are guiding those poor, sorry people who do not have dogs of their own.

Brushbustin Sporting Dogs · Post by **Brushbustin Sporting Dogs** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 8:53 pm

Well here is how today went with my dogs.

At about 4 I've got one of my hunt test dogs here for about a week while his owners are outta town, I shot a bird for Riley he stood till the shoot then retreived it he is running in Seniors. After that I let Ebbie(28 months) out with Riley(6 years) and we went on about a 40 minute run swam in the ponds and put them up. Waited for it to cool down to run the younger dogs. So at about 7 Tanner(22 months) and Star(12 months) got no bird work today we just went for a 30-40 minute run I do have wild quail on the place but we didn't find any today. And after that Dixie(6 months) and I went on a walk for about a mile. Now puppy Wren who has a new home sometime this week can come in the house and chew on my clothes until she falls asleep. Anymore dogs it might start to get hard but I think I'm at about the right number. Wren will leave sometime this week and I'll pick Reno up this weekend!!!!!

Robbie

mtjim · Post by **mtjim** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 4:28 am

Let's See - 10 years ago I had one dog - a Brittany. Then a friend gave me a setter to keep while he attended a school for 2 years. That made two. Then another friend gave me an older Brittany female. That made three. Then my son got a divorce and he got the dog which meant it came to my house. He was a cross between a Brittany and a Lab and he made 4.

In my present location 4 is the max. And the 4 I have now are all English Setters. The 2 old Brits both died a natural death. The divorce dog went to live at the new girlfriend's house. Another friend gave me a setter pup and I bought two setter pups. And now we are one big 4 setter family. 2 males, 2 females.

My goal is to get down to 2 good hunting dogs. A female and a male so that I can raise pups to replace them. But then if I retire and move back to the farm - who knows?

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