How many dogs are too many for a household?
Don Hoppe
2025-05-28 21:08:43
Count answers: 2
Having more than six to eight dogs as pets does seem excessive, unless you are a breeder or are involved in some canine enterprise that requires you to own many dogs, like foxhounds that you use for hunting. If one dog is fine, two’s company, and a small group of four to six dogs is manageable with care and knowledge, what about 25 dogs. For most people, owning one or two dogs is a full time job, but some may be able to balance upward of four to six dogs. Anything above this number requires a special kind of person with special circumstances if each animal is to receive the kind of attention he should receive as a pet. One thing is for sure, how many dogs you can humanely care for depends on your availability, energy and resources. Owning large numbers of dogs means that individual dogs do not receive the same level of attention they would if they were part of a smaller unit. The relationship of human and dog changes, becoming less personal, and the dogs themselves become less pet-like and more pack-like. It is probably true that as the number of dogs in a household increases the incidence of behavior problems also increases. Let’s face it, the larger the pack the more complicated the social dynamics and the more diluted the owner’s attention.
Merlin McDermott
2025-05-28 18:52:24
Count answers: 4
Two is too many for some households, ten is too few for others. My own personal best number feels happiest at four. That is just when solid peace and contentment fully seem to set in. There is only so much one person can do, in my opinion. I have had eight adult dogs at once, with four being either boarders or temporary fosters on their way somewhere else. Again, hectic. Not too many dogs for this home. Someday, when I have more room, both inside and outside and possibly another human to assist, I want more dogs as the status quo, but until that day comes, I will stick with a maximum of four permanent canine residents. Space is important as far as how many dogs you actually have room for in your home. You have to decide what your own limit is.
Nathaniel Borer
2025-05-28 18:38:27
Count answers: 2
It’s the general consensus that one or two dogs per household is acceptable in America. Statistics support this accepted norm — the American Veterinary Medical Foundation confirms that the 36.5 percent of dog-owning households in the U.S. have 1.6 dogs on average. Most animal care experts widely agree that three is not a crowd when it comes to owning more than one dog. Having three well-trained pups can be harmonious when the dogs balance each other out. Karen Nash, animal rescuer and owner of pet care service Sniff Snout, agrees that two or three dogs are better than one, though more than three can pose a problem. I find for the owner, two or three at the max is a comfortable number to handle. But as Nash and Wright pointed out, that’s where the balance starts to tip to a point that can be dangerous for a domesticated dog pack: Three’s company, and four dogs are too many.
Keith Legros
2025-05-28 17:54:39
Count answers: 1
We have 4 dogs living in the house now and I think we may be one over the limit, I’m not sure if it matters that one is mine or not since they all live in the same house. We might have to get a kennel license. I can understand why that is a rule. I think people could end up in over their head without realizing it. For my family having 4 dogs has been extremely easy. Is 4 dogs considered a lot?