People with multiple dogs...

Does this affect your social life? I mean, with all the dogs you have to constantly exercise, train, socialize, how much time do you have doing non pet related things?

I hope this isn't rude, I really am just curious. I picture myself with multiple dogs when I move out!

Yes. One dog affects my social life though, lol! 2+ dogs to me don't seem like that much more work than one.

I like doing dog things a lot so I don't mind at all.

ONE dog affects my social life! Hubby and I both work all day, so in the evenings we can't/don't go out when our coworkers have dinners or happy hours--it'd be cruel to leave Lucy all alone for the additional time. I don't think 2 would change that much though.

Like the above, ONE dog affects my social life. Seriously having two isn't much more work. As my old boss used to say "2 dogs: twice the kibble half the work" as they do tend to tire each other out, and since I enjoy training as a profession and a hobby, it's no biggy.

I just hate leaving my dogs at home while I go out and have fun. I feel guilty. Something my neurotic self needs to get over.

My dogs are my social life. Most of the human contact I have is when I'm training or competing.

Yea, sad, I know...

My Goldens were like my kids .... the more the merrier ! No one suffered though I spent more time with my children's sports than with what my dogs could have accomplished . That's why I went into TDI .... They and I were too old to started in showing . A happy mix .

And once you have two, three and four are really just a tiny step away

I'm with you! Also, non-dog friends just never understand. They always want to know why I can't stay out longer or why I always want to be at home.

To answer the question, yes, my dogs run my life and it affects my social life.

Sometimes. Depends on what's going on.

I'm with CP...basically everything I do "socially," except for with my families, has something to do with my dogs. I do everything I can with them, because I enjoy them immensely and gladly spend my time with dogs that can't talk back to me....in English. I feel bad when I can't be at home with them, or I can't take them with me somewhere.

Multiples are easier. We'll have 4 this summer, and I'm sure it'll be a blast!

Watching my two pound through the woods lifts my spirits and soothes my soul. They express simple joy so well, I find it healing. So I suppose they improve my social life--since they make me more pleasant to be around.

Our 4 run our entire life, which house we buy, where we spend our money, how we have to take an extra 15 minutes to divide up the dogs and cat before we can step out of the house.
Our lot are diffciult though, we can't take all of them for a good offleash run together, we can't take them where we are likley to run into other dogs.

I love training, Buster isn't mad keen on it, so his sessions are always short. Which is fun because than I can move on and do stuff with Harry and he LOVES learning.

We actually get it pretty easy. I only have to walk, train, groom, feed etc Buster. Mum does most of that for Harry, my sister does msot of that for Mac and we all look after Sophie's needs.

But people seriously just DO NOT get it when I'm out with them late at night and I say "No, have to go home tonight I don't know where Buster is and I don't want to leave him outside all night"

I've never lived without atleast 2 dogs in the house, it will be weird moving out with only Buster. I suppose it will be a holiday for a while but after that I want a second dog again.

My dogs are my social life... mostly.

Yes, Sleepovers/slumber parties came to a screeching halt lol
But other than that, not really. I feed kenya, walk her, go to school, come home, feed her, walk her,play,bit of training ect.. and then go out, usually shes happily asleep when I come home but if shes up, we got for a walk
I know Monday night is training and Saturday Morning we go to the dog park,and sunday is beach day but we have a good schedule and we stick to it so it leaves time for social things.

What social life? Seriously...I have one friend in Bloomsburg. ONE!

This sums it up pretty nicely.

:rofl1:

i guess this is where having sever social anxiety is a good thing...
i never had much of a social life to loose lol

but in general, haveing 2 dogs is no more socially difficult than having one..
as long as you get them on the same schedual theres nothing to realy change, the only difference is, more food, more poop...other than that i think having more than 1 is easier...
3 and 5 are my ideal #'s lol

Any overnight activities or all day trips are pretty much a no go unless our daughter is going to be around. Multi day trips have to be planned well in advance so we can make sure one of our kids can come and stay here and "babysit".

*Makes sure to direct Justin to this thread* He's convinced it's harder to have two. I keep telling him they keep each other entertained *sigh* One day!

Chazhound doesn't count? LOL

Yes, it affects your social life. It also affects your family life because if you want to go out of town to visit family or partake in holiday stuff, you either can't or you have to bribe and pay off other friends to take care of some of them for you or you can be like me and bribe some friends to take care of some while racking up a boarding bill of almost $700 for 5 days for the others.

But to me it's all worth it.

I don't have a social life, so no...lol.

Seriously, Jeff and I don't do any less with having Corvus and Nellie than we did when it was just Hannah. Actually, we probably do a little more now. Hannah's seperation anxiety was so severe when it was just her, that we couldn't leave her alone at all. We really didn't leave the house unless our best friend was home and she could stay with him or our other neighbor while we went out. Even that was a trial, because not too many people can handle a ginormous dog pacing and whining for her Mommy for too long.

Now that we have Corvus and Nellie, Hannah doesn't freak out when we leave anymore. So, we can actually go out and do things now without worrying that she's going to stress herself into a bloat episode or have nervous diarrhea everywhere.

So, see, multiple dogs is a good thing. For us anyways.