People with multiple dogs...

[ihartgonzo]

Yes... you have to adjust your social life, in a lot of ways, to have time for your dogs or to include them in outings. It's a matter of priorities, really. My dogs are a MUCH higher priority than my friends... and they know and accept that. My social life and hobbies are basically built around my dogs, because they are a huge responsibility, to me. I find that I've "narrowed down" my friends to the dog-loving people. That sounds BAD, but it's true. If you don't absolutely adore my dogs and want to do things with them and are completely entertained by just hanging out at the park with them, well, I might hang out with you once in a while but you are not BFF material. hehe

One of my best friend's, Grace, who owns Saderzzz the Border Collie, was NOT a dog person before we started hanging out. She only loved her cat, and her family never had dogs. Now she does dog stuff with my every day... and her family is completely in love with Sadie.

In a way, I miss having one dog. I miss him being my one and only. But, I honestly feel he is much happier with a companion, and I cannot imagine my life without Fozzie in it. The biggest issue for me, personally, is having time to spend one-on-one with each of them. I walk/run each of them individually as often as possible, and it doesn't help that they are complete individuals. Fozzie does great at the dog park, but will not play fetch at the park, while Gonzo cannot go to the dog park, but loves playing fetch at the park. It's kind of a juggling act, but it is completely worth it, if you have time to treat them as individuals and you make sure the dogs are a good match for one another.

 

[darkchild16]

Yes, A dog does period. changed for gonzo

 

[ihartgonzo]

Yes, A dog period does.

Ewwwwy. Dog periods. :cry: (just imagine vomit coming out)

Yes... I'm very mature!

 

[darkchild16]

Lmao thats not how i meant it

 

[Laurelin]

I hate being at school and just having Summer. It's so much harder! Of course, like Hannah, she has SA, so as soon as I can get her another dog, I am! She does much better in a multi dog household.

 

[Zoom]

Life is easier with just Sawyer, mostly because he's so easy-going and well-behaved that he can go with me just about anywhere and people are more accepting of one dog than they are two.

However, at home, having multiple dogs is easier.

 

[Punkygirl0101]

Well, my best friend is a mega dog lover, and pretty much everything we do involves our dogs. So no, my social life is fine! lol. I hang out with my non-dog loving other best friend only about once a week. Everyone is really busy with school and work anyway. I am fine just hanging out at home with the dogs, and going to the park and river with the dogs. And hanging out with my best friend, of course with the dogs .lol

 

[Psyfalcon]

2 or 4 isn't much more work than one. Feeding times and potty times are roughly the same.

Exercise is simplified if you have dogs that play in a fenced yard. (Though, Buster ignores other dogs in a yard for the most part).

Fenceless, yes, its more work, especially if they're big dogs that might not always play nice with each other. You might have to separate to avoid fights, or to avoid being pulled down the street.

 

[puppydog]

I find having two a lot easier then just one. Ben and Lilly entertain each other for hours and Lilly is loosing all the excess weight she was carrying.
She is healthier and happier.

The only thing is that they now incite each other at night. I get a bit less sleep, but hey, it is worth it.

 

[pafla]

It depends on a lot off things.Some off them are age,temperament,breed of dogs,do you care alone for them or have help,is the rest of household supportive or not,how much free time you have,money,do you live in house or flat, what do you use your dogs for-competitions,work,pets...

For me having three dogs means having a social life with people who are as dog crazy as me.Then again I train my dogs for obedience competitions and agility.I also work in my family store,as dog walker and dog trainer.During day I work,during evening I am in dog club on trainings or training other people,or working alone with my dogs.Weekends are for competitions,seminars,dog trainings,socializing dogs to new places,long hikes with other dog friends and presentations of work with dogs.

It simply does not leave space for time with people who do not think that going out is the same as doing one of dog related things.Do I feel bad about that.No.It makes me happy.Then again I also understand people who have just one dog and have a life that does not involve dogs.Or people who keep dogs as pets and have more free time then me.

In the end it all depends how dog crazy are you actually

 

[elegy]

i didn't have a social life before the dogs, so no, not really. they get me out around people more. i've made one good friend and a bunch of acquaintances through "dog stuff", which is really good for me because i'm shy and making friends irl (as opposed to all my imaginary friends here, right?) is very very hard for me.

 

[AgilityPup]

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

Yea, sad, I know...

Have to agree here. My only social life outside of the dogs is school, and I hate that. (Plus, all of my friends are dog lovers)

I, generally, get along better with dog people. I don't do well around people who don't like, or understand dog lovers, and usually just spend the entire visit thinking about punching them out each time they say dogs are stupid.

Heck, I can hardly have a conversation without bringing my dogs into it. I'm obsessed.

 

[adojrts]

Tuff question, my answer would have to be, yes and no.

We have never taken a big family vacation, which isn't good, especially considering we have a kid and he needs that from us.

Putting them in a kennel,(even a small private one for a week) is costly and has to be considered when planning a trip.

It's not unusual for us to do separate things with our son, so someone can stay home and look after the critters. So we tend to do things as a family that don't require us to be gone for days at a time.

As for my personal friends, they have always been people involved with animals as well.
As a couple its different, but we manage that as well.

No matter what everyone KNOWS not to expect us or to plan a meal/reservations etc when I have to be home taking care of critters. Because if they do, my hub and son could be there and I will either not go, leave early or arrive late, thankfully we have multiple vehicles lol.

 

[DaVinci]

I don't like to be around non dog people so everything I do is dog related. I then can bring my dogs and we all have a grand time.

 

[corgipower]

i didn't have a social life before the dogs

Neither did I. I was always at the barn. Lived, breathed, ate, slept horses...

I've been known to decline invitations to dinner because of a puppy who was being house trained - I couldn't be gone that many hours!!

 

[darkchild16]

Neither did I. I was always at the barn. Lived, breathed, ate, slept horses...

I've been known to decline invitations to dinner because of a puppy who was being house trained - I couldn't be gone that many hours!!

same here LOL

 

[RD]

Yup, it does affect my social life. It did when I was living with 4 dogs, and it does when I have just my one little girl. Not so much in Mexico, but back in the states? I really had a hard time maintaining a friendship with people who didn't understand the way I felt about my dogs.

 

[Dizzy]

Wow..

Bodhi does not affect my social life at all. I still go out when I want to.

When I live alone, things alter to accomodate that, but currently I don't, so I have no reason to stay home every night of the week to keep her company... I am in most nights, but I won't sacrifice my time completely to her... Weekends away are hard, sometimes I will have to make sure I have a dogsitter - they are RARE though.. very rare.

I don't understand why people will only be friends with people who like dogs - I don't CARE if people don't get that I love my dog - it has nothing to do with them.

 

[lostshowfan86]

I have 2 dogs and we think that getting a second dog was the best thing we could have done. Our dogs are 5 months apart in age. And they are the best of friends.

I want to add 1 more dog when we have a bigger place. A Dalmatian.

Honestly 2 dogs isn't much more work than one.

My husband and I still go out from time to time but we kind of like to stick around home anyways.

Be with the pups and take them places.

They are our family

We have a terrier mix and a poodle currently

My husband works full time and when I work I work part time so the dogs are never alone that long and when we can't be here the dogs have each other.

 

[blackmaskrott]

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?

What social life? And I didn't know there was a thing as doing NON dog related things.

Try camping with 7 rottweilers and forget about going out of town to take a vacation. Not enough friends in the world that would feed animals for you more than once. If I do go out of town for showing, Liz always has to stay home to take care of the others.