Hi everybody, I'm new here, but not a new dog owner. Throughout my entire life (I'm approaching the second hill - that would be 50 -) I've always had a German Shepherd. I'm on my 5th one now. I never had problems with them, raised 4 children from baby-hood always under the Schaeferhund's watchful and patient eyes. My present dog Lasso is 4 years old and what you would consider "pet quality". He comes from good german bloodlines and has some awsome ancestors. He loves EVERYBODY and I doubt he knows that teeth are for more than chewing food and catching tennis balls. I had him neutered (don't scream....I just can't handle the humping part <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> .

Then....there is Cindy Lou. Cindy is a German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix who was awfully abused as a small puppy. I adopted her from the Humane Society when she was 5 months old. Someone had gouged out her eye and cut her tail with kitchen shears, no anesthetic...of course <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> . It took Cindy Lou several years to trust all of us, now she is 6 years old and a wonderfully calm dog. She is the "protector" and will growl and bark, while Lasso is happily standing at the door, tennis ball in mouth, hoping for someone, ANYONE, to walk in the door and start playing with him.
Cindy Lou "raised" Lasso, defending him against our then-still-alive macho miniature Dachshund "Herbie", sending Herbie to the operating room twice because he "looked at her puppy" the wrong way.

Cindy Lou and Lasso are family members. They have free access to inside/outside through a large doggie door and are both well behaved dogs. They are not trained beyond basic obedience, but have no behavioral problems. The neighborhood children walk in and out of our house and the dogs fully accept them. The only problem (and I consider that I failed in obedience training or the dog wouldn't have the problem, is that I can only walk Lasso with the prong collar. He'll stay bei Fuss (heel) with it, but not without it. Without it, he'll forge ahead just enough to keep the 6'leash taut.
Sorry for the elaborate introduction, but I want you to know the type of dogs I own so your answer to my question will be a well informed one.

The question: Prior to coming to this site, it never crossed my mind to worry about my dogs' reaction to getting a third family dog.
Since I've never had a bad dog experience with exception of the Dachshund's territorialism, and because all my dogs always got along with cats (more or less), love children, never fight with each other, and even play with the neighbor's dogs. Now though, after reading the posts about "rank",
"Alpha males", "dog against dog aggression", etc. I truly AM worried! I'm considering adoption of a third dog, a 3 - 4 year old Keeshond who is said to get along well with other dogs and cats. OR another GS female, around 3 - 4 years old also. Am I gambling here? It almost sounds as if in the past I was playing russian roulette and was lucky that there was no bullet in the chamber....am I puuuuuusssshhhhing my luck? I'm looking forward to all of your answers <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

My opinion is that you have a nice calm workable situation now. Your dogs get along with you, your kids and with each other. The only problem that you mentioned is when you DID have a third dog(Dachchund). My take on this is to leave well enough alone. You sound like a wonderful person with the best of intentions. Rescueing the Rott mix was an act of kindness. Now your heart is in the right place by wanting to rescue another dog, but honestly.....I would not. Getting a third dog is pushing things and it is something I would rarely recommend. You will be asking for potential problems. Stick to 2. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Hey Chuck, there's that Dachshund again! It must be a sign... (sorry, inside joke)

Lasso's Mom: I can speak from experience on this matter, but I'm not going to give you a definitive answer one way or another.

It sounds as though you definitely had a rank problem before with 3 dogs, and although one is no longer with you, I don't think that dog was your problem. It is your female, Cindy Lou. Not that she isn't a sweet, lovable family member, and God knows she's been through a lot, but she seems to be the dominant dog. And adding another dog, especially a female, I'm afraid could cause some problems again. We have 5 dogs ourselves, 3 of them were rescue situations such as yours. And each time a new dog was added, there were problems. Fortunately we were prepared, and learned a lot from each experience, but that's not to say that there weren't and aren't dominance issues and fights. Our males have had several run-ins with each other, fortunately none were serious, but I'll have to admit that the worst dogfight we ever had was between 2 of our females, and it put one of them in the hospital for 2 weeks! I'm not trying to scare you, just give you a reality check here. It's great that you are concerned about this and seeking information, rather than just entering into it blindly. Just be aware that if you do bring another family member aboard, especially an adult, it will completely disrupt the current status quo and I can almost guarantee that there will be problems, at least in the beginning. Whether they diminish over time is anyone's guess, but you need to be prepared to handle these things and take extra precautions with the dogs that you normally wouldn't do, such as limiting their interactions together. In our case, we have once again established a status quo within the pack, partly because my dogs are all now spade and neutered, but that's not to say that we still don't have problems creep up now and again. You must always be on your toes and never take their behaviors for granted.

Lasso's Mom, I have to agree with Chuck. Why overturn the apple cart? You might have your mind made up already and just looking for the answer that will support your decision. The dogs are happy now with free run of the house and yard. Would you be happy if you would have to kennel or crate the dogs to keep them apart? If you do bring the keeshond in make sure you email airowens(Beth) or Richard for suggestions. They both have multiple dog households. The keeshond will find a good home don’t worry about her. I know how you feel because I'm drawn to shelters like a magnet wishing to adopt all those poor animals.

Milt

Unless you are going to kennel the dogs then you had better stick to just two animals. I don't know about you, but I've only got two hands. One for each mutt.

I have lived with more dogs than just two, but never in the house. I've got a kennel.

I will say again, that it can be done, but you are putting a whole lot more on your plate when you do. We do not have the luxury of kennels, so our dogs HAD to get along. We all peacefully co-exist in our home, for the most part. Like I said, problems do flare up though and we have to take extra precautions when they are all outside together. But we do not tolerate any dominance aggression between the dogs. I should also add that we do not have small children, nor do we have a flurry of people in and out of our home throughout the day. It's just my husband and me, and except for the dog sitter, an occasional guest now and then. Their daily routine is pretty consistent. When things start becoming inconsistent, they get edgy and we usually have to keep a couple crated now and then.

I thank you all for the input. After reading here what I read, and after checking several other websites, I know you are on target. I appreciate the thoughtfulness of your replies and I will follow your advice. How hard that is, only I will know! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I guess I'm old enough, mature enough, to know that it's no good asking for advice and then doing the opposite of what was advised. I can see my mom nodding enthusiastically (in spirit).

So........I guess I'll be moving into the country, buying some land, and building some kennels, huh? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I hope you don't mind if I hang around you folks for a while. I'll use you. Sorta like a "dog-anonymous" support group <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I'm new here but I do have experience with multiple dogs living within a household. My "kids"...all 10 of them; live with me in my house..a very small house I must add. They are all rescues and have come to me a various ages of their lives. They are of various breeds..some mixes and range from 18lbs to 90lbs. All are spayed or neutered.
The three young ones are crated in my "mud room" when I am gone to work for the day. A baby gate is in the door way to separate the mud room from the kitchen. In the mud room, two dogs are loose and keep the crated dogs company. The others have free roam of the house. I take my time with introductions and always introduce the newcomer one on one; one at a time. The dogs go out in two different groups into a fenced 1 1/2 acre area. My dogs are never allowed to be outdoors if I am not home. Their job is to guard the house..and a good job they all do!
This past summer; I had to euthenize my beloved German Shephard. The house has been so empty without her! Even though there are 10 other dogs..it's just not the same. I sought out a quality breeder and will be bringing home a female pup (a Leerburg kennel line) this coming Friday. Just not sure where I'm going to put another crate yet! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Whoa....10 dogs all living together. Well firstly, I'd like to say better you than me!LOL. Well God bless you for your rescue efforts. In reality though, you have a dog pack and its a miracle that you haven't had any serious problems. 10 dogs living together is something that no one should ever do or recommend someone do.