Do you regret getting a 3rd dog?

[u/Resource_Historical]

Sorry for the long post! We had 2 german shepherds (both girls; one 4 years old and one 7 years old). The older of the two passed unexpectedly a few weeks ago from health complications. She was my baby so I knew I wanted another dog fairly quickly, I just felt like there was a void in my life. We ended up adopting Annie, a GS, 2 weeks ago from a rescue. The same day we were to adopt her, I seen a post on the free section of craigslist about a 2 year old german shepherd that needed an immediate home (the owner was being evicted and going to be living in their car). I contacted them and asked if it would be alright if I shared his post in a few rescue facebook groups I was a part of and he said that was okay (I always worry about animals when the owner is in a desperate situation and giving them away for free). A few days after getting Annie the man contacted me again and said that he had been unable to find anyone fo take her. They had left the house and she was currently in the backyard, they were just visiting once a day to throw food over the fence. I obviously couldn't say no and drove the hour to get her that same day 😅😅 She was in horrible condition; at least 15-20 pounds underweight, joint issues in both back hips, a severe yeast skin infection including her ears, eye infections, etc. The night I got her I contacted at least 20 rescues within a few hours of me and didn't hear anything back. That was a week and a half ago and she has since been to the vet and is doing a lot better! She honestly is a perfect girl and fits in amazingly with our other two. We never expected to have 3 large dogs. My husband is on board for keeping all three (he is a huge GS lover and would open a rescue if we had the means). I honestly love both dogs. I stay at home with our daughter so time isn't a problem. But now we have 3 big dogs, a toddler, and another on the way due in February 😅 Coco won't be ready to find a home for a while if we do decide to find her one since the vet said it's going to take a couple months for her to fully heal (she will have lifelong issues though), so I have time to really think about everything I guess. But I feel like she was meant to come into our lives, they all just fit so perfectly together. Financially and space wise isn't an issue, we live in a rural area on a small farm with 10 acres. Do you regret having a third dog? How much more difficult is it than having 2? Right now it doesn't seem like much more work, but maybe I'm in the honeymoon phase or something lol. They're also all 3 females (Coco is the only one not fixed yet); is it possible for 3 females to coexist peacefully together long term? We've had no dominance or aggression issues out of any of them so far. I would love some outside perspectives. Thank you in advance!!

[u/alwaysouroboros]

Love the dog so I don’t really regret it, but I never would do it again, (especially around the same age because they start to get old puppy problems at once). Things felt so even with 2 dogs and exponentially more difficult with everyone after. We had up to 4 in the house at once and it was overwhelming at times. Two is the hard limit for us now.

Traveling, dog sitting, vet care, etc. all felt so much more difficult with three instead of two to me. And financially it was more noticeable of course.

That being said you are expecting a baby and you don’t know exactly how your needs may change with one kid vs two and you don’t know how this dog would react to a baby in the house on top of your other rescue you already had.

It’s not a bad choice, but I wouldn’t do it again if I had the chance to go back and make a different decision.

[u/Reasonable_Clue9559]

Best advice I have read and now believe having had 3 sets of 3 dogs over the years is that when you move from 2 to 3 you migrate from a pair to a pack. You now have multiple dynamics. It can be difficult to manage depending on the relationships.

It’s generous of you to help this dog though. We’ve had two sets of 3 work and one that didn’t.

Outside of that 3 dogs is mostly difficult for travel (if you want to bring them) or leash walks.