My Brother and SIL Just Got a 4Th Dog. What Do You Think?

I have 6 dogs, 1 cat, 5 chickens and 8 kids...that is crazy :)

But hey, if they can do it all the more power to them.

Who cares? As long as they love them and take good care of them, good for them. It might not be MY thing, but they are not me.

I have no issues about it as long as the dogs are properly being cared for.

What I don't get is someone who keeps popping out babies like a pez dispenser and then complaining about having no money, no time, whiney babies, homework, etc. I want to say "Well you know what causes that, right?"

I think you need to listen to your husband. It's none of your business unless you KNOW a family member may be keeping animals that are dangerous or they are abusing animals.

I think your husband is right!

It would be too many for me but if they have the heart and love to properly care for the animals then more power to them.

I think this is nuts but also who cares. It's their life and their decision. Them having 4 dogs should not affect your life at all.

Your husband is right. It's not for you to judge good or bad or...weird.

I think if they can take care of them then who cares?

As long as they are responsible dog owners and train them and socialize them properly, take care of them, etc, then I don't see why anyone else should have an opinion about it. It is their household.

If they mistreat the ones they have now, neglect veterinary care for them or feed them poor quality food (cheap walmart stuff with mostly filler), and never play or interact with them or exercise them, etc... then I would have a different opinion.

I can see how, you might be looking into the future wondering how they will manage 4 dogs with a baby (one day?)... but that is YOUR ideal for having babies... they may have a different one. And will have a different reality.

I think you should leave them alone :-).

I think who cares. If they can handle 4 dogs and properly take care of them and give them what they need, more power to them~ Oh and just saw your last bit about not having kids yet.....they may change their tune once she gets pregnant. But, try not judge--its up to them.

One dog is enough in my house, although I have occasionally thought of adding one more. Four dogs would be entirely too many for me and is in the "this is nuts" category for me. However, my neighbors have that many and are thrilled. It works for them. As long as the dogs are being properly cared for and there are no laws about number of dogs allowed, I think it's totally their business.

For me personally? Nuts. One dog, one cat, one child and I'm good. For others? Hey, if they can handle the upkeep and have the finances and love/patience/time to pull it all off ... sure, why not?

My parents have 5 dogs, one cat, a few turtles, and 8 chickens. On 1/3 of an acre and a 1400 square foot house!! Every single one of those animals is loved, valued, and has a place in their family.

We have 2 large dogs, and the 3 of us in a small home. We are now talking about rescuing a third. We can't wait to add to our dog family. We won't be having more kids, but you can bet we'll have a BIG family. We can take care of them all, and do. No big deal. You might not get it, but this is the life we love. I have a HARD time understanding why people would want a ton of kids. Your 3 kids? NO WAY, too much for me. I don't get it, but it's not my life to get. It's yours, and I hope you love it!

Cut them some slack, will ya?

As long as the dogs are loved and well taken care of, it shouldn't be a concern of anyone elses. My coworker, who lives in an affluent neighborhood has Boston Terriers. They are now down to 4 (one being a puppy) but at times have had 5 total. They love each and every one of them as if they were their kids LOL. I don't get it, but who am I to judge. :)

I lived in a very small home in RI ( 1098 sq.F.) My son had a guinea pig. That was enough. Now that I have a bigger home and yard, I can't wait to get a dog. I think if it were me, I wouldn't have a lot of dogs if my home was very small with limited outside space. I think it's cruel. That's my opinion.

My neighbors, who's house is smaller then mine owned 4 dogs( spaniel, beagle,Shitzu, and mutt)..Although I think it's weird, it's not my problem.

Just keep your opinion to yourself unless their is neglect, or someone gets hurt..

On the one hand, it's obviously no one's business but theirs (unless they are breaking some city ordinance or something, which is very possible).

On the other hand, I agree with you. My in-laws have two dogs and three cats, and their house smells so freaking bad. There is pet hair EVERYWHERE. I refuse to even go in their house because of the smell. My sister-in-law (their daughter) has three large dogs, and I won't go anywhere near her house either. It just screams unsanitary to me.

So yeah... personally? I think it's disgusting. But who cares, I guess. :)

Wow - IMO not nearly as big a deal as people who have 4 kids - way less impact on the environment, less of a financial commitment, not as big a deal if they each get less attention than they would as an only, much more of a short term (8-12 years) commitment than kids. So - would you post a question on this site about how crazy it is for someone to have 4 kids? If not - then maybe your husband is right and you should refrain from judgement :). And no - I would personally never have either 4 dogs or 4 kids.

Oh Lordy... At one point my SIL and BIL had 4 children, 17 DOGS (2 adult great danes, 12 great dane puppies, 1 older mutt that they have had forever, a middle aged beagle, and an older puppy/young adult yellow lab), and 3 cats... IN THEIR HOUSE! It wasn't exactly a mansion either. Their house was in town but they had a farm out in the country (Long long long story as to why they didn't just live on the farm). On the farm they also had 3 horses, cattles, goats, and chickens. They now have a 5th child on the way, 3 dogs (The older mutt, the older puppy/young adult yellow lab, and a new pug), and no cats. Oh and they recently just purchased 2 more horses. They have the excuse that they run a carriage business... But I'm still jealous :)

My MIL has 6 dogs...to each their own

I'll tell you what... it totally depends on the family/couple. I would say that as long as: they have the space; the personalities of all of the dogs mesh; they can afford all of the dogs; having such-and-such number of dogs doesn't cause them undue emotional stress. What works for your brother wouldn't work for you or me.

I'm happy with two cats, for instance. I *might* be all right adding a dog into the mix because we do have the space, but not until we have the finances in order and my younger cat, Daisy, is on some anxiety medication. Daisy might do well with another cat in the house, but not a dog... and Luna, the older cat, would probably do well with a dog but not another cat. Because of the dynamic of the cats, I won't be adding another cat, period, and adding a dog would be unwise.

Hopefully your brother thought things through even more thoroughly than I just did over a minute and a half. ;-)

I do think it's good of you to care, though, because I know that you're thinking about the dog's well being and the well being of the other dogs in the house as well as whether or not it's good for your brother's family.

Well when we had our first child we had five dogs and a cat. My parents pestered us about getting rid of them before baby arrived that they would attack the baby or the baby would get sick breathing in pet dander. I love my pets. They are all well cared for. We now have three kids and three of those dogs and the same cat. My house is clean, the dogs are healthy, and my kids have always loved having them around and they have never been sick besides colds they have never had anything else(thank God) despite attending MDO since babies. No allergies either. So don't worry, even if they have kids with all those dogs it's not a big deal! :-)

As long as they are cared for, clean and healthy and the house isnt gross....who cares!?
Some people should NOT have one animal let alone 4. My parents are those people. They started off with one, and the DAY they brought that dog home I was annoyed because I just knew. He peed all over the house non-stop and they did nothing about it. He needs to be groomed, they also never did that. He got matted and sores all over him, it was awful. So what do they do? Buy TWO more just like him, and the same thing happened. They also never fixed them, all three were males so the peeing really amped up as well as fights where blood was drawn and hair pulled out. FINALLY they got two of them fixed because everyone was all over them.
So, end of story? NOPE they go and buy a fourth dog, different breed very expensive. He's got champion bloodline. Well he's huge. Untrained, kept pinned up all the time because the other dogs fight with him, also an
intact male.......They infuriate me! So...it could be much worse. From what you describe they are just dog lovers who handle it fine! At least they're not my parents LOL

If they are good dog owners, so be it. My parents had 5 cocker spaniels at one point! WOW! They have two now, plus my brother who lives there has a lab/pit mix, and my sister has a pit, but can't have her in the apartment where she lives...so they have 4 dogs. They also have 4 cats (I think). One is from when I was in high school, he's my favorite animal all time, even though I'm allergic to him. Another cat my mom got several years ago, and two more she recently rescued.

They can afford it and the animals are spoiled beyond belief. So does it bother me? Yes, because 2 of my 3 kids and I have to take Benadryl to be at their house...but that's the only reason why :).

I think that if they are good dog owners then who cares. Friends of ours have 4 dogs. More than *I* want, but they are responsible people with no children and the dogs are well cared for and well-behaved. I would let it go. They sound like the kind of people who *should* have dogs vs the people who leave Fido out in the yard or in a crate for 12 hours a day.

Hopefully when they have children they will continue to be good dog owners as well. If the love, love the dogs then they will take the steps to introduce a kid to the dogs, the dogs to the kid, etc. Some people thought we were horrible for keeping 2 cats when DD was en route and I said there was no reason to rehome them. They were well-behaved cats and we introduced them to her under very strict supervision. She harassed them more than they harassed her. Don't worry about what is to come unless there's something to worry about. :) Remember, your limits are not the same as theirs.

My BIL and SIL have 5 dogs. Horrible yappy nippy things. The noise is horrendous when you walk in their house. They are white and sheddy.
I would never dream of having that many dogs in my house, and they have 2 kids.

As long as the dogs' needs are being provided for, how many dogs they decide to have is no more your concern than how many kids you decide to have is their concern.

I currently have three dogs and 16 cats in my care. I work two jobs and do community theater. The dogs are let out four times a day, and I have five litter boxes that are scooped three times a day. The animals are all well-fed, and are on flea and heartworm preventatives.

I think 1 dog is too many....for me.

I think....who cares?

L.

My BIL and SIL are always getting dogs and cats. Then they leave the dogs in the back yard, insist there's something behaviourally wrong with them (they don't train them at all), then they get rid of them and get more. The whole yard is full of dog faeces, and the whole house stinks of cat wee.
The place is filthy, really filthy. It makes me cringe to think they have babies and children there.

If your brother and SIL are like this, then yes, they're nuts. If they look after their pets and home, then no problem!

I think it way to many for me...I have two. lol. My friend has four dogs and its a really noisy house! They love all of them. I guess its to each is own.

My aunt and her family have always had dogs. For her, ideal is 2, but they have had up to 5 (right now it's 4)! Not only that, they are often caring for their friends or other family members dogs (at their home) while they are on vacation. My aunt has a love of dogs and a soft heart and that is how they come to live with her.

That being said, my aunts dogs live in Puppy Paradise, I call it. They own 5 acres and have a large fenced in back yard. My uncle owns his own car repair shop and does his work from his garages on their property. The dogs are very cared for and loved - free to run outside, let in if it's too hot or cold and at night, health maintained. Their vet loves them :)

I think if your relatives are taking good care of the dogs and they have ample room to live and exercise and they are loved, let them go for it! Having a pet is expensive, but it's a priority for many people, so they make it work.

For me personally, I could never have so many dogs. I don't like the hair, smell and mess that comes with them. I love the IDEA of a dog and my husband and I have talked about getting one b/c the kids would love it. But I'm enjoying my hair-free, urine/feces-free, non-dog smelling house now. But I love visiting my aunt because her dogs are wonderful.

those dogs probably are "their kids" for the moment.. my neighbors have 3 lab mixes they have 3 children over 18 that live with them and during the day she babysits 2 toddlers and another boy that she brings to his half day kindergarden & then watches til anyone comes home... if your brother works from home he has time to devote to these dogs so i dont see a big problem with them getting another, obviously they have the time, love, and $ (&hopefully the room in their house) for these dogs so who cares..