Rover Review: 5 dogs of fun!

Frenchies, Labradoodles, and Yorkies oh my!

Guys! Over Easter I watched a total of 5 DOGS. 5 Dogs! How crazy is that?! Let me tell you it was so fun, adorable, but also at times exhausting. We even drove all 5 pups 2 hours to my parent’s house for Easter weekend. Talk about a car pool! Before I tell you about my super cute experience let me introduce to my dog pack.

Warning: Prepare yourself for the cutest photos and videos you’ll see all week.

All the way on the left we have Mugzy who was a 3 year old French Bulldog. Let me tell you this little guy made the funniest snorts and play growls I have ever heard. The two puppies in the middle, Yorkshire Terriers, are Rocky and Bailey. They are SO small I could just eat them! Rocky was a complete snuggle bug and Bailey was a completely confident outgoing dog who wanted nothing more than to play with all the dogs! All the way on my right is Curly, the black Labradoodle. He is 4 months old and is already so big! He was so kind and just had such a gentle playful personality. He was such a sweetheart and great at playing fetch. The French Bulldog and Labradoodle are brothers, and the Yorkshire Terriers were brothers. My poor dog Mia was the only girl so of course we tried to make sure she knew she was special even with all these boys in the house!

Let me tell you a bit about these cute breeds!

French Bulldogs are such great family dogs. They are loyal, stubborn, and make A LOT of snorting noises. French Bulldogs are definitely bold little pups who have big comedian personalities. Let me tell you, they are just so entertaining to watch! They do have many health problems sadly due to their smushed in faces and can be really stubborn and stuck in their ways but are great cuddle bugs that just want lots of affection. They also need cooler temperatures as they have trouble breathing in a lot of heat due to their pushed in face.

Labradoodles are another great family dog! Since they are half Labradors and half Poodle you get a mix of personality in this breed! The Labrador loves to swim, play fetch, and is a loyal family dog. The poodle in this breed is EXTREMELY intelligent which makes them very fast learners if this would be the first dog you ever trained. They are such loving, easy to please, fast learning dogs and those curls are just so precious!

Yorkshire Terriers will always stay VERY small. These little guys will probably be full grown at 8 – 10 pounds, how cute! These dogs are known to be a little yappy and harder to house break but other than that they are good pups as long as you don’t step on them! They love to be held and cuddled and become very loyal to their owners and attached. They can be timid with strangers so socialization is key, but then again it all depends on the puppy’s personality. I had some of the best cuddle sessions with these guys!

Honestly, there’s SO much to consider before taking on 5 dogs at once. First of all it is highly important to know all the dogs will get along. Safety always comes first. I always try to schedule meet and greets between all the dogs beforehand but it doesn’t always work out, just like this situation. We knew from past experiences watching the 2 Yorkshire Terriers that we could keep them gated in the kitchen (as a safe zone) while Mia, Mugzy, and Curly had the rest of the apartment to themselves.

Once all the dogs arrived we did a slow introduction to see if they could all play nice and if not we would instantly reinforce boundaries. We were extremely lucky and all dogs became best friends. It was amazing! I think the best part was that these tiny Yorkshire Terriers LOVED the bigger dogs and wanted to play with them the whole time. It really just made the whole experience 100% more enjoyable knowing everyone was so happy.

Sometimes I am certain dogs will get along due to knowing their personalities and I had a gut feeling these 5 dogs would all be fine. Knowing these dogs were not crazy hyper, possessive, or super needy reassured me that they would get along fine, which they did beyond all my hopes and expectations. It’s always smart to be honest with yourself and aware of how each dog may feel in a situation like this. Being experienced in watching dogs I have more of an insight to dog pairing and how they will mesh but of course another important factor in this case is ALWAYS let each client party know another dog will be with you. It’s super important to let the owner’s know if another dog will be staying with you/asking for their permission if they would be comfortable with it. Not only do you want the dogs to feel safe but you NEED you client’s to feel safe as well.

The Yorkshire Terriers came over a few days earlier than the French Bulldog and Labradoodle. Once my dog Mia warmed up to these guys they played NON STOP and I think she was actually okay with sharing me.

Mia was definitely tag teamed but she was having so much fun she didn’t even mind!

Bailey, the more confident dog of the Yorkshire Terriers, LOVED Mia. He wouldn’t leave her side at all which was SO cute. I’m serious, wouldn’t leave her side for 1 second! She even jumped on this chair (Pictured above) and he had to snuggle up against her even though all the other dogs were playing. It was so so so precious.

Bailey also started to get very protective over Mia which was kind of funny. He was making sure all the dogs knew Mia was HIS and no one was going to take her away from him. You can see it in the video above as he tries to keep all the other dogs away from her. Too funny.

When the Labradoodle and French Bulldog came over they made themselves right at home!

We took all the dogs on a long 2 hour car ride to North Jersey to visit my parents Easter weekend. Curly did not have the best time in the car, poor baby gets car sick, but everyone else did just fine! Let me tell you, I have never seen my car so full before.

We had to pack our stuff ontop of 5 different dog foods, 2 dog crates, a bunch of toys, and food bowls. Phew! I think loading and unloading the car was the most stressful part of this trip!

When you live in an apartment do you know how hard it is to walk 5 dogs? I had to take each dog on a separate walk or go in groups of 2. That was not always enjoyable so you could imagine I was so ecstatic to be at my parent’s house with a fenced in backyard. I opened the door and out the dogs ran and played. It was hard to head back to our apartment after that! You could tell even the dogs were so happy to run around freely outside.

This is me walking all 5 dogs at once….do I make it look easy? If so I’ll let you know it was NOT haha.

Having a backyard makes playtime so much easier too! With so much space to run around it’s hard for the doggies to get bored easily. It’s also great for potty training! Mia loves frisbee so she had a ton of fun playing fetch while all the dogs chased after her.

Mugzy always seemed to be unphased by all the other dogs playing. He much rather have love and affection from humans than other dogs. It made me feel special and loved knowing how much he wanted to be loved by me, so no complaints here!

Being as John is in the Military and gets put on trips I was extremely fortunate he was home this week with all the dogs. Not only do all dogs love him more (which makes me jealous) but he was such a HUGE help. I couldn’t imagine watching all these pups alone! He was great with helping me take them on walks and arranging their feedings.

Towards the end of the trip, though everyone would come together to play, you could tell the dogs split into two groups. It was Mugzy and Curly and then Mia with the 2 Yorkshire Terriers. They would play in their own separate groups and then come together and play as a whole.

Again, I was so lucky to be blessed with such great pups who all became close little doggie friends. I’m not sure I would ever do 5 dogs again because it is a lot of work but it was fun!

I think Mia even misses having all her playmates to keep her company, though I think she’s equally as happy having the apartment to herself again.

To review, before watching 5 dogs keep in mind where you live. If you don’t have a fenced in backyard you’ll need to do multiple walks in groups of 2. You also will need to keep food barriers for each individual dog to eat. Another essential is making sure all the dogs get along and that each of your dog clients are aware that another dog will be staying with you and that they have your permission. You want them to feel comfortable. Safety should always be your FIRST priority. Lastly, have fun! I had a blast watching all these pups and received so much unconditional love. Sometimes it’s the best form of therapy!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the cuteness overload! I’m so happy I got to share this experience with you and hope this makes your week look a little more cute.