Oh, so much work. You should see the looks I get when I walk them all at once (the largest is a tall 55 pounds, the smallest a 12 pound mini). On the upside, I'm never lonely (my poor cats barely get a chance at my lap), very loved, and very, very safe. I currently have one half on the sofa arm on my left and half on my lap, one on the sofa back and my shoulders, and two asleep on the sofa on my right.

Four really are a pack, so it can get... complicated. Three are good with each other. The fourth (the oldest and my first), Duncan, is the pack outcast - it's pretty clear that they wouldn't keep him around if they had the choice, so he sometimes gets picked on. Apparently at some point this summer he snapped, and went after Zach. I prevented any damage at the time, but I had to keep him carefully separated from the rest for months and months. And even then, he found another chance this fall and attacked Zach again. This time he lost decisively, so I'm hoping that he's learned not to try to fight his way up the ladder. Things have been chill while they're together for a while now, though I still keep them separate when I'm not there.

He really should have picked a different dog to go for. Zach's sweet, obedient, and extremely even tempered, but he's a strong, stocky pit/basset mix. He once put a mastiff with a 100+ pounds on him on his back (unharmed) in a matter of seconds, when it attacked the rest of the dogs at the dog park.