When we first started we would run alot of dogs. Sometimes 8 or 10. The longer we hunt the less dogs we hunt. Ive been by myself and just had one strike dog and a catchdog. With the right dogs you can get it done with 1 or however many you want to handle. My main reason for not wanting to carry more than 3 or 4 is having to handle all the extra dogs. So I guess my answer is 3 or 4 dogs.