Koemi

Just a note on Maltese - in my entire career as a groomer I have groomed 3 Maltese. Purebred with papers. Each was absolultely stunning with a great nature, and owned by very different people. I have groomed countless Maltese x and it's very touch and go as to what the temp is going to be like. Obviously that has a lot to do with the owners and upbringing of the pups as well whatever is in their genetics. I hate how Malts get such a bad rap. I doubt the RSPCA get more than one Maltese through their doors every year And of course I'm going to tell you that Papillons are amazing dogs too

One of these squishies will be mine! They are 3 weeks in that photo. 3 boys and a girl. Breeder is picking for me, I'm nervous! We'll be meeting the pup at 9-and-a-half weeks and taking it home at 10. Toy breed, breeder recommended we wait a bit longer before flying, since she and the pups are in NT and I'm in VIC. So nervous! And excited! I've only bought a toy so far! I wish it was time for her to choose one for me already!!!

OMG there was a Dandie breeder there?!?! I didn't realise that there was a breeder in Aus! I was checking the DOL website the other day and was admittedly rather quick but didn't see anything... squeeeeee!!!! I LOVE those dogs and really want one in the future... once my current darling terrier (cross) shuffles off this mortal coil. I would even import one... bit of a sad case am I! I'd love to meet some and see if everything I've read is true

*thread hijack* Nushie and anyone else who is considering work in the animal field - be aware that it is a HIGH competition area. I manage a salon and get at least 3 resumes a week and we're not looking for anyone at the moment! Every resume contains 'love dogs' 'no experience but have my own' etc. The reason I got my foot in the door was because I volunteered at the Sydney Dogs and Cats Home (ah, back in the day) walking dogs. That got me into a salon (I walked in and asked if they had any jobs, they weren't looking but Pester Power is your friend! ) bathing dogs and I worked my way up from that. Unfortunately nowadays even voluntary positions at the RSPCA et all are quite hard to come by as it's very high competition too!! I'd love to let people volunteer at the salon but can't due to OH&S and insurance issues. Of course most of the animal courses available at TAFE require hours worked in the industry... so you go round and round in a circle. Your best bet is to keep applying at places you want to work, places you want to volunteer and do something like pet sitting or dog walking while working your current job. Also keep in mind that the pay in this industry is crap crap crap! When I started I was getting $12p/h which was widely accepted (even tho it's not minimum wage!), and I've had to fight tooth and nail to earn what I'm getting now - which is still not great, but I have a FT contract which is far more important to me. Burn out is a huge risk, and you have to be a certain type of person to be able to work with animals. They poo, pee and vomit on you, bite you, there is a LOT of cleaning involved and you need to be quite active to do the work. A guy that used to work at my salon lost 10kg when he was bathing!! That being said - if you're a sad crazy dog lady like me, there's no better job. Just marry a millionare before you ditch your current job

I believe all these contribute to Tucky's lack of toy drive. He's so nervy when we get the toys out, even for 10 seconds at a time.

*aggressively stalks this thread* I'll be getting my first performance puppy in April! Can't give you any advice but will be watching this thread like a hawk!

Perhaps another way to go about it is to introduce her to some Cockers and some Poodles, or have her tell you what she dislikes about each breed so much that she's willing to cross out - and then inform her THAT THE LIKELIHOOD OF THE TRAITS SHE DOES NOT WANT APPEARING IN HER DOG ARE TOO HIGH TO RISK. It boggles the mind when people don't want their oodle 'clipped like a poodle' because they don't LIKE poodles. WTF, your dog is HALF A POODLE!!! (and in a lot of cases they are much more than half poodle). Same for people that like the look of the Cocker but dislike the temp or whatever - I've met -one- Spoo that looks like a cocker... and so many with the half-crazed tempraments (I say this lovingly as a Cocker sleeps near my feet). Then you have to factor in that people won't exercise or train them... hello?! Sorry, but this kinda thing makes me a little mad. ;)

From a groomer's prospective - do NOT get a spaniel x poodle. Yes they are cute as pups. But OMG when they grow up... I've seen thus far: - bigger than a standard poodle - chronic, constant ear infections - coats that shed worse than a pug - incredibly neurotic and scream whenever owner leaves room (and will not stop, even when owner comes back to pick dog up) - ACTIVE and STRONG (these guys can pack a LOT of muscle, especially the boys) - terrible, terrible skin - constantly weeping eyes that can barely open - one of the worst coats to keep in good condition. I had a spoo that got groomed every two weeks (as a client) and the knotts that this dog would get were incredible. She brushed her all the time and the longest we could keep her in was a #3. Same with schnauzer x poodle and lab x poodle. Schn x Poo has the worst coat (in my experience) but I dislike the Spoos most of all. And they are EVERYWHERE. Rarely will you speak to an owner of one that does not immediately start complaining about it's health/temperament issues. The cocker spaniel coat is naturally quite thick and hard to clipper, but add curl and more thickness into the mix? Oh hell no! Yes, she will pat puppies and think 'oh goodness what a lovely coat!' but that lovely coat will unfortunately disappear by the time the dog is 4 months old. Please, PLEASE tell her not to do it because she WILL regret it. If she wants a crossbreed, tell her to go through a reputable rescue (I got my boy from a pound but I only now know how lucky I was to end up with a sound dog). ;)

Wet clipping is faaaaaaantastic, managed to save an oodle's ears today by wet clipping the inside and then combing the outside. The owner was actually thankful, which shocked me! We charge $66 for a swf. At my old workplace, I dictated the prices and charged $50. Guess which client base complained more? The cheaper one!!! The clients that followed me (or tracked me down, rather, as I find taking client lists to be a tad unethical even tho I built it up) refuse to pay a special price and want to pay the new full price. That's why I love them! I do worry about the quality of my work tho. Our 'poodle guy' is just THE most fantastic groomer (and person) and we have a girl who has been grooming for only a year who poo poos all over my work. It scares me to think that people bring their dogs in expecting something really good and then get my substandard shit. Lol. Danielle, I can't even imagine what it would be like working near a CMG! My training manager is a CMG and I am just in awe of her.

Squeeeeeeeeeeee Huga, he's so cute!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE the ACD puppy too, just gorgeous! They are the most beautiful dogs. And yay ncarter! Papillon pups! I've got ages to wait for mine tho

LOL. Awwwwwwwwwww, poor lil shocker. I was taught how to groom Schnauzers really poorly and am only now starting to make them look nice. After pics please! It's actually very interesting how many 'professional' groomers won't even attempt a breed clip. We offer breed clips at our salon and only myself and other one groomer can do them. Not that we get many non oodles and maltshits. :D

I'm the same as you, whitka... will hopefully getting my show dog sooner rather than later tho, depending on how the babies turn out! I would LOVE to get into showing... what are the best show classes to attend in Vic?

Working in the animal industry I meet a lot of dogs with typical names (Molly, Oscar, Ruby, Lilly, Monty etc) so I like hearing dog names that are a bit unusual! It's weird hearing that a dog has my name tho (boring common girl's name). Current dog is Tucker, previous dog was Bambi. Sound average and normal but I've never met a dog with either of those names. My next pup's name pending is Sonic (cos he's going to be a speedy agility dog!) I go to town on the other animals tho - my mice are named Alberto and Niffler, my axolotl is Mr. Wooper and my fish are Lord Bobbington, Wolfgang Amadeus and Fish Finger. Some doggie names I've heard are most excellent but I would feel a bit odd calling them out in a park! Chewbacca, Hannibal, Gucci Gucci Ya-Ya, Tikaani (I saw this one mentioned before, LOVE IT!), Sprinkles, Pikachu etc. My first pet was a goldfish named Goldie. I had no imagination as a child.

Thanks for the info Breeder suggested that we wait until pup is 12 weeks old, so we're going to holiday over to Darwin to meet Paps and Portia and the sibs (if there are any left by that point LOL). Sooo excited!!! Awwwwwwwwwwwwww smoov collies are adorable. And I am jealous of the poodle breath in this thread, I would have loved a poodle! I'm planning on agility, obedience and hopefully showing with my pup. Depends on how he turns out - he'll definitely be a sports dog first ;)

I got an older dog when my boy was 4 years old. It worked really well, she was a rescue and while they never played together they were never far from each other. If we walked them seperately, the other would sit at the door and cry (Tucker) or SCREAM (Bambi). That being said, I think Tucker knew when we took Bambi to the vet for the last time. He did a nervous wee in the house as soon as we got home but was perfectly fine after that. Now that he is 7, I am getting a pup. I was going to wait until he was 8 years old, but my ideal breed litter in an awesome situation with a lovely breeder has come up a bit early (I was going to start looking around April... oops). So he'll be getting a little brother in 10 weeks time I've never had a puppy before so I'm quite scared! But zen at the same time. Le boy's dog is 3 and he is more than willing to help me, and I've been reading up on pups like a crazy person! I think everyone's situation is going to be different. At work the other day we had a couple come in with two pups, brother and sister. I could never do that. They were only 8 weeks old and already completely ignored the 'parents'.