Advise Needed

[rubiton]

Id suggest an adult dog - simply as if they've had some training then you arent starting completely from scratch but you can still go to training and learn about how to train dogs.  An adult dog may also be easier to get use to a daily routine where it will need to be on its on for a fair chunk of the day (adult dogs should learn - ours get into a routine of active in the morning and then late afternoon you can see it when you are at home that they will sleep the rest of the time.

Puppies are a lot more work - you have to teach them EVERYTHING.  Toilet training, sleepign habits at night (ie when its time to sleep not play all night), all training, getting through the bitey stages, all the puppy pre school, puppy training classes, vet visits for vaccinations etc.

[cavNrott]

I pay $85 per dog for grooming.  This is for Cavaliers who are brushed, combed and slickered regularly.  They go to the groomer with no matts or tangles, they just need a bath, nails clipped and a tidy up.  I like their coats in their natural state and very little scissor work is needed.    One of the groomers was evidently clipping the underside of my dogs ear leather and the clippers must have slipped.  I have a dog with one lovely long ear and one with a 6cm gap of hair missing from the bottom her ear that will take months to grow back.  The groomer offered no explanation and charged me $85 for this. 

 

This groomer is located at the vet surgery and when I took my dog to the vet the day after the grooming disaster the vet asked what on earth happened and he took photos.  The total groom was a mess.  The vet made sure I was not charged for the next groom.  I need to find a better groomer.

 

 

 

 

[asal]

On 18/01/2017 at 4:58 PM, bearinator said:

Thanks for the response. It would be a family pet, and I will not be moving out for an upward of 7+ years, if I do. And my uni would be local and the same amount of travel. I understand the commitment and before going through with it, just wanted to make sure I would be able to do it with leaving a dog while I'm gone. As for the costing, is it that much even for a simple groom and not anything too fancy?

when I was your age I bought my first purebred dog, he was a toy poodle and I had no idea where to get him clipped, that was  1964 and no grooming shops in them olden days, except if you lived in sydney, his breeder recommended a book that showed you how to groom and clip your own dog, my initial attempts were interesting to say the least and on a bad day when he looked like a manic lawnmower had been at him he would hide under the furniture until a few days had passed and he didn't look so silly, it sure looked like he knew he was the one being laughed at and greatly resented it.

 

but I learned with every attempt until I had mastered the lamb clip, the continental clip, looked horrible to me, and so many other variations. once I had it down pat, people began paying me to clip theirs.

 

Check out the books available on learning to clip and pick the one with the most details and explanations.  my book was great it even has line drawings to show which ways to brush the top knot then cut to get the best results, but cant remember its title at the moment. topknots are the real challenge to get right but once masters is VERY SATISFYING. once achieved.

 

even gave friends hair cuts  for themselves, I and many who asked me to clip theirs found my boy looked much nicer than the clips many busy salons whizzz over their clients dogs, unless its being done for a show.  but if your time short then take him to them may be the easier option.  It can take hours while you are experimenting trust me on that, an hour or four can disappear without you noticing while you are playing groomer and barber, my mum held the record, she bought a standard poodle and one day she was so blizzfully grooming and clipping and adjusting while Tilly snoozed on the grooming table she didn't notice 6 hours disappear. I kid you not.  but Tilly was a lot of poodle she was bigger than most german shepherds

 

 

Edited January 27, 2017 by asal

[asal]

On 21/01/2017 at 5:39 PM, showdog said:

Many decide adult as they think it is easier ,sometimes it can be but often you take on a dog that has been trained a certain way so the effort can be just as much work as a pup so either way the time & effort is very much the same but in a different way

True showdog, the really important thing if you choose a puppy, is you MUST remember to get him used to being groomed minimum a few minutes daily better many short grooms than try to keep one wigglie puppy still for half and hour, puppy needs to learn to lay on its side , either side and on its back while you fiddle with tummy, legs, throat and muzzle.  ditto for laying on tum while you fiddle with top of muzzle, topknot neck, back and tail.  just a short brush each time until you can see puppy is relaxing and enjoying and then gradually lengthen the time . if you do not do this grooming will not be fun or relaxing for either of you.  or if you take puppy to a groomer if its not been trained it will be very unhappy and uncooperative for the groomer.

Edited January 27, 2017 by asal

[Scrappi&Monty]

On 1/21/2017 at 5:39 PM, showdog said:

Many decide adult as they think it is easier ,sometimes it can be but often you take on a dog that has been trained a certain way so the effort can be just as much work as a pup so either way the time & effort is very much the same but in a different way

Yes... This is true. Depending on the adult dog it can either be easier or much much harder. If the adult dog has been trained a certain way, or learned certain bad habits, it is much harder to "un-train" them than to just train a pup how you want in the first place. That said though, if you can find a suitable adult dog that doesn't have 1001 issues (unless you are up for that along with being in year 12) then it would be lovely to give an older dog a forever home (everyone wants a puppy so the adult dogs often get left behind).

If you decide you want a pup you will of course have to look around at a lot of different breeders to find the one that suits you best and looks after their dogs the best, or if you would rather, there are also young puppies needing to be rescued too. 

So as Showdog said, puppies you need to put a lot of time and effort and make sure you train them the right way the first time and not let any bad habits take hold, but adult dogs or older puppies will often need training to correct issues. 

(Our staffy Monty is a shelter dog and he came to us at 6mths and by then had missed out on the most important socialisation period and had made his mind up about certain things (like dogs and being alone) and in turn has needed a lot of work to teach him that being alone is ok, that dogs on walks aren't out to get you and they also don't necessarily want to play, and that no, you cannot eat macadamias/mousetraps/the verandah/3kg of dry kibble from next door/your bed/sticks/poo bags...)

[Scrappi&Monty]

50 minutes ago, asal said:

True showdog, the really important thing if you choose a puppy, is you MUST remember to get him used to being groomed minimum a few minutes daily better many short grooms than try to keep one wigglie puppy still for half and hour, puppy needs to learn to lay on its side , either side and on its back while you fiddle with tummy, legs, throat and muzzle.  ditto for laying on tum while you fiddle with top of muzzle, topknot neck, back and tail.  just a short brush each time until you can see puppy is relaxing and enjoying and then gradually lengthen the time . if you do not do this grooming will not be fun or relaxing for either of you.  or if you take puppy to a groomer if its not been trained it will be very unhappy and uncooperative for the groomer.

Same with nail clipping and paw handling!!