What breed?

So here comes a rant.....

I am a pet groomer. I give dogs haircuts, I wash dogs, I do all the nasty things no one wants to do. Sure it's not the greatest job in the world and it can be painful, disgusting and dangerous but occasionally it's rewarding. It takes a lot of patience which I have learned. And that's not just patience with the animals. Most of the time it's patience with the owners.

I love dogs. I have always been interested with learning about different breed and their behaviors and characteristic. I can actually be pretty good at telling you the breed of your dog or what characteristic it resembles. I have done my research. I made sure going into this job that I learned the warning signs of a dog on its last straw, what breeds tend to show no warnings, and levels of patience dogs will deal with. I knew that if I didn't want to be seriously injured or taken advantage of then I need to know what I was dealing with. 

Let's take my golden retriever for instance; I know that she is a breed that will shed all year long no matter what the weather is. I know that if she does not receive the physical activity she needs that she will get into things that she knows she shouldn't. I know that she is quick to please though.

What I don't understand is that if I put the time in to understand most of the breeds so that I could simply perform my job safely and to the best of my ability to only see these dogs every 12 weeks if that, why do people think that adopting a dog they know nothing about is a fabulous idea!?! Seriously people! Do some research before you choose a dog to take home. Even if you get a dog from a shelter you should still research the closest breed to what the dog looks like! It seems like common sense to me but then again I could be wrong....... But I would rather think not.

I don't know how many times I have had people come in or tell the receptionist that their dog is this breed when really it's something completely different. I love it to death when people come to me and say "we were told that he is a __________". My response.... Smile and nod maybe put in a "they are so cute!" But in my head it's a "oh geez you have no idea what you have and you took the word of someone who wanted the money for selling the poor thing.... *eye roll*". I mean come on, it's as easy as simply looking up pictures of said breed on Google. 

I had one poor lady thought she had a pure breed golden retriever. She came to me in shock about how thick his fur is and how he won't shed until mid summer and then it's like fire hydrant burst. Okay, so I didn't look to closely I just told her we could get him a good deshed and brushing. Now there are only a few breeds who have blue tongues or spotted tongues and the most popular is the Chow Chow. I got the dog in the bath and there it was! A spotted blue tongue..... Umm no wonder he has such a thick coat.

So the popular thing now-a-days is to breed a poodle to every breed! Well, I had a gentleman come in with what he said was a Maltese/Poodle. It was actually cute; they usually are. But because he didn't know both breeds and because old men are stubborn, he wanted the dog to have a very proper show dog poodle cut. I know you have all seen those ridiculous poodle cuts so yes one of those. I tried my hardest to talk him out of it especially because the only thing that his dog resembles of a poodle is his longer legs. The rest of him looks like a Maltese. But okay I get paid to do what the customer wants. So because the dog looks like a Maltese, the poof that's suppose to be on the top of his head looks like the start of a mullet, and his tail was long not docked like a poodles. I poor thing looked ridiculous. 

People research your breed! If you don't know how to start looking or what dog would be good for you, I would love to answer questions that I can. The AKC site is a wonderful tool for that too. And if I don't have the answers right away, I will try to find them and point you in the right direction. Think before you choose a dog. I would love for the shelters to be emptied and for all pets to have a loving home.... It starts with people being smart about what they can take on and what is right for them.