Please be kind as I’m very torn and ultimately trying to make the most responsible decision!
DH and I are wanting to get a toy poodle, we’ve been doing so much research over the last year or so, and I’m even changing jobs to be able to accommodate getting a dog (DH is able to wfh more than me), all the reading so far indicates that a toy poodle would be an ideal bread for us as we live in a small flat and then temperament etc feels like it would really suit us too, not to mention I’ve met so many on my travels and they are always adorable. I understand it’s gonna be hard work for the first year, the training, the late nights, the yapping etc and it’s took us a while to make sure we understand what we are getting ourselves in for! So I thought I was ready to make the step to start contacting breeders and generally starting to look for our wee guy, when the other day I read that poodles (as well as other breeds with drop ears) need their ears cleaned out once a week!!
Apparently they are prone to ear infections if not cleaned and they give off brown gunk and it’s a very messy job! I’d just about gotten used to the idea of picking up poo and made peace with that lol! But once a week for a messy job? I think I’d be too squeamish for that and worry about the mess in the small flat and the fact it’s so frequent. It’s making me really sad as it’s making me think we won’t be able to get one after all (at least while we are still in this small flat) I was thinking it would be more like a once a month thing, and I could get help with it at the groomers! AIBU? Are there any poodle or drop-earred dogs that live in a flat that could shed some light on this? Is it really as big deal as the internet is making out? Thanks!