Black or white ?

[Heswall]

I am going to buy a puppy and will have the choice of colour.
I cannot bear dog hair so will be buying a bloody good Hoover, sending her to a pamper day as often as required to keep her clean and sweet smelling but wondered if there's any advantage to a light haired dog v's a dark haired dog ?

[Heswall]

I'd prefer a rowing machine but DD is determined it must be a mud magnet. It will be bathed daily.

[D0oinMeCleanin]

Will it also be at the vets daily for the resulting skin irritation?

[GrimmaTheNome]

You could get it a dog suit accessorised with [http://jakesdoghouseonline.com/Large-Blue-High-Top-Insulated-Neoprene/M/B0012ZI748.htm dog boots]]

[Heswall]

Oh do piss off Doingmecleaning, haven't you got anything to rescue ?

[GrimmaTheNome]

Maybe she'd better stand by in case your pup changes coat colour as it matures?

[Heswall]

It's true any discrepancy's in the fur and it'll be on gum tree before it can say pedigree chum

[D0oinMeCleanin]

Now, now heswall, there's no need to be aggressive.

That's moi job, remember?

[JaxTellerIsMyFriend]

Heswall, would this be your first dog per chance? You cant bath your dog daily, you will have vet fees the length of your arm.

If you want to lose weight offer to walk the dogs in your local rescue. or come running with my 2

I bought a beautiful black and gold GSD was a stunner, as he grew up his coat changed to a blonde with a hint of red - not a hint of black anywhere on his saddle. Sadly Gumtree wasnt around then to get rid, so we kept him.

[ChickensHaveNoLips]

I had to bath my dog twice weekly for 6 weeks because of a skin infection. It gets old very fast. Wet dog smells worse than dry dog. Now he's bathed roughly every 6 weeks and showered off without shampoo when he gets muddy. Which is often.

[D0oinMeCleanin]

Chickens, did you ever perfect washing the dog without also washing yourself and the bathroom?

Also is my dog the only dog who goes nuts when he's bathed and does zoomies around the house while you're chasing him with a towel and thus the whole house is bathed in the essence of wet dog.

Not looking forward to summer when his skin means this must be a weekly occurance.

I find that wet dog hair has more sticking power than dry dog hair.

[ditavonteesed]

mine do zoomies too, makes the whole hoouse stink.

[D0oinMeCleanin]

I once came up with the truely excellent idea of clipping his recall leash while he was still in the bath. Lining up various family member between my house and the opposite the park and left the front door open. I hoped he would run straight out of the door and zoomie around the park instead.

He did. He also insisted on manically rolling in the flower beds instead of on my rug

I never did that again. We shepard him out of the back door on warm days and leave him to whizz round the yard. On wet or cold days, we just cope with it.

[ChickensHaveNoLips]

No, DOoin. He is beautifully behaved whilst being bathed, but drying off requires ricocheting around the house like a toddler on a sugar high. And wet dog hair has superglue properties. Plus, you can guarantee that they'll need to go out for a wee and then roll around the garden getting filthy. They just behave like, well, animals.

[RedwingWinter]

Heswall, you could take up cani-x. Just pick your routes carefully so that you and the mutt don't end up covered in mud.

I rarely bath the husky as mud just falls off him, but the other dog is always rolling around in stuff and it sticks. I wash him outside in the garden with a bucket (so that I don't have to add 'cleaning the bathroom' to the list when he gets a bath). Sometimes I am lazy and take him to the groomers and he comes home very proud of himself with a natty bandana round his neck.

[GrimmaTheNome]

Most mud doesn't stick to my dachshund - though yesterdays (a path which had an hour or so before been tide-flooded, and adjacent saltmarsh) did.

He has his own bathroom. None of the humans in the family like the en-suite bath so its all his. Wash, lift out, attempt to wrap in towels before the first shake but keep him in the bathroom till the worst is rubbed/shaken off. He doesn't stink of wet dog afterwards, just nice and clean and a bit shampooey.

[EdlessAllenPoe]

if the breeder is offering a choice from more than one litter, walk away.

sure fire puppy farmer/ BYB territory.

although you do get black, white & cream poodles in the same litter.. so same with cockerpoos. though you also get scumbag puppy farmers passing off 'mixed litters' as actually ones that aren't related to each other, never mind the 'mother'.

personally i would be looking for the calmest one in the litter, to live with children,rather than anything to do with colour.

[Heswall]

I've dropped in when just passing to meet the mother whilst she was expecting and afterwards and saw her feeding so as much as you can be in these situations I'm sure that the litter belongs to one animal.
None of them seemed very calm though they were all quite excitable but I put that down to meeting me

[MagratGarlik]

I assume this is a wind up, right? Your best bet of course is to go for the lighter coloured dog because that will be easier to dye in this seasons colours.

[Heswall]

Erm no

[AllergicToNutters]

I hear it's bold colours this year Magrat*

[Heswall]

Meow

[Al0uise]

The first breeder to produce a litter with a "colour pop" will do very well.

[AllergicToNutters]

'm only joking Heswall . It is a consideration of mine too...

[outmonday]

My dog is brushed every day but has only had one bath (he's 2) Bathing strips all the natural oils out and dogs are meant to smell of dog, not of toiletries and cosmetics. I wash muddy feet in plain water and he doesn't roll in stinky stuff.
Puppies (and children) change colour as they grow up.

[RedwingWinter]

Heh, you could get a neon poodle like those dyed dogs in Japan and China e.g. here