Can anyone recommend a nice dog groomer? I have 2 mini poodles that need haircuts. Bonus if the place can do the teddy bear haircut and have them smelling like berries when I get them back. Thanks :)

My 13 week old poodle just got his first haircut yesterday, yay!!! He was sweet about it, but the trimmer noticed that although my pup is curly, he isn't AS curly as most other poodles his age. The breeder showed me Embark results of both parents, and with the mother being 100% poodle, the dad was actually 3% komondor.
Now of course, a more curly coat can come in when he's an adult. But what effect do you guys think this might have?

EXU: Kymal is a two-part miniseries following some of the Crown Keepers shortly after their original adventures in Exandria Unlimited: Prime. It is the second mini-campaign of the Exandria Unlimited series and is followed by Exandria Unlimited: Calamity.
Cast:
Aabria Iyengar as the Dungeon Master Anjali Bhimani - Fy’ra Rai, Fire Genasi Monk (Way of the Four Elements) Aimee Carrero - Opal, Human Warlock (Hexblade) Robbie Daymond - Dorian Storm, Air Genasi Bard (College of Swords) Matthew Mercer - Dariax Zaveon, Dwarf Sorcerer (Divine Soul)

And Newcomer

Erica Lindbeck - Morrighan Ferus, Lagomore Rogue (Arcane Trickster)

Runtime Break start
4h 54m 1h 30m

Part 2

So, fleeing a 20,000 gold bounty on his brother Cyrus’ head, Dorian fled across the sea from Marquet through Emon, and met up with his friends, the remnant Crown Keepers, in the seedy little casino town of Kymal. You all synced up, caught up a little bit, immediately got into trouble because you needed to steal a fur for reasons that are beyond me as a DM to understand. And ran into a new, uniquely gifted and very powerful friend, Morrighan. After overhearing a bit of the Crown Keepers’ money woes, you figured you might as well combine your efforts. Mor is here to clean out this casino after telling the group that she has made her way through every other casino in the city. But this casino is different. It is the original casino in the city. It’s the most well-guarded, and by far the most prosperous. So you teamed up with this group and began your heist by stealing a key to a penthouse in hopes of finding master blueprints. It went pretty badly. You broke into the penthouse regardless, got into a big fight, and then blew up the room. So, Mor, they’re effective. They’re not subtle, but they can still be useful. You got the blueprints, you’ve retrieved the treasures hidden under some tiles inside the penthouse, and you, specifically, discovered the most interesting secret of The Maiden’s Wish, that a piece of the architecture of this place, the sky deck, a glass bottom overhanging bar that looks out over the vast mud and rocky nothingness of Kymal, shouldn’t have been able to stand for the decades it’s been around. That’s because it’s magically reinforced with a very rare, very powerful magical stone called brumestone. So, you know that the streets are full of Nameless Ones stopping everyone from leaving via conversions and threats of death and pledges of fealty, but if you play this right, you can rob the vault, get up to the sky deck, and make the craziest escape ever into the night. That is where we find ourselves. But before we actually pick up gameplay, I want to talk about a new mechanic I want to introduce for today’s poodle. Each of you has a coin. You can call it a Fragment of Foresight, you can call it a Heist Coin, you can call it a Poodle Pip. What it’s called doesn’t matter. What it does is the interesting thing. Now, we all know that planning is the most interesting and easy thing to do in Dungeons & Dragons. So in lieu of having, you know, a four-hour session of you planning your heist and then it not going at all like that, you’re just doing your heist. You’ve already made your plans. As you walk through and face down the obstacles, you can play your Poodle Pip and explain to us how you already accounted for this obstacle. I’ve taken this from one of my favorite RPGs called Blades in the Dark. It’s a very cool heist-based criminal system, and they elided a lot of the having a plan with starting in medias res, and you describe how you’re prepared for this. So I want you all to feel prepared and effective, because we’re about to begin, but not quite yet. You’ve made your way out of the penthouse. You’re down, you’re safe, and you’re all together. So you have a little time, you need to rest, but you have rooms here and you have a plan.

♪Episode Song References♪

ᕕ( ᐛ)ᕗ

​

• 01:27:59 Kay Starr - Side By Side (Tharla Starr callback?)
• 01:45:22 Billie Eilish - Bad Guy
• 01:50:16 unknown song by Aimee (something related to showgirls?)
• 02:05:13 Oasis - Wonderwall
• 02:45:00 move a little closer Arrid Extra Dry Jingle
• 02:57:40 I just want to get closer Bee Gees - Closer Than Close
• 04:21:26 Shave and a Haircut
• 04:41:55 Mariah Carey - I Still Believe
• 04:45:14 Gilberto - Girl from Ipanema
• 04:51:51 Christopher Cross - Sailing

Highlights
​

• 00:00:06 Anjali:“Adele Dazeem.” (reference to Travolta mispronouncing Idina Menzel’s name at an awards show)
• 00:06:30 (not like the other girls)
• 00:17:57 Erica:“That’s a dirty 20.” (makes excellent and loud imitation fart noise at Robbie, she’s gonna fit right in)
• 00:27:45 Three out of five elements needed for Captain Planet. Adam Tots Planeteers
• 00:33:55 Tovar, receptionist at the Chroma Dawn Cave, lists the available experiences:
  • "The first one is Brimscythe, The Iron Storm, and it’s a pressure point bed. You lay on it and you get pushed, and it’s good if you have tension. There’s a breath weapon facial that goes with it, it’s a skin-firming mud mask.
  • Next up! Raishan, The Diseased D-D-Deceiver. It’s named after the dragon. it’s a detox. It’s actually an ivy and locally-sourced, plant-based detoxifying wrap. All the plants are sourced from the Ivyheart Thicket just outside of town. It’s good.
  • The next one," and he points at the white door by behind him, "is Vorugal, The Frigid Doom. It’s a cold dip pool. There’s a dragonborn on staff that we keep, and he makes the hot pool hot and the cold pool cold. That’s his whole job. So there’s a cold pool, and then there’s a cold mask.
  • Umbrasyl, The Hope Devourer A black dragon, this is a cool full body, not devourer, massage. It’s administered by…" Then he goes and runs over and knocks on the door, and you see this massive old, scarred-looking full orc comes out. He’s wearing this jerkin that looks very awkward. Awkwardly like it’s supposed to represent dragon scale, and a little hat that looks like a little dragon hat, and he just waves. "Then the breath weapon facial is an exfoliating acid mask.
  • The last one is Thordak, The Cinder King. As you can imagine, it’s a hot stone massage, and a hot pool, and the facial is a hot oil mask."
• 00:42:09 Aimee:“I’ve always wanted to see the top of your head.” (Giggety.)
• 00:48:58 Matt vs the Moth
• 00:55:06 Spa Day art by TriaElf9
• 00:56:23 Aimee laughing at Erica’s description. Just like our divine Laura.
• 01:05:27 *For what it’s worth, Raak-motu, the orc, has big earmuffs and he’s just humming sort of tunelessly to himself while he is absolutely wrecking your form."
• 01:07:13 Dorian’s pale blue butt tan line becomes canon. “whale tail right over the hip bone”
• 01:16:09 Opal:“Aren’t you tired of people calling you betrayer?” (Echoes of Calamity...)
• 01:47:40 Opal:“I made a goop.”
• 01:49:24 Fan Art Moment Dariax and Morrighan in the feathery uniforms of the casino.
• 01:50:45 Flammable perfume and Fire Genasi
• 01:53:05 Buffet puns: Pie-roden dessert bar, Stilben Fish Market, The Iron Authority Grill, The Emon Cloudtop Breakfast Bar, The Kraghammer Blast Furnace Pizza Hutch and the Whitestone Winery.
• 02:04:42 Hand signals (Thieves’ Cant?) between Dorian and his brother Cyrus.
• 02:11:25 Aabria:“You got your fucking rope.” Boondocks Saints Rope Scene
• 02:17:00 Thieves Cant officially used.
• 02:26:38 Aabria:“If you can reference a heist movie in normal conversation, for the rest of the session, I’ll give you inspiration.”
• 02:43:51 Matt:“I made her yeet a dice.”
• 03:09:25 Fan Art Moment Opal gets the “How Do You Want To Do This?” with a flaming dagger strike against a blinded half giant that grants the creature as her spectral servant.
• 03:17:30 Robbie telling Erica “stop it” after a sneeze.
• 03:19:15 Erica wisely uses a Poodle Pip to circumvent a massive door obstacle.
• 03:34:42 “Dariax and the Magic Bags”
• 03:37:18 Morrighan finds a marble relief with the name of the Raven Queen carved upon it, but pain and blindness prevent any attempt.
• 03:56:56 Aimee:“Less panties than you think. They’re trying to find a dick.”
• 04:03:18 Gaola Mistwick is behind the bar.
• 04:09:05 Give me a general dexterity check to see how your ‘dicking about’ goes.
• 04:21:49 Dorian:“Cyrus, did you bring the fantasy dynamite?” Cyrus got down into that market, and he was like, “I got to find something explosive.” But then this beautiful woman distracted him and he went on a whole noir adventure late into the night. He actually didn’t get his long rest. He played cards until you fell asleep and then he went on this beautiful adventure as this dame that was no good, but so beautiful led him out and around. He got turned, he was Polymorphed into a black bear in the secret fighting pit that’s inside under the West Run-- it’s what you were hearing. They all took random potions and would fight each other. He’s just covered in scars, bruised and beaten, and this woman says, “Thank you for defending my honor. Here’s the fantasy dynamite and a healing potion and no one will know of our love.”
• 04:33:16 Dariax chooses fireball because the fuses for the dynamite were taking too long.
• 04:49:37 As you take it all in, your mind drifts back to your point of entry from the Feywild. To that incredibly kind, incredibly old woman that sent you on her way-- on your way. With only her name on your lips, Morrighan. You saw in that moment as she pushed you through the promise in her smile that you would see more, the promise in her smile that you would see more, and you will look down on a world and change it. That it was just for you to do, good or bad, just you. Then you came here, and here you are now. Your last thought as you look out into the sunset, because truly, time is-- You’ve spent a whole day just drifting up here. A single raven lands on the brumestone that you’re standing beside, and looks at you and calmly regards you, unblinking, uncanny, but with you in the silence as something great and terrible approves of what you’ve done today.

Can people please show me pics of their toy poodle with the two different haircuts for comparison?
I know that the haircut can really make a difference to the dog's appearance, but there still can be a difference to the dog's actual head shape — having a long snout with a narrow head, or a short snout with a wider head. Both are beautiful! But I prefer the teddy beashorter snout look.
It's outlined in this vid here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwu9VUzX2Q4
But would love to see a longer snout poodle with a teddy bear cut :) thanks!
​

I'm doing a standard poodle next week and as a new groomer am confused by what sone things in the notes fir his haircut mean?? One term is cf/cf, if anyone could explain that would be great! Thank you!

Hello everyone!! I am getting my standard poodle groomed professionally for the first time ( I got her from someone who was rehoming I’ve had her for about 6 months, this person groomed her.) I brush her and bathe and blow dry her. My question is what is a haircut that would be good for summer and easy to maintain? I don’t mind brushing her at all but I am getting busier with work and don’t want to fall behind on the brushing. Her coat is pretty long right now, I want something that will last, something that is an even length all around, not too short not too long. Is there a name for this? Thank you in advance!!

It's been about a decade since I worked at a corporate salon or a salon that sees frequent cases of neglect. I'm at a point in my career where 95% of my clientele are regulars on a 4-6 week schedule. Occasionally I get a new customer, and for the most part, my clients all love their dogs. Today I got a new dog and it was a case of severe neglect and it just threw me back into my corporate days where it would be a good day if I didn't see a dog that was obviously neglected. I have gotten so used to seeing dogs that are loved and cared for, that I forgot how angry it made me to work with these cases.
I would rather deal with a Karen that is upset that I didn't do a haircut right than an owner that drags their 10 year old miniature poodle that is matted to the bone, feces caked on the butt, sores on the eye corners, ear infections in both ears, rotten teeth, curled nails, with weeds sewn into the matting and they see nothing wrong with it. You spend hours giving so much tlc, only to have to hand the poor baby back to same neglectful, abusive owner that is going to throw them in the backyard and forget about them for another 8 months. These poor dogs are in pain, confused, and terrified through no fault of the groomer. It sucks to put so much into a dog that deserves so much love, knowing that the cycle is just going to keep going.
Corporate and other groomers that have to deal with these people on a daily basis deserve so much appreciation. It's such an emotional toll to deal with these cases and it's so frustrating to not be able to do anything to prevent the cycle from continuing. It's hard. And these groomers deserve so much more credit than they are often given.

keyboard grammar checker might have messed shit up automatically, if anything doesnt make sense im happy to clarify or edit!!
Introduction
1) Will this be your first dog? If not, what experience do you have owning/training dogs?

• No, I had loads of dogs my whole life, grew up with 2 already adult dogs my parents had, and absolutely loved them. After that, we adopted 2 more SRD’s (IDK how they are called in English haha, google says mutt or mongrel, basically street dogs with 200 breeds mixed, the majority of my dogs were like that) and one boxer, one lab, those were all family dog, so not “mine” per se. We lived in a huge farm, so space wasn't a problem, but after coming to the city I spent years living in an awful small apartment. When things got a bit better, I got my current best friend, a 7yo Golden Retriever!! Now I finally managed to afford a house with a good backyard. My previous plan was to get a few chickens because I love/miss that farm vibe. But after some more research I gave up on that idea, just planted some nice fruits and decided it's finally time to have 2 dogs again, and I know for a fact my dog would love it as well!!
  
• I have to say, though, I do not have “training” experience, as in real training. The most I ever taught my dogs is sat, and the regular stuff like where to piss/poop, how to behave with people etc. No advanced experience at all!
  

2) Do you have a preference for rescuing a dog vs. going through a reputable breeder?

• No preference at all, I have adopted dogs and cats my whole life, but I have no problem with buying it. My golden was bought, and the previous lab was a gift from a reputable breeder friends with the family. That being said, I've NEVER seen a “breed” dog for adoption here in Brazil, I have no idea if that's even a thing, and doubt I would be able to find one for adoption/rescue like that, sadly. But I also don't know reputable breeders right now, so I'll have to do the research once I have decided on the breed.

3) Describe your ideal dog.

• Basically my golden, without the millions of hairs all over the house lol I absolutely LOVE his personality (and my old lab was basically identical, just a bit more serious sometimes), he's the most docile and “soft” dog I've ever seen. He's never even attempted to bite anyone ever, not even playing lol, never got aggressive with anything or anyone, he's always happy and trying to please and impress everyone, and he's hilarious LMAO I laugh so much just watching him derp around. I always think I got a broken one when I read those articles saying Golden's are one of the smartest breeds because mine is BEYOND STUPID in a good way hahaha
  
• Problem is, and that's a HUGE problem, he's a machine of shedding, and I don't believe anyone that says that doesn't bother them, honestly. I love him to death, and it's a minuscule problem in comparison of how much he makes my life better, but i would be lying if i told yall it doesn't get boring with the shedding and all the balls of fur running around the house like it's the old west, no matter how much you groom and care for it, its inevitable. I love labs as well, but they are a trap for this exact reason as well lmao you think they don't shed because of the low fur…
  

4) What breeds or types of dogs are you interested in and why?

• Open to all suggestions as long as they have a similar personality to goldens and labs but with a little bit less shedding. It doesn't need to be no shedding at all, or even low. Just regular or a little bit higher is fine! Just not golden levels

5) What sorts of things would you like to train your dog to do?

• Nothing fancy, just the regular sit, stay, fetch/retrieve and where to do their necessity.

6) Do you want to compete with your dog in a sport (e.g. agility, obedience, rally) or use your dog for a form of work (e.g. hunting, herding, livestock guarding)? If so, how much experience do you have with this work/sport?

• Not at all. It's a pet dog and that only.

Care Commitments
7) How long do you want to devote to training, playing with, or otherwise interacting with your dog each day?

• I get home at 13:30 pm, and I'm free until 19pm. I have basically all those hours free to play, care and train. Also, the whole weekend is free.

8) How long can you exercise your dog each day, on average? What sorts of exercise are you planning to give your dog regularly and does that include using a dog park?

• I walk my dog at least 5 times a week, 1+h every time unless he's tired from something else, because he just stops and activates “sleep mode” on the street so I have to drag him back home LMAO, lots of playing time in the backyard, he has a very bouncy/dense play ball that he brings the entire day to anyone in the house to throw for him. I don't know what a dog park is, but we mostly walk in the neighborhood, and a small regular park that is nearby.

9) How much regular brushing are you willing to do? Are you open to trimming hair, cleaning ears, or doing other grooming at home? If not, would you be willing to pay a professional to do it regularly?

• I'm fine with the brushing, the problem is just the shedding anyway xD, but 1x a week would be totally fine, or more if the shedding is ok. I'm used to cleaning/treating ears, and did a lot of trimming myself, so it's also fine. I used to pay for professionals, but started doing it myself recently until he needs a real “reset” hahaha. Then I just pay someone for a good bath/grooming/care.

Personal Preferences
10) What size dog are you looking for?

• could be from small to big, no real preferences. My golden is huge for the breed, I think. He got to damn near 130lbs without being too fat when he got castrated, but is down to ~120 rn in perfect shape so, as long it's not bigger than that, I'm fine with it

11) How much shedding, barking, and slobber can you handle?

• Shedding is the n1 issue. Barking it's fine if it's only when he hears someone outside, or sees the mailman/hears a weird noise. If it's all the time, I can't have it because of the neighbors. Slobber don't care

12) How important is being able to let your dog off-leash in an unfenced area?

• Not significant at all, unless this means in my house (?). My Golden is never on leash in my house unless when going for a walk. If this means I want to walk with him off leash outside, never. I'm pretty sure we even have laws against that here in Brazil, and it's frowned upon walking with your dog without a leash

Dog Personality and Behavior
13) Snuggly, happy, sociable, always wanting to impress you etc. yeah, I know I described a golden/lab… 🙁

• ANSWER

14) Would you prefer a dog that wants to do its own thing or one that’s more eager-to-please?

• Eager to please, but also used with more independent pets because I have 4 cats that only care about what they care about haha

15) How would you prefer your dog to respond to someone knocking on the door or entering your yard? How would you prefer your dog to greet strangers or visitors?

• If this means strange people entering my yard, I hope he at least does some barking xD. But if friends or invited people and stuff like that, I hope he is very sociable and friendly. My dog always barks when people are outside/clapping/ringing the doorbell but basically just of excitement lmao as soon as someone steps 1 foot inside the property, he is their best friend as well.

16) Are you willing to manage a dog that is aggressive to other dogs?

• No. The typical a bit of barking when seeing other dog in the fence is ok, nothing more than that

17) Are there any other behaviors you can’t deal with or want to avoid?

• Not that I can remember

Lifestyle
18) How often, and how long will the dog be left alone?

• There's always someone at home, at most he will be like 1-2 hours alone if everyone is out at the same time for some reason.

19) What are the dog-related preferences of other people in the house? What will be their involvement in caring for the dog?

• Exactly same as mine, they will have full involvement but I'm the one doing the most

20) Do you have other pets? Are you planning on having other pets? What breed or type of animal are they?

• I have one golden retriever and 3 cats. They absolutely love each other, the cats sleep on him, ask for pets and rub on him all the time, they play together, the youngest cat used to zap around the house playing hide and seek with him since she was minuscule lol. I think he's a little bit cautious with them sometimes for my fault, the cats are always trying to hang with him and rubbing him asking for pets, but he doesn't go all in, like “I will sit on top of you and lick you” because I think I was way too cautious when the cats were small, he's a huge dog so we were always around telling him to chill or stop afraid he was going to hurt them accidentally with his weigh alone, but it never even got close to that, just me being afraid for no reason.

21) Will the dog be interacting with children regularly?

• Only my 12yo brother, he comes home at least 3–4 days each week, but he's used to dogs and at the moment he's in the “Valorant” and teen phase so… He doesn't pay attention too much rn outside his starting teenager life haha

22) Do you rent or plan to rent in the future? If applicable, what breed or weight restrictions are on your current lease?

• I don't know what that means, if it's renting I dog I have never seen such a thing here

23) What city or country do you live in? Are you aware of any laws banning certain breeds?

• Bauru, São Paulo, Brasil. No banning of breeds that I know of

24) What is the average temperature of a typical summer and winter day where you live?

• Avg temp during summer is max/min of 30° / 20°, but we have some very hard days of going up to 40/43 Celsius. Avgs during winter is fine, 25° / 14 Celsius. Last year we got -3, but it's pretty rare to get that cold.

Additional Information and Questions
25) Please provide any additional information that may be relevant.

• I know I described Golden and labs here, but I'm looking into getting a different breed this time, first because of shedding but also because I'd love to know a different breed. I'm looking for the most “golden-like” dog I can get that isn't a golden, hahaha

26) Feel free to ask any questions below.

• I've looked through some threads, and I've seen the most common suggestions, like standard Poodles and some kinds of spaniels. My concern with poodles is grooming. While I've seen people saying they basically don't shed, and you can trim them yourself, the majority of people who owned poodles on those threads said the expenses are very high, so that is kind of a no-no for me. Is that true, or just in the case of that fancy weird ass classic poodle look? I will admit that I have always had a bad view for poodles cause of the PR and the people who own them, and also because I always thought that ugly ass haircut they give him was kinda like how he looked like naturally or a mandatory lmao but now that I know they can look NORMAL and are very good dogs I got a bit interested, as long as it's not too expensive.
  
• Also, I ALWAYS wanted an English cocker spaniel, my whole life! I find them so beautiful and funny looking at the same time, but they seem to be very expensive here, and always heard they are too active? Can someone give me some light into that? How are they in comparison with Golden or labs? Is the shedding as bad?
  
• Had forgotten to talk abouth health related topics, so please if anyone can elaborate on their breed suggestion health-wise or longevity wise. I had absolutely no problems at all so far with my golden, thankfully, cause i got scared seeing all the common problems they have, and my cousin had one with lots of problems in his legs and hips for years and years, poor boy... Hope it keeps that way!!
  

Thanks in advance!!

keyboard grammar checker might have messed shit up automatically, if anything doesnt make sense im happy to clarify or edit!!
Introduction
1) Will this be your first dog? If not, what experience do you have owning/training dogs?

• No, I had loads of dogs my whole life, grew up with 2 already adult dogs my parents had, and absolutely loved them. After that, we adopted 2 more SRD’s (IDK how they are called in English haha, google says mutt or mongrel, basically street dogs with 200 breeds mixed, the majority of my dogs were like that) and one boxer, one lab, those were all family dog, so not “mine” per se. We lived in a huge farm, so space wasn't a problem, but after coming to the city I spent years living in an awful small apartment. When things got a bit better, I got my current best friend, a 7yo Golden Retriever!! Now I finally managed to afford a house with a good backyard. My previous plan was to get a few chickens because I love/miss that farm vibe. But after some more research I gave up on that idea, just planted some nice fruits and decided it's finally time to have 2 dogs again, and I know for a fact my dog would love it as well!!
  
• I have to say, though, I do not have “training” experience, as in real training. The most I ever taught my dogs is sat, and the regular stuff like where to piss/poop, how to behave with people etc. No advanced experience at all!
  

2) Do you have a preference for rescuing a dog vs. going through a reputable breeder?

• No preference at all, I have adopted dogs and cats my whole life, but I have no problem with buying it. My golden was bought, and the previous lab was a gift from a reputable breeder friends with the family. That being said, I've NEVER seen a “breed” dog for adoption here in Brazil, I have no idea if that's even a thing, and doubt I would be able to find one for adoption/rescue like that, sadly. But I also don't know reputable breeders right now, so I'll have to do the research once I have decided on the breed.

3) Describe your ideal dog.

• Basically my golden, without the millions of hairs all over the house lol I absolutely LOVE his personality (and my old lab was basically identical, just a bit more serious sometimes), he's the most docile and “soft” dog I've ever seen. He's never even attempted to bite anyone ever, not even playing lol, never got aggressive with anything or anyone, he's always happy and trying to please and impress everyone, and he's hilarious LMAO I laugh so much just watching him derp around. I always think I got a broken one when I read those articles saying Golden's are one of the smartest breeds because mine is BEYOND STUPID in a good way hahaha
  
• Problem is, and that's a HUGE problem, he's a machine of shedding, and I don't believe anyone that says that doesn't bother them, honestly. I love him to death, and it's a minuscule problem in comparison of how much he makes my life better, but i would be lying if i told yall it doesn't get boring with the shedding and all the balls of fur running around the house like it's the old west, no matter how much you groom and care for it, its inevitable. I love labs as well, but they are a trap for this exact reason as well lmao you think they don't shed because of the low fur…
  

4) What breeds or types of dogs are you interested in and why?

• Open to all suggestions as long as they have a similar personality to goldens and labs but with a little bit less shedding. It doesn't need to be no shedding at all, or even low. Just regular or a little bit higher is fine! Just not golden levels

5) What sorts of things would you like to train your dog to do?

• Nothing fancy, just the regular sit, stay, fetch/retrieve and where to do their necessity.

6) Do you want to compete with your dog in a sport (e.g. agility, obedience, rally) or use your dog for a form of work (e.g. hunting, herding, livestock guarding)? If so, how much experience do you have with this work/sport?

• Not at all. It's a pet dog and that only.

Care Commitments
7) How long do you want to devote to training, playing with, or otherwise interacting with your dog each day?

• I get home at 13:30 pm, and I'm free until 19pm. I have basically all those hours free to play, care and train. Also, the whole weekend is free.

8) How long can you exercise your dog each day, on average? What sorts of exercise are you planning to give your dog regularly and does that include using a dog park?

• I walk my dog at least 5 times a week, 1+h every time unless he's tired from something else, because he just stops and activates “sleep mode” on the street so I have to drag him back home LMAO, lots of playing time in the backyard, he has a very bouncy/dense play ball that he brings the entire day to anyone in the house to throw for him. I don't know what a dog park is, but we mostly walk in the neighborhood, and a small regular park that is nearby.

9) How much regular brushing are you willing to do? Are you open to trimming hair, cleaning ears, or doing other grooming at home? If not, would you be willing to pay a professional to do it regularly?

• I'm fine with the brushing, the problem is just the shedding anyway xD, but 1x a week would be totally fine, or more if the shedding is ok. I'm used to cleaning/treating ears, and did a lot of trimming myself, so it's also fine. I used to pay for professionals, but started doing it myself recently until he needs a real “reset” hahaha. Then I just pay someone for a good bath/grooming/care.

Personal Preferences
10) What size dog are you looking for?

• could be from small to big, no real preferences. My golden is huge for the breed, I think. He got to damn near 130lbs without being too fat when he got castrated, but is down to ~120 rn in perfect shape so, as long it's not bigger than that, I'm fine with it

11) How much shedding, barking, and slobber can you handle?

• Shedding is the n1 issue. Barking it's fine if it's only when he hears someone outside, or sees the mailman/hears a weird noise. If it's all the time, I can't have it because of the neighbors. Slobber don't care

12) How important is being able to let your dog off-leash in an unfenced area?

• Not significant at all, unless this means in my house (?). My Golden is never on leash in my house unless when going for a walk. If this means I want to walk with him off leash outside, never. I'm pretty sure we even have laws against that here in Brazil, and it's frowned upon walking with your dog without a leash

Dog Personality and Behavior
13) Snuggly, happy, sociable, always wanting to impress you etc. yeah, I know I described a golden/lab… 🙁

• ANSWER

14) Would you prefer a dog that wants to do its own thing or one that’s more eager-to-please?

• Eager to please, but also used with more independent pets because I have 4 cats that only care about what they care about haha

15) How would you prefer your dog to respond to someone knocking on the door or entering your yard? How would you prefer your dog to greet strangers or visitors?

• If this means strange people entering my yard, I hope he at least does some barking xD. But if friends or invited people and stuff like that, I hope he is very sociable and friendly. My dog always barks when people are outside/clapping/ringing the doorbell but basically just of excitement lmao as soon as someone steps 1 foot inside the property, he is their best friend as well.

16) Are you willing to manage a dog that is aggressive to other dogs?

• No. The typical a bit of barking when seeing other dog in the fence is ok, nothing more than that

17) Are there any other behaviors you can’t deal with or want to avoid?

• Not that I can remember

Lifestyle
18) How often, and how long will the dog be left alone?

• There's always someone at home, at most he will be like 1-2 hours alone if everyone is out at the same time for some reason.

19) What are the dog-related preferences of other people in the house? What will be their involvement in caring for the dog?

• Exactly same as mine, they will have full involvement but I'm the one doing the most

20) Do you have other pets? Are you planning on having other pets? What breed or type of animal are they?

• I have one golden retriever and 3 cats. They absolutely love each other, the cats sleep on him, ask for pets and rub on him all the time, they play together, the youngest cat used to zap around the house playing hide and seek with him since she was minuscule lol. I think he's a little bit cautious with them sometimes for my fault, the cats are always trying to hang with him and rubbing him asking for pets, but he doesn't go all in, like “I will sit on top of you and lick you” because I think I was way too cautious when the cats were small, he's a huge dog so we were always around telling him to chill or stop afraid he was going to hurt them accidentally with his weigh alone, but it never even got close to that, just me being afraid for no reason.

21) Will the dog be interacting with children regularly?

• Only my 12yo brother, he comes home at least 3–4 days each week, but he's used to dogs and at the moment he's in the “Valorant” and teen phase so… He doesn't pay attention too much rn outside his starting teenager life haha

22) Do you rent or plan to rent in the future? If applicable, what breed or weight restrictions are on your current lease?

• I don't know what that means, if it's renting I dog I have never seen such a thing here

23) What city or country do you live in? Are you aware of any laws banning certain breeds?

• Bauru, São Paulo, Brasil. No banning of breeds that I know of

24) What is the average temperature of a typical summer and winter day where you live?

• Avg temp during summer is max/min of 30° / 20°, but we have some very hard days of going up to 40/43 Celsius. Avgs during winter is fine, 25° / 14 Celsius. Last year we got -3, but it's pretty rare to get that cold.

Additional Information and Questions
25) Please provide any additional information that may be relevant.

• I know I described Golden and labs here, but I'm looking into getting a different breed this time, first because of shedding but also because I'd love to know a different breed. I'm looking for the most “golden-like” dog I can get that isn't a golden, hahaha

26) Feel free to ask any questions below.
I've looked through some threads, and I've seen the most common suggestions, like standard Poodles and some kinds of spaniels. My concern with poodles is grooming. While I've seen people saying they basically don't shed, and you can trim them yourself, the majority of people who owned poodles on those threads said the expenses are very high, so that is kind of a no-no for me. Is that true, or just in the case of that fancy weird ass classic poodle look?
I will admit that I have always had a bad view for poodles cause of the PR and the people who own them, and also because I always thought that ugly ass haircut they give him was kinda like how he looked like naturally or a mandatory lmao but now that I know they can look NORMAL and are very good dogs I got a bit interested, as long as it's not too expensive.
Also, I ALWAYS wanted an English cocker spaniel, my whole life! I find them so beautiful and funny looking at the same time, but they seem to be very expensive here, and always heard they are too active? Can someone give me some light into that? How are they in comparison with Golden or labs? Is the shedding as bad?
Thanks in advance!!

My hair is straight-ish when freshly washed and combed through, wavy in the days afterward, and curly when wet. It'll stay curly for a few hours if I don't touch it at all after it dries, but when I exist too much it flattens and I end up looking weird, and I just end up brushing it out. When I wrap a strand around my finger it comes out in a spiral, which I think means something, but this is not my forte as a white guy who doesn't really have any hair culture or anything.
I plan on getting a haircut soon because I look like a poodle, I know that my hair is kind of weighed down by its existence, been there, so that'll help some, but do you have any advice for me to get my hair to stay curly? Thank you in advance.
I believe I have 3a hair sometimes but pictures that I looked at seemed to have tighter curls than mine, so I'm not sure about it.

I'm feeling really down. My recent haircut turned out terribly. I got it done last week but it made me resemble a poodle, and not the cute kind. Hoping for improvement, I tried another salon yesterday, but it only got worse. I'm at a loss for what to do next. The thought of going out or going to work is daunting. I'm sorry. I don't know where this post is going. I suppose I'm just venting my sadness and frustration here. 🥺

Hello Briard owners. I am researching for our next family dog. I have owned a Shar Pei and grew up with German Shepherd/Husky mixes.
We live in Minnesota, have a 12 acre hobby farm with outside cats and future chickens. When we add a puppy our children will be 3, 4 and 6. We spend lots of time outside playing, going to the park and working in the garden.
Looking for a snuggly dog who doesn't mind the commotion of a household, going on short road trips and the kid's friends and our family coming to visit and watching some TV after a day of playing. Guard dog tendencies is also fine.
Our property is not fenced. If I train the Briard or poodle our property boundaries will it stay home when we are outside with it or take off after a scent? Our Pei cared more about hunting animals than hanging around with us and would take himself on walks if not always on a leash. Growing up on a farm our German shepherd/husky mixes never wandered but would monitor the property perimeter and stay within them without electric or physical fencing.
Just don't know which would be a better breed for our lifestyle. Also do you think these breeds are comparable in grooming needs with frequency of brushing, bathing and haircuts? I have no plans to show the dog. Thinking more flooffy mop than show dog perfect. I appreciate your thoughts.