If you really want a dog with a high maintenance coat, but don't have the time or inclination to groom it regularly yourself, you might want to consider using one of the many local dog grooming services. A lot of them are mobile, and will come straight to your house. Just factor in the ongoing costs associated with using their services when you choose your pet. An advantage of using a professional is that they will generally use a flea shampoo, which saves you the trouble of applying flea powder.

What type of grooming is required for dogs?

Generally, there are two types every dog needs. The first is basic maintenance. This usually involves cleaning his teeth, brushing and combing his coat, clipping his toenails, checking his coat for any fleas, checking his skin for any lumps, rashes, or sores, and looking over his eyes and ears. How often this needs to be done varies with the breed, but you should aim for at least once a week.

Then, every couple of months for a short hair dog, or every 4 to 6 weeks for medium, long, curly, and wire coat dogs, more in depth grooming needs to be done. As well as checking for any fleas and parasites, you should apply flea treatments. Brush out the coat and remove any parts of it that are matted. Cutting these off is best, though more regular coat brushing can usually prevent the hair becoming matted.

Check his ears, eyes, teeth, and paws, as well as the skin. Bath him. Clip his nails. If you're styling his coat, give him this season's new look. And importantly, administer any eye drops, ear powder, and complete any dental work such as tooth scaling.

Although your dog's coat may not sound like an important factor in selecting a dog as a pet, it can play a big part in your decision. For instance, people that suffer from allergies will not fare well with a long haired dog that is a heavy shedder, as this can exacerbate the allergies. Instead, allergy sufferers can opt for a short haired dog that shed little hair over the course of the year, or even a hairless dog such as the Chinese Crested.

And people that live more extreme climates, either hot or cold, need to consider this when selecting a dog. A Siberian husky in the tropics is not a good match!

All dogs require a certain level of basic care and grooming. If you can't do this yourself, you'll need to be able to afford to hire someone else to do it for you. They type of coat your breed has will simply determine the frequency with which you need to do these tasks; but it will not eliminate them entirely.