I tell them how much a well bred puppy costs, and if they balk at that I tell them they'll probably spend at LEAST twice that on them a year. And that's if they're healthy! I'll admit to when people ask me about any of my dogs I dwell on the negatives, mainly because I work in rescue, specializing in Breed Placement, and not alot of people are suited to the dogs I have.
Sanity is overwhelmingly sensitive, always underfoot, talks (Alot of people think he's whining but I know the difference
), the medical problems they're prone to, the special care and research they need, the puppy span that lasts half their life, not to mention how when you have a big dog everything is more expenesive. With Araby she's too smart and high strung for her own good, VERY stubborn, I wouldn't suggest her breed for a novice dog owner. Hobo isn't really alot of work, but we got lucky with him as Chinooks CAN be very hard to train, and he's a runt so he's not as big as they can be, but when he blows coat it stinks.
I guess when you have a big dog that people notice, like it or not you open yourself up for this stuff. What really gets me is how every single person who says "You got a Saddle for that thing?" or "Who's walking who?" thinks that they're the very first person to ever say that to you. I just want to stare at them and scream "SHUT UPPPPPP!!!!!!"
Ang