Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
For every customer that came into Zhang Zian’s pet store wanting to buy a dog, he would tirelessly emphasize that dogs had to be trained. Untrained dogs did harm to themselves and to other people; they were worse than salted fish. If one bought a dog without training it, they might as well have bought a cat. That was especially the case for large-sized dogs. If they were not properly trained, then sooner or later they would cause trouble and become a villainous dog that people despised.
Dogs were generally divided into pet dogs and working dogs. What people looked for in pet dogs was overall condition and appearance, but what was the criteria for working dogs?
For working dogs, its happiness, concentration, ability to do things, and personality were most important. Those were much more important than its conditions and appearance.
Even if its conditions were great, its appearance was domineering, and its breed was pure, if its personality was not stable, it was not a good dog. There were too many dogs among them that just looked polished on the exterior. After all, it was a world based on looks, and many people only cared about looks.
In the police dog nursing home, many of the German Shepherds who were eliminated in advance had excellent qualities and appearances, but they did not meet the needs for training and work.
The little doberman puppy was not as strong as his brothers and sisters, and it had very general qualities. It had no excellent lineage. It was even looked down upon of as the runt of the litter. As a working dog, however, it was a lot better than the other puppies. What was stronger was its training ability.
Its size could be made up for later on. Its body was small because it could not snatch food from its siblings, and it could not snatch food because its body was small. If one reared it alone, however, and they fed it well, then when it grew up, it wouldn’t be all that much smaller than other dobermanns.
As for its current owner, because it was the runt of the litter, she had set a low price for it. The look of the dog and the demand for the dog were very different. When ordinary people chose a dog, they would normally choose the biggest one there was, so it was no surprise that the runt of the litter was the last to sell. The lady now had the opportunity to sell it ahead of time, so why would she not?
For an ordinary person buying a dog, being able to understand the differences in condition was enough. Who would choose a dog based on how easy it was to train?
Zhang Zian had asked for a screening in advance from the breeding base. Of course, the cost of screening was added to the price… If he hadn’t, however, it could’ve potentially been a loss for him.
When Hei Zi heard Zhang Zian’s explanation, he finally understood. He needed to walk away from the mindset that was caused by traditional thinking. Yes, dogs brought to the wild were not for others to see, nor were they meant to fight with wild animals. More importantly, Zhang Zian wanted to warn him before the appearance of wild animals and robbers. If they were really to fight, even a smaller doberman’s fighting ability was not inferior to other dogs.
He instantly made his final choice, and told the woman, “I want this dog––the dog that is the runt of the litter.”
She coldly extended her hand. “Pay me the down payment first. After a period of time, you can come back and take the dog.”
Hei Zi was about to use Alipay to transfer the money, but when he heard her words, he was stunned. “I can’t buy it now? Why must I make a down payment?”
He did not plan on staying in Binhai City long, and he wanted to bring the dog home quickly to bond with it and train it.
She pointed at the runt of the litter and said in a thick accent, “It’s too small, and its ears cannot be cut yet. If you need it in a rush, then choose another. The others are sturdy and can be cut now.”
Hei Zi looked towards Zhang Zian for help, not wanting to give up on the runt of the litter that was very suitable for training. He needed help making the decision.
Snowy asked, “They are dogs from the same litter, and their birth times differ only by a few minutes. Why is this dog too small?”
“Because there’s a certain amount of danger that comes with cutting their ears. It’s normally done around 7 weeks to 12 weeks. I see that this litter of dogs is only around 7 weeks––or maybe not even 7 weeks yet,” Zhang Zian said.
When the woman heard him speak, she said proudly, “My dogs are strong, and you can cut their ears as early as six weeks. Do you think that anyone would cut their ears earlier than that? The runt of the litter is too thin to undergo the surgery, so you might as well choose another one. A dog can be kept for many years. It’s not like you are lacking that 1,000 yuan!” She thought that Hei Zi chose the runt of the litter because he wanted to save money.
Some dog vendors did sell their dogs by boasting that they were stronger, so their ears could be cut earlier.
The later their ears were cut, the more complete the development of their ear bones were. It would be harder to keep their ears upright after cutting them. Ear-cutting needed to be done as early as possible. It was akin to the time that women used to tie their feet––the earlier the better. The earlier they were tied, the easier it was to get a three-inch gold lotus. If it was too late, it would only result in a girl with big feet that people laughed at.
Zhang Zian raised his voice and said, “It’s no problem. This dog does not need to get its ears cut. My friend will take it straight away.”
“No need to cut its ear?” She thought she heard him wrong. “If a doberman doesn’t get its ears cut, that won’t be good!”
“Whether it’s nice looking or not doesn’t matter. Listen to him,” Hei Zi expressed. “I’ll pay the full sum right now.”
In fact, as a working dog, it was better to not cut a doberman’s ears. Their drooping ears covered their ear canal, which could prevent rainwater from running in. A doberman that had gone through ear-clipping and ear-binding would be very uncomfortable on rainy days. If water entered their ear canal, and the owner did not clean them in time, in serious cases, it could lead to tympanitis––or even deafness if the ear-cutting process was done incorrectly.
Foreign hunters sometimes used large dogs as hunting dogs, so they didn’t cut their ears. That way, when they drilled into bushes and shrubs, grass seeds and insects didn’t fall into in their ear canals.
He had finally chosen a dog that he was satisfied with after much difficulty. Even if, in the end, he chose to cut its ears, he would go to an official veterinarian; he wouldn’t cut them at a random roadside stall. If something happened, what were they to do?
“All right, whatever you want.” The woman saw that Hei Zi was insistent, so she agreed. In her heart, however, she was mocking them. How strange! Who would buy a doberman without cutting its ears?
After receiving the money, she opened the cage and grabbed the runt of the litter, which she looked down upon, and pushed it into Hei Zi’s hands. He used one hand to hold the dog, and the other hand to handle the money. There was no need to sign anything, and the sale was complete. If anything happened after that, one could only consider themselves unlucky.
Hei Zi carefully carried the puppy, and was even more anxious than when he was going into the wild. He was scared that he would accidentally cause it pain while he was carrying it, and at the same time, he was feeling a bit of regret. If he had gotten that bag of beef jerky, that would have been good… It could have been his present for his new puppy.
He had gone to Binhai City to choose a satisfactory dog that could accompany him to the wilderness; his wish was finally fulfilled. He chose a dog he was more satisfied with than he ever expected. He put aside his worries, and now he could easily explore Binhai City over the next few days.
Zhang Zian reminded him to get vaccines and insect repellents as soon as possible. Infectious diseases were rampant in the dog market. He could not be careless, otherwise it would die before it managed to learn anything.
Hei Zi nodded his head, taking Zhang Zian’s words to heart. Later on, he needed to learn how to train a dog.
While they were walking away, the woman finished discussing the price of the surgeries with the bald, roving veteranarian. The bald, roving veteranarian prepared his equipment, then started to cut the ears of the remaining puppies.
