Re: Owning a dog - Is it a good idea?
Hadi, I'll try and answer your questions as best as I can. To be honest some of those are tough to answer given that dogs aren't well liked in your country, and you don't have the same services and resources there as I would here.
As for training I'm not really sure what to suggest since it does not sound like you have training services there like we do here. In the USA a lot of people have dogs and finding an obedience training course for dogs is pretty easy to come buy. However, difficult it may be to find one I do think it is a necessary step in owning a dog because you will want the dog to learn to sit, stay, heel, etc upon command.
Teaching your dog basic obedience training is possible, but you lack the experience and skills to do it. You admit to being a new dog owner, having no previous experience, so training the dog yourself will be pretty darn difficult. It would be one thing if you had owned other dogs,had been through obedience training before, and had picked up the skills how to train your dog from prior experience. So I'm not sure it will be possible to do it yourself under the circumstances.
As for the dog going to the toilet you should get use to cleaning up the dog's business as it will keep your yard clean and yes it will make the neighbors happy. Nobody wants to go outside and step in a pile of dog pooh. In fact, since you are blind it is more likely you'll be the one to accidentally step in it and track it in your apartment so it is better for everyone if you get in a habit of cleaning up after your dog.
As for maintenance shedding can be a big issue. there are ways to deal with it. Frequently vacuuming your home will get rid of most of the shed fur, and there are even pet vacuums available which allows you to vacuum the loose fur directly off your cat or dog.
For example, a few years ago I got something called a Cat Vac from a local vacuum and sweeper store. I have no idea if anything like it is available in your country, but they do exist. It is basically a small vacuum cleaner with some special attachments which allows you to comb the fur off your dog or cat and have it vacuum up the loose fur while it does it. It is a pretty cool device and makes cleaning up pet fur rather nice. Especially, when you are blind and don't know where all the loose fur is going to end up on your floor while grooming your pet.
As for the dog being noisy that can be a problem, but there are certainly ways to deal with it. One way is by obtaining a bark collar. These are little dog collars with a little box with metal prongs sticking out of it that lays against the dogs neck. Whenever the dog barks it will shock him or her, and after a while the dog will learn not to bark. It sounds cruel but it is effective in keeping the noise down to a minimum. Plus the shock isn't really that serious. I have even gotten shocked a couple of times myself by accident and w hile painful it isn't that bad. Just enough to let the dog know the behavior isn't acceptable and he or she will get the message real quick.
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