ON GROOMING
I'm the first to say, the dirtier the dog the happier he is. The more mud, dry dirt, lake stench and leaves on his coat the better. It shows me that this guy is outdoors, breathing fresh air and enjoying the world the way he was designed to.
However, you have to realize that a vast majority of the breeds we're looking at today have been so far removed from anything which can survive naturally in a wild environment. Breeds bred with breeds that evolutionarily would have never been able to procreate, let alone last more then a few weeks outside of a human dwelling.
Weak limbs, suffocated respiration, dense hair growth in unnatural places and lack of mobility would cause many if not all modern mix's extinction. (Even most of your pure breeds were at one time a developing mix of selected dogs, some more unfit then others)
Groomers work in the world of shearing, trimming, grinding, rinsing and maintaining overall sanitation/structure for the future of the dogs comfort and...survival. Without maintenance most of them would collect twigs, burrs, mud, tangled feces, clotted ears full of rancid buttery hair and be a breeding ground for many bugs to lay eggs on. Without grooming, your doodles, poodles, Lhasa poo cocka doo's and wigs with legs would all be 'inactive'.
The images you can find online of matted and unkept dogs may make you want to vomit as well as keep you up at night. Dogs so matted that they developed eye ulcers and went blind. Dogs so knotted the hair left them unable to walk. Dogs so neglected they suffocated in a dirty lump of hot moist stinky fungal clump strangling themselves.
It's no surprise, we created them for personal pleasure without thinking of the evolutionary consequences or their survival without human help. It's up to us to maintain them. Grooming is indirectly just as important as diet, veterinary care and mental stimulation, in keeping your dog polished and ready for action.
If you cant maintain the animal you buy; AND some are A LOT more work then others- then think twice about the breed you ultimately select for your decade long companion. If maintenance and overall attention to your animals hygiene isn't one of your forte's, try selecting a breed who's history dates back to an outdoor lifestyle.
Some nordic breeds like Malamutes or Huskies are ideal for northern hemispheres and need little work if being kept outdoors in a cold temperate climate. Many variations of shepherds, hounds, mountain dogs and terriers are wonderful and durable for warmer seasonal climates and again, need little maintenance aside from an occasional nail trim if they're not keeping them short on their own.
A little research goes a long way on making things easier not only for you, the owner, but for the animal, who will either be spending his next 12 years clean and care free, or have a matted anus and ears that cant even hear because the moneys just not there to tend to him this month. Whichever decision you make, know that your local groomer is always happy to tune up your mutt and get him sleek, ready for work, and back into action.
Grooming: sometimes it isn't a choice, but a requirement.