Why Do Golden Retrievers Need To Be Groomed
Golden Retriever dogs are the third most popular pet dog in America according to the American Kennel Club.
This means there are a lot of dog lovers who are probably at home right now brushing and grooming their Golden retriever!
The truth is, these sociable, loving, happy-go-lucky pups are worth every bit of grooming time youll have to put in to maintain their long and wavy double-layer coat.
The Golden retrievers unique coat has evolved to support their original job of hunting and retrieving alongside their human partner.
Happydogz Deshedding Tool Premium Choice
Our premium choice due to its solid construction goes to HappyDogz Magic Pro de-shedding tool. Resembling a hand rake, this brush features a 4-inch-wide stainless-steel comb. The sturdy plastic handle is bent to place the comb at the perfect angle as you remove large quantities of excess hair from your golden retriever.
This grooming tool offers convenient features from start to finish. The ergonomic handle includes a non-slip grip for comfort, and when its time for cleaning, the blade releases with the press of a button. Storage is made easy with a handy eyelet in the handle for hanging up the brush.
We placed HappyDogz in our third spot because youll pay more for this high-quality product, though its worth it, as we found that this brush works quite well on golden retrievers.
- More expensive than similar products
The Best Undercoat Rake: Conair Pro Dog Undercoat Rake
Pros:
- Digs deep into a golden retrievers coat, getting right through the undercoat, as well as the topcoat.
- The large pins are smooth and somewhat rounded, so they dont pull the fur and cause discomfort the way some undercoat rakes do.
- Removes tangles and mats in the undercoat, as well as helping to remove the undercoat during shedding.
- Helps get out burs and other items that might get tangled in the undercoat during walks.
- The four-inch brush bar is a good size for a golden.
- This brush has glowing reviews on Amazon, with a 4.9 rating out of 5.
Cons:
- Can still be uncomfortable if too much pressure is used, but this isnt a fault of the brush itself, it just means caution should be exercised when using it.
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Tips On Brushing Your Golden Retrievers Coat
Brushing your Golden Retriever routinely is essential. While it helps cleanliness, it is vital for distributing the essential oils in your dogs coat as well as their overall happiness and health. Brushing also helps prevent matting and tangling that can be painful. Here are some tips for brushing your Retriever.
Gently brush your dogs coat.
Gently brush down your dogs coat thoroughly. Start in the direction of your pets hair growth. Do not brush against it.
Dont force tangles.
You must be gentle when eliminating tangles. If you force them, this can hurt your Golden Retriever. Try a slicker brush or detangling spray to remove problematic mats or tangles. Eliminating mats is a process, so get used to it because your Retriever will get plenty of them from debris, dirt, loose hair, and more.
Never brush in the same area more than three times.
Try not to brush the same place over three times because it may damage or irritate the hair follicles and skin. Using a professional slicker brush prevents irritation because it has soft, flexible bristles. These professional-grade brushes cost more, but they are worth it.
Try to brush at least three times a week.
For dogs such as Golden Retrievers with long hair and undercoats, regular grooming is vital to their health. Try to brush your dog at least 3 times a week, 5 minutes a day. The more you brush, the better. Many de-shedding brushes claim that they reduce shedding from 90 to 95 percent.
Removing tedious mats and tangles.
Keeping Up With The Golden Retrievers
The popular family dog, support dog, hunting dog, and companion needs the best type of overall health and treatment, and part of that is grooming. What is the best way to groom this type of breed? What kinds of tools do I need?
The first step is to get comfortable with the dog that you are grooming. Touch their head, ears, and paws, and let the dog form a connection and trust with your hand. Now you are ready to set your daily, weekly, and monthly routine for taking care of your dog, including veterinarian appointments.
The tools you will need are simply a brush, comb, quality shampoo and conditioner for dogs, towels, nail clippers, and toothbrush and toothpaste for dogs. Some optional but recommended tools are a cool hairdryer, disposable dental wipes, veterinarian ear cleaning solution, and flea and tick medications just in case.
What should I do with all this fur? These dogs do have a double coat, so its recommended to have a pin brush and not a bristle brush because the pin brush gets through the coat and removes the dead fur. The bristle brush doesnt get deep enough in the coat when you are using that brush on this type of dog breed.
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What To Do To Stop Golden Retriever Shedding
- Day-to-day scrub your Golden Retrievers fur.
Continual brushing of its fur every day will reduce shedding. Women used to comb their hair multiple times per day. Brushing the hair eliminates knots making the hair smooth every day. Identical to every furry dog breed. Steady filtering to aim at untangled hair will massively help during shedding season.
- You should eliminate the dogs mat after seven days.
It often comes with the trimming of their matting. It effortlessly thrives near areas such ears and the arms.
A directory, below are the strategies an owner could do to eliminate your dogs coverings:
Excluding mats in pups, you utilized the usage comb.
Wiping out mats using shaving or trimming.
- It would help if you started by untying the twists and messes on the mat. Lend rise to the excellent brush for Golden Retriever casting off or make us of your own hands. If you are still experiencing difficulty, render to a razor-like splitter format. Safety precautions are required. Nonetheless, after striving at all the tools, clippers that use electricity will be of help, too.
- For a safer place and comfortable peeling off covers, go to the closest pet shop in your town that extends hair cutting services for dogs.
- Nevertheless, ignore the thought of operating using a scissor. Even if you think you can do it sweat-free, it is too uncertain, mainly that the areas that need cutting are near the ear, arm, and legs.
- Appointing promising shampoo to diminish shedding.
Golden Retriever Grooming Tools
When youre learning how to groom a Golden Retriever, the right tools are important. What is the best brush for Golden Retriever dogs? What other grooming tools do you need besides a brush?
Your basic grooming kit should contain a brush, comb, scissors, and thinning shears.
Lets look at each tool in more detail.
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Choosing The Best Brush For Golden Retrievers
One of the most recognizable features of a golden retriever is that silky, shiny, feathery coat. While that beautiful fur takes a bit of upkeep, its worth it to make sure that your golden stays happy and healthy.
When choosing the best dog brush for golden retrievers, select the one that will best handle your dogs specific coat length and density.
Tangles and mattes will be easier to tackle when you stick to a regular brushing schedule, which will also go a long way to keeping your home fur-free and clean.
Try out the FURminator, the overall best choice for value and quality, or one of our other favorite picks for the best grooming tool for golden retrievers, and your furry friend will thank you!
Self Cleaning Slicker Pro
- SELF CLEANING – Easy to clean. Simply push the button, and the…
- TIME SAVER – Wider size cuts the brushing time. 5 inch and 3/4…
- NATURAL ANGLE – Bristles made with a perfect angle, reaches all…
- SOFT BRISTLES – Gentle enough on your dog’s and cat’s coat that…
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The self cleaning slicker pro is a great brush thats specifically designed to remove mats, tangles and dirt. This makes it a highly effective tool if you have a dog that loves to be outside in your backyard, playing around in the elements. The brush was made specifically with pets in mind, so you can be assured that its gentle enough to prevent from unwanted tugs and pulls which might make your Golden Retriever yelp from discomfort.
The pins are somewhat flexible, giving some relief during grooming time. Its also setup with a self-cleaning feature, making it easy to empty out unwanted dog hair when grooming time is over. Its affordable and can be used on both cats and dogs alike. It also comes with a lifetime money-back guarantee.
We love that the Slicker Pro is self-cleaning and easy to clear out when brushing time is over. Its wide enough to cut back on grooming time, making it more efficient than other models. We also love the price point.
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Kurgo K9 Groom Gadget
Kurgos Groom Gadget is an unusual product that also works like a nail file, a screwdriver, a box opener, and a bottle opener on top of being a good comb for the long fur of Golden Retrievers. The standout feature is the fact that its made of thick, durable stainless steel, which means its teeth arent going to bend out of position no matter how much you comb your pet.
This comb is also about the size of a credit card and fits in wallets and similar small spaces, so its easy to carry it when youre on the go and dont want to bring a larger, oddly-shaped brush along. We dont recommend this as a primary grooming tool, but its an excellent secondary comb for unusual situations.
Pros:
- Its more durable than any other tool listed here
- It has teeth long enough to get into the depths of a Golden Retrievers fur
- Its also good for other things, making it a useful multitool to carry
Cons:
Related:
Furminator Undercoat Deshedding Tool For Dogs With Long Hair
The superhero of brushes for dogs that shed, the FURminator is a must-have for pet parents with Golden Retrievers. This de-shedding tool is especially handy during spring and fall, aka the blowout season when Golden Retrievers shed their undercoats to make room for new growth.
Razors are set deep within the FURminators comb teeth, making hair removal easy and actually, kind of fun. Its a blast to see how much hair can come off your molting Golden. Just be sure to use it outsideyour vacuum will thank you later.
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Best Brush For Golden Retriever: What You Should Look For
Dog brushes come in all different shapes, sizes and styles.To help you pick the right one for your pup, its a good idea to know the different types of dog brushes and what theyre designed for.
Slicker brush
A slicker brush is typically rectangular in shape and has fine wire bristles placed in rows closely together.
These pins remove mats and tangles from a Goldens outer layer and smooth and shine their coat in the process.
Pin brush/comb
With its long, wide-spaced wire pins, a pin comb is another good tool for detangling a Goldens coat.
If your dogs coat is generally well maintained and you want to smooth it over quickly, a slicker brush might be a better fit. But if your Golden is prone to mats and tangles, its a good idea to add this to your grooming toolkit.
Bristle brush
Like the name implies, a bristle brush is made of either natural or synthetic bristles. This makes the brush much softer but also much less effective for dogs with longer coats, like the Golden Retriever.
Instead, this is a better brush for pups with short or wiry hair.
Undercoat rake
A rake looks like a pin brush but with fewer and longer pins. It reaches deep into double and heavy coats and removes unwanted undercoat.
Deshedding tool
Deshedding tools look like a comb with small teeth thats attached to a handle. When dragged across a dogs coat, the tool removes loose hair in the inner layer and leaves a dogs top layer looking healthy and well groomed.
Rubber mitt
What If Your Dog Doesnt Like Being Brushed
Some Golden Retrievers love getting their coat brushed out. Others not so much.
There are even more pups who fall somewhere in between.
To help make brushing a pleasant experience for your dog, a few extra steps can go a long way. Here are some helpful tips.
1. Pick the right time
Timing is everything. That includes when you choose to brush your dog.
Its always best to pick a time when your dog is calm and happy. If theyre hyper, anxious or just not their best selves, this is not the time to go all out on grooming.
2. Show them the brush
This may sound silly, but it helps to show your dog the brush beforehand. Let them sniff it and see what it is.
3. Go slowly
Another important tip is to start out slowly so you dont startle your Golden.
Be gentle and reassuring. Praising and petting your pup lets them know theyre a good dog.
As mentioned before, picking an option from the best brush for Golden Retriever list is ideal because they all move through fur smoothly and softly.
4. Reward them with treats
When youre done brushing your dog, dont forget to dole out a treat. This signals to your dog that this is a good experience and they did well.
The next time youre ready to brush your pup, theyll have a positive connotation with the act and feel better about the process.
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The Undercoat Rake And The Slicker Brush:
These are the best two brushes youll need to keep your dogs hair in check to avoid mating and keep it under control. The slicker brush is usually rectangular and has a lot of wiry bristles on it. It is made to remove lost hair and dead skin cells.
The undercoat rake has small sharp blades that are close to removing the undercoat. They can remove dead, fuzzy undercoats in a matter of minutes. Undercoat rakes can be used on a dry or wet coat. You do need to be careful when using this as it cuts the topcoat while removing the undercoat.
Different Types Of Golden Retriever Brushes
There are several different types of brushes on the market, but one thing most people dont realize right away is that Golden Retrievers often need more than one type of brush. Their thick coats require different types of care at different levels, so you may need to change brushes two or even three times during a care session to give them the softest coat.
Arguably the most popular type of brush for Golden Retrievers doesnt actually have a glove shape. A hair removal glove goes right over your hand, allowing you to brush your dog at the same time youre petting. Thats some great efficiency, and it makes them particularly useful for getting fur out of the shed-happy Goldies fur during daily care sessions.
Pin brushes are excellent for gently working out tangles and knots, particularly when they still have the soft coating on the end of the tips. This provides a natural, pleasant way to keep your dogs fur looking good. You can also brush against the direction of growth to add some overall volume to their coat.
Bristle brushes are denser collections of plastic bristles that dont have the same stiffness that metal pin bristles do. However, theyre also gentle on fur and can sweep dust and debris out more effectively, which is extremely useful for keeping your Golden Retriever clean.
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How Many Times A Year Does A Golden Retriever Shed
You can expect shedding from Golden Retrievers all-year-round, but they shed more or blow their coats twice a year when the seasons changing spring and fall.
Since theres no way to stop your Golden Retriever from shedding so much, your first defense will be brushing her hair daily to keep it from matting and to minimize loose fur.
Fur Trimming And Haircuts
However, shaving your pooch or giving them a wacky haircut could actually leave them susceptible to heat stroke and sunburn during warmer months.
And during the colder months, shaving your Golden Retriever could leave them vulnerable to hypothermia.
With that duly noted, lets discuss routine.
Most groomers and Golden Retriever experts recommend a monthly grooming session for your Goldie.
But what about brushing? Lets find out!
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Should You Use A Slicker Brush On Golden Retrievers
A slicker brush is a paddle-style brush with a large number of short wire pins. They work by reaching down into the undercoat, removing loose or dead hair.
The brush also detangles knots and tangles by separating the fur.
With the long double coat of a Golden Retriever, a slicker brush is a great option. It allows you to smooth out the coat and remove reduce shedding all at once.
But, pay attention to your dogs skin. Low-quality or discount slicker brushes can scratch your dog causing pain. This can turn your dog off the grooming process, creating a negative association.
If you plan on using a slicker brush, it is best to invest in a high-quality brush from a trusted brand.