Golden Retriever Swimmers Cut
A swimmers cut often refers to a grooming style that is used on dogs who spend a lot of their time swimming or in the water. Common wisdom would suggest that having a shorter coat would be beneficial for a dog who spends a lot of time in the water as a close trim will decrease their body weight making it easier for them to swim for more extended periods, in addition to being able to dry off at a quicker rate. However, this isnt always the case. Dogs who spend a lot of time in swimming pools will benefit from a swimmers cut as the chemicals found in pools can have adverse effects on a dogs coat however, in the case of a golden retriever, their double-coat is there to protect them and repel water, so unless theyre going to be spending the lions share of the time in a pool rather than natural water sources, a swimmers cut isnt the best idea.
Other Ways To Keep Your Dog Cool In The Summer
Youve learned that shaving your double-coated Golden Retriever is a bad idea, so what else can you do to help keep your dog cool?
- Keep your dog hydrated, always have fresh cool water available for your dog to drink.
- Keep your dog walks short, or walk earlier in the morning and later at night when it is not so hot out.
- Find a shady spot for your dog to rest. Be careful though because temperatures can soar even in the shade. Limit the time spent in the hot outdoors.
- Let your dog go swimming, get a kiddie pool for your backyard.
- Avoid walking on hot asphalt, try keeping your dog on the grass when walking, or invest in some dog boots.
Find out my recommendation for the best dog boots.
- Invest in a cooling dog bed. A cooling bed is a great option for your dog instead of laying on the cool hard floor because it will offer some cushioning and support. Good for dogs with joint issues.
Find out what the best cooling dog beds are.
Is It Okay To Trim A Golden Retrievers Coat
Giving your Golden a light trimming is just fine, but giving your Golden an all-over haircut is not recommended as you risk damaging the coat and doing more harm than good.
Golden Retrievers have a double-coat, each acting as a layer of protection from the elements.
The overcoat is water repellent and consists of long guard hairs protecting your dog from dirt, debris and UV rays.
The undercoat is soft, fluffy, and dense, and acts as a layer of insulation to keep your pup warm in the winter. The undercoat is what sheds heavily twice a year, and in the summer your Golden will be left with a much lighter and less dense undercoat that will help keep him cool.
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Shave Golden Retriever: Why Its A Bad Idea
When deciding whether to shave your dog, you must determine whether your dog has a single coat or a double coat. Double-coated dog breeds have two layers of fur. The top layer consists of hard guard hairs, while the bottom layer has a thick layer of fur known as the undercoat. The undercoat has a layer of fine hair close to the dogs skin to keep it warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
When spring arrives, they will go through the shedding period, where most of the undercoat will be released so that a lighter summer coat can come to its place.
Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Labradors, Pomeranians, Chows, and Huskies are common double-coated breeds. Most herding dog breeds are double-coated as well. If you decide to shave it, you can permanently damage the fur of a double-coated dog. Shaving them doesnt keep them cool during the summer.
You should only consider shaving double-coated dogs if they have a skin condition or mating in extreme cases. Here are the main reasons why a double-coated dog should not be shaved.
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Completing The Grooming Of Your Golden Retriever
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Groomer Shaved My Golden Retriever
Trained groomers should know not to shave Golden Retrievers or any dogs with double coats. However, mistakes can happen. It is much easier to prevent this than it is to fix it. Make sure that your groomer knows your dogs breed and coat condition. This will help them to give your dog the correct grooming experience and prevent any unwanted shaving.
Shaved Golden Retriever The What How And Why
Do you feel that your Golden Retriever gets really hot in the summers because of its thick coat!?
Looked up shaved Golden Retrievers?
Well, today Ill talk about shaving your Golden Retriever, well go into great detail about your dogs fur, its uses, and finally well answer the big question: Should you shave your Golden Retriever? If not, what should you do!?
So, are you ready!?
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Trimming Of The Bum Area
The hair along the bum area just below the tail is referred to as the pant. This is always the thickest and most fluffy part of the Golden Retriever. Using thinning shears, you can remove some bulk and shorten the length while leaving the feathering look.
Youre going to want your Golden to stand to trim this area. Start by brushing and then making a few cuts using thinning shears, then seeing how it looks. You might have to repeat the process a few times to get the look you want.
Golden Retriever Double Coats
The breed has double coats smooth overcoat and fuzzy undercoat. Goldens overcoat works as a guard coat and provides protection against water and dirt. And their undercoat provides protection from weather conditions.
Double-coated dogs like golden retrievers are more prone to shedding as compared to single-coated dogs.
Because of double coats, your golden retriever will shed moderately all year around. The shedding level will get even higher two times a year spring and fall. If you live in a hotter place, expect higher shedding.
Their coat stays cool in summer by shedding in the late spring. And during the late fall, they shed their lighter undercoat. Because of shedding, grooming requirements are also high. Thus, during shedding seasons, you have to pay more attention to grooming.
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What Dog Breeds Should Not Be Shaved
You should never shave a double-coated dog. Dogs with double coats needs their coats to protect them from the weather, the sun, and insulate their skin from water, dirt, snow, and so on.
Shaving a double-coated dog can cause them great harm and they should not be shaved unless for a serious medical reason.
Is Shaving Golden Retrievers Really Necessary
No. Shaving your Golden retriever is not necessary. We do not recommend it. Shaving down a golden retriever may cause more problems. For example
Instead of shaving your dogs coat, we recommend regular grooming. This can be done by brushing and removing loose and dead hair from your dogs fur. Frequent brushing also helps avoid mats and tangles.
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Whats The Best Age To Start Grooming
A nice ballpark figure to go off from would be 10 to 12 weeks, which is a great age for your dog to have his first groom. Golden retriever doesnt become fully grown adults until 2 years of age, so its important to make this a great experience from as early on as possible.
The first time would be well worth the investment of taking your dog into a professional groomer. But as they get older than you can make the choice of grooming form home or continue paying a professional. I have a really cool post that you can read more on here.
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Should I Shave My Golden Retriever
No, not at all. As golden retrievers shed so much, shaving them off might seem a viable option. You might be thinking shaving completely will keep your canine cool in hot temperatures as well as get rid of shedding.
This isnt true. In reality, this is the worst thing you can do with your canine. Even if you reside in a hotter place, shaving isnt recommended.
Why?
Shaving will cause damage to your canines double coats. Once you completely shave, the coats will be damaged and may never grow back like earlier. Besides this, shaving a golden retriever can result in many other issues like skin damage and allergies.
The dogs undercoat ensures protection from hot and cold temperatures. In the springtime, the undercoat sheds to get protection from hot weather. And in the wintertime, the undercoat grows to get protection from cold weather.
Dog shedding cannot be stopped. However, there are various ways to reduce golden retriever shedding. With regular brushing, baths, and the right food, shedding can be controlled.
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How To Groom Your Golden Retriever: The Basics
The Golden Retriever Rescue of Mid-Florida put together a great resource for basic grooming tips to reduce the shedding of your Golden. Heres a list of the basics:
- Brushing I cannot express enough the importance of brushing your Golden. In addition to the obvious benefits of hair removal and preventing mats of fur developing, Its a great way for you and your pup to take some one-on-one bonding time.
Initially, brushing should be done with a soft brush when they are small to help get them used to the process. After the adult coat has grown in, supplement your grooming supply kit with a pin brush and slicker. Continue to brush him daily to help make way for new growth and greatly reduce shedding.
Make brushing a part of your nighttime routine, and youll find a lot less hair on your furniture!
- Nail Care and Maintenance Goldens nails grow pretty quickly, and your dog needs you to help keep them routinely trimmed to ensure he has the best possible mobility. Nal trimming can be rather intimidating for some owners.
If you cant get yourself comfortable with the process, you can schedule an appointment with your veterinarian or a groomer to take care of it for you.
Keep in mind that if you are nervous, your dog will be nervous as well, which will only make the job harder. Be sure to trim the nails regularly, so you only have to remove the tips each time.
The Golden Retriever Club of America has a great tutorial grooming your Goldens ears.
Shaved Golden Retriever & Hair Shedding
It is also a misconception that shaving the golden retrievers can protect them from fleas and ticks. Some people think that it will reduce their hair fall or shedding. It is wrong thinking. By eliminating the hot spots by shaving your dog is not a good idea.
Even if you have shaved your golden, it will still shed. However, you can better control the fleas and ticks by a preventive spot-on. On the other hand, a golden retriever haircut in the latest design can be appealing.
Apart from the idea of shaving your golden retriever, there are many other ways that can be helpful to reduce the tendency of seasonal shedding. It is better to monitor your dogs in the summer and follow the grooming procedures.
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Why You Should Never Shave A Golden Retriever
If youre wondering whether you should shave your golden retriever, then this article is going to list all the reason its DEFINITELY not a good idea. Youll also learn what you should be doing to look after your pups coat, and how to keep them cool if you think theyre getting too hot!
So keep reading to find out everything you want to know!
Golden Retriever Grooming Cuts
Besides giving your dog an overall brushing to remove mats and dead fur, the areas of your dogs head and body with long feathery fur should be trimmed.
Use thinning shears on the uneven hair in and around your dogs ears to make them look neat, but still naturally soft.
You can trim the whisker area of your dogs face with small, blunt-tipped scissors.
Your dogs feet will have tufts of fur growing around the toes. Use straight scissors to trim the hair so that its even with the paw pads.
Longer hair on the top of the foot and rear lower leg should also be trimmed with scissors.
Well-trimmed feet should be neat and rounded, like a cats.
Your Golden Retrievers tail should be trimmed with thinning shears to look neat and sculpted, but still retain a full appearance.
There are various approaches to trimming the tail. Some groomers gather the tail feathers up and some let them fall like a fan.
Be sure to check out grooming tutorials or talk to a professional to find the method thats most comfortable for you.
Your Golden Retrievers neck and shoulder area has a heavy ruff of fur.
You can thin out the thick undercoat using thinning shears, but be sure to never cut the top coat.
Groomers recommend trimming the neck area in multiple sessions, so you can take a break and assess your work, rather than risk over trimming.
The hair on a Goldens belly, front elbows, and rear end is not usually trimmed. Some Golden owners like to give their dogs a sanitary trim on the bloomers.
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The Texture Of The Regrown Coat Changes
If you shave your Lab, trust me, the regrown coat will never be the same.
Whenever you shave your dogs coat, the undercoat starts growing immediately whereas the outer coat takes time to grow. Id say that the time it takes for the undercoat to grow back is double quicker when the coat is shaved.
In summers, a dog naturally sheds the undercoat and makes it thinner to cope up with the heat. Interfering and shaving the coat causes the regrown coat to be thick, unruly and coarse which prevents the air from reaching the skin. This makes the dog feel too hot in summer.
The newly grown coat tends to be rough and sticky which will attract all the dirt and dust on your dogs coat.
Golden Retriever Summer Cut What You Should Know
Your long-haired golden retriever needs special attention in summer as it starts feeling the heat. The double coat of this breed is thick and water-repellent and needs a lot of care to keep looking great. The dense undercoat has short woolly hairs while the outer coat consists of long guard hairs. When the temperature is extreme, the undercoat of your golden acts as an insulator to keep it cool. The outer coat also guards the skin of the dog from harmful rays of the sun.
While most owners believe that shaving a golden retriever will keep it cool in summer, it is definitely not a good idea. The double coat of your pup actually protects it and keeps it cool in the heat. A shaved dog is, in fact, at risk of overheating. Once shaved, the double coat of a golden gets damaged permanently and it will never grow to be the same again.
There are several hair cut options and grooming methods you can adopt for your golden retriever to save it from extreme temperatures in the summer months. These styles will ensure the dog retains its protective double coat and looks beautiful all the time.
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