Check Out Reviews And Ratings
Once youve found potential groomers, check out any references they provide.
Also check reviews on reliable sites like Google and Yelp.
If the groomer or salon are registered with the Better Business Bureau, see if they have any ratings or complaints.
But checking reviews, ratings, and complaints is in addition to the research youll need to do regarding each specific groomer youre considering using.
Trimming On Chest And Neck
Golden Retrievers chest and neck often see the thickest hair growth. So, it would be better if you use thinning scissor first to reduce the volume. Dont go overboard with it. Just make sure the furs in those parts dont look like a thick hair ridge. After thinning it down, use simple scissors to just trim all the extra and uneven hair ends.
How To Choose A Dog Groomer For Your Golden Retriever
Aug 30, 2021 By Debbie
This post may contain affiliate links. We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post.
You love your golden Max and want him to look and feel his best, but you need to find a groomer for him and dont know where to start looking.
Its crucial to do your research when deciding who to choose.
First, its important to choose a few, then check each out individually by asking certain questions and visiting their facilities.
Remember: dog groomers and salons may not be regulated at all, so its up to you to investigate them.
Some states have licensing and certification requirements which mean that the groomer should meet certain standards.
Certified groomers usually must pass written and practical exams given by accredited grooming schools.
However, some places self-certify their groomers. Be sure that the groomers meet high standards and that they havent had any complaints filed against them.
But its still incumbent on you to be sure that they meet those requirements and are right for you and your dog.
Grooming isnt just to beautify your pup. Its also to keep him healthy.
Grooming is important to keep your dogs skin, coat, teeth, nails, and ears in peak condition.
After youve done your homework, its important to trust your instincts. If for some reason youre not comfortable with a specific groomer, dont use her.
Your dogs life is literally in the groomers hands. So be choosy.
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How Often Should You Brush Your Golden Retrievers Coat
Ideally, experts recommend brushing your Golden Retriever at least once a day. However, we are not living in an ideal world and life always has other plans in store for us.
So, if you are in a situation where your schedule doesnt allow you to brush daily, then the least you can aim for is once every 3 days. This is to ensure that your Golden Retrievers fur does not get too knotted up or tangled up during play.
A Lot Also Depends On The Health Needs Of Each Specific Breed
Many animal health websites publish lists of the grooming needs of popular breeds. If you want a low-maintenance pet, consulting one of these lists can be an excellent starting point. Breeds such as the German shepherd, golden retriever, poodle, Havanese, shih-tzu and Labrador retriever tend to need grooming care as often as once a month. Akitas, American Eskimos and Great Pyrenees need far less care. They can go as long as 3 months between grooming appointments.
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Final Thoughts On Grooming A Golden Retriever In The Summer
I hope this article has made you think twice before shaving your double-coated dog.
No matter how hot the temperature gets you should not shave your Golden Retriever. Their double-coat is actually helping them stay cool. After all, their long flowing coat is one of their many beautiful attributes.
Remember to keep your dogs coat groomed with regular brushing, and bathing to keep it looking its best, and to help the coat do its job to protect your dog from extreme temperatures.
Will My Golden Retriever Tail Hair Grow Back
Yes, it will grow back again if you trimmed it or even accidentally shaved a part of their tail, also, if they chew the hair off their tail, or they are suffering from a hair loss because of a hormonal condition then you can expect their tail hair to grow back once you control their hormonal condition.
If you liked this article, you can share it with your family and friends because it might be helpful to them and I will definitely appreciate it.
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Cleaning Your Golden Retrievers Teeth
Not everyone realizes it, but dogs can experience many of the same dental problems that affect humans, such as tartar buildup, gum disease, and cavities.
If your pooch contracts gum disease, bacteria may enter their bloodstream, leading to additional health problems.
Experts suggest that you clean your Golden Retrievers teeth about two or three times every week for optimum dental hygiene and some even suggest daily.
When How And How Often To Bathe Your Golden Retriever
Golden retrievers have natural oils that protect their skin and coats so bathing them too often can strip them of this oil and leave their skin prone to drying out or getting infections.
Most people bathe their golden retrievers every 1-2 months, although it would not hurt to wait even longer between baths.
And when bathing your golden retriever, make sure to:
If you dont rinse them off thoroughly, soap can get trapped in their fur and cause skin irritations.
The same goes for drying them off.
If you dont dry them off well, moisture can get caught in their fur and cause hot spots.
To see an example of how to give your golden a bath, watch the video below.
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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.
Your Goldendoodle Trimming Requirements
You can remove any tangles and knots with a clipper. Make sure that your hand remains still during the trimming time. Trimming troubled knots will make combing easier. So, make sure to have clippers designed especially for grooming dogs. In addition, not any grooming comb will do, you need to have a grooming comb. They will cut through the dogs fur much faster and easier. You can order them online or find at larger pet stores.
Trim Ear Hair
Be careful when you are trimming the fur blocking the ear canal. Trim around the entrance to the ears. Have short and small trim moves. The fur should be short enough not to cover the entrance to its ears. Trimming this area can help your dogs hearing. In addition, it can increase air circulation in the ear. This will also cut down any chances of ear infections.
Good to know: Never put the clippers inside of the dogs ear. You may accidentally injure your dog.
Trim Goldendoodles Facial Hair
Often Goldendoodles have hair falling over their eyes. So, in order for your Goldendoodle to see, you should keep hair in front of his eyes trimmed regularly. You can trim around the eyes with clippers, just be careful. You should also thin the fur between the eyes with thinning shears. By doing so the fur in this area wont remain thick.
Make sure that your dog is calm during this trimming moments, as you dont want to injure his eyes. If your dog seems scared or uncomfortable you should leave this to the professional groomer.
Trim Fur On The Feet
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How Often Does A Golden Retriever Need A Bath
It is not advisable to wash your Golden regularly because the shampoo detracts natural skin oils from your dog. Of course, your Golden gets dirty during your walks with him or her, so to prevent having a smelly dog in the house, youll need to bathe your Golden at some point. If you want to bathe your Golden regularly or your Golden pooch really needs to because he or she has rolled in something dirty again, make sure you use a mild dog shampoo, especially for dogs with skin conditions.
On average, if you give your Golden a bath once every 1 3 months is fine. Bathing is not a necessity. I know people who almost never give their Golden a bath or shower because the coat tens to clean naturally. When the coat dries, most of the dirt, sand, and mud will fall off. If you regularly let your Golden swim in clean water, the coat will remain beautiful and frequent washing is unnecessary.
If you dont have clean, natural water in your area, the high-velocity dryer, which I wrote about earlier, might also be a good option for you to blow dry the dirt and sand out of your Goldens coat.
If your Golden retriever needs a bath, I recommend giving him or her a shower instead of a bath. Because Goldens have a double coat, its almost impossible to get all the shampoo out of the coat unless you shower them. Bathing them in standing water is fine as long as you can rinse them off with a hand-held shower sprayer to rinse away all the shampoo.
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Keep Your Blades Cool
Trimming large breed dogs will take a while. The trimmer blades will heat up its inevitable. So just know that this will happen and be prepared. Its important to check the trimmer often so that you dont burn your doggie.
When the blades do heat up, you can try one of these ways of cooling them back down:
- Switch out the blades using an extra one, if your clippers came with more than one blade.
- Use coolant to spritz the blade but be sure to rinse it off once its cooled, so the chemicals of the coolant dont irritate your doggies sensitive skin.
- Set the blades on a metal surface every few minutes, when your pup is getting restless. A cookie sheet works great. The metal will help to cool the blades down.
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More Pleasant To Be Around
A clean, well groomed dog is a pleasure and highly preferable. An unkempt pet can make a house dirty and be unpleasant for friends and family. Regular teeth brushing can assist in mitigating bad breath. A groomer can help to keep nails trimmed which can prevent people and floors from getting scratched, as well as rips in rugs.
How Often Should I Trim My Golden Retrievers Nails
The nails need to be trimmed at least every 2 4 weeks unless your dog walks a lot on hard surfaces like pavements, this will wear the nails so they can be cut with more extended time in between the trimming.
On average, it must be done every 2- 4 weeks, and if youll do it yourself, it is recommended to buy a nail clipper that is suitable for large dogs. The pliers type is the best. Be very careful not to cut into the life of a nail! That will hurt and bleed a lot. If you dont want to cut the nails yourself, go to your local dog grooming salon or vet for a nail trim regularly. I do that, as well. If the groomer doesnt have time, Ill go to the vet and have Stippys nails done!
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You Can Start Em Young
As with most things related to children and puppies, the earlier to you start, the better. Grooming is essential for keeping your puppy healthy and clean, so naturally, youll want to develop grooming habits young.
Starting to groom at home from an early age will be easier on you, but also, many groomers dont accept puppies until theyre of a certain age.
This is usually due to the shots theyre required to have. Groomers dont want to have unvaccinated dogs in their care for obvious health reasons.
Grooming your golden at home is easy when theyre just a pup, and their fur hasnt grown into those lengthy golden locks yet.
Ask The Groomer Questions
There are certain facts youll need to know before making your final decision.
I recommend asking the following questions in addition to any follow-ups you have.
Ask for a price list and whether there are any extra charges for additional services such as ear cleaning, nail clipping, or teeth brushing.
And, before you leave your dog with a groomer, ask exactly what youll be charged. Of course, the groomer will probably have to evaluate your dog first.
Of course, ask to see any insurance policies, certifications, and licenses.
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How Short Can You Trim A Golden Retriever
- You can trim their tail for any length you want but you dont want it to be too short
- Trimming the fur on your dogs feet to be around a ½ inch long
- When you trim their neck fur you should just shorten it a little bit and avoid changing the fur natural curve.
A reminder you should NEVER shave your golden retriever or trim their hair too short. You can learn why shaving a golden retriever is a terrible idea here.
Dog Shampoos For Golden Retrievers
Not all dog shampoos are created equal, and not all are great for your Golden Retrievers coat. As an owner of many dogs, weve had the chance to try out all types of shampoos, so we feel confident making these recommendations.
Due to the sensitivity of the Goldens skin and coat, we recommend you only go with all-natural dog shampoos. Never use human shampoo, as itll be too rough on the skin of your dog.
And while some will recommend using baby shampoo, we think its better to just be safe and go with dog shampoo. Its not terribly expensive and will last a good while.
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When How And How Often To Brush Your Golden Retriever
Golden retrievers need to be brushed 3-7 times per week with a slicker brush.
My golden, Oliver, doesnt have that much or that long of fur , so we brush him 3-4 times per week.
Other goldens with lots of fluff may need to be brushed more often.
Brushing them will help prevent matting and get rid of the dead fur, as well as prevent shedding all over your house.
And heres a bonus tip: to help keep your house clean, make sure to brush your golden outside.
After youve brushed them, rub your hands down their back, chest, tail and legs to get any extra fur sticking to their coat.
Before I go out on a walk with Oliver, I take the brush out and leave it on the doorstep.
This ensures I do it when I get back, while also helping me remember to do it while hes already outside.
Now a lot of people ask about deshedding their golden retriever with a tool such as the Furminator.
Its not recommended to do this as their undercoats are incredibly important, and it can also strip their outer coats.
And finally, one more tip about brushing your golden is to take this opportunity of brushing and rubbing them all over to check for lumps, cuts, or any other abnormal spots.
Learn more about the best brushes for golden retrievers here.
Your Golden Retriever Has A Double
The thick water-repellent double coat of a Golden Retriever requires a lot of care to keep it looking its best. The coat consists of a dense undercoat of short hairs that are woolly in texture, and an outer coat of long hairs called guard hairs.
You can blame your dogs undercoat for all of that heavy shedding! It sheds heavily twice a year, in the spring and fall. The rest of the year you will notice moderate shedding or hair turn-over.
The undercoat and outer coat grow at different speeds and lengths from each other. The undercoat is shorter and grows faster whereas the outer coat is longer and grows slower.
In extreme temperatures, the undercoat works as an insulator keeping your dog warm in cold, wet weather and cool in hot, and humid weather.
The long guard hairs that make up the outer coat work to repel water and catch dirt and debris. The outer coat also protects your dog from the harmful UV rays.
In the summer the undercoat is much thinner because of the shedding, and the outer coat will protect your Golden from sun and heat.
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