How To Groom A Golden Retrievers Heels
The hair on the back of the heels grows longer, and it is desirable to shorten this with a small curved shear. For this, you first comb the hair straight back so that the hairs protrude. Then place the scissors at the top of the heel, pointing vertically downwards. Cut down several times in a straight line, cutting the hair entirely to one length.
Regularly comb the hair back to get an overview of what still needs to be shortened. Shorten well from all sides until the coat on the heel forms a neat overall look.
Should Golden Retrievers Be Summer Shaved
To save us from the heat, we often cut our hairs shorter during summer. Mistakenly, we assume the same concept applies to dogs.
Summer shaving a Golden Retriever is a colossal mistake. As already mentioned, Retrievers have double coats, and double-coated dog breeds must not be shaved.
There are only two justified reasons for shaving a double-coated pet:
On the other hand, there are several reasons for not shaving your Golden Retriever:
The double coat is there to serve a purpose protection. The undercoat keeps the dog cool during summer and warm during winter.
The outer coat protects the dog from the potentially harmful UV lights. Overall, the double coat protects against overheating, overcooling, sunburns and skin cancer, skin irritations, and bug bites.
Note: For the coat to protect the skin from the sun, the hairs should be at least one inch long.
Directions For Bathing Your Golden Retriever
- Lather an adequate amount of shampoo all over the fur of your retriever
- Massage it for a couple of minutes
- Rinse thoroughly
- Dont leave the fur wet and soapy. Rub dry it with a towel
You can also use a blow dryer to make your golden pup look extra magnificent. However, keep the heat at a very low level and blow the fur in the direction of the growth.
Brushing A Golden Retriever
While you only need to bathe your Golden Retriever every couple of months or so, you will want to brush their fur out far more frequently.
When you brush the fur, it gets rid of dead hair as well as dry and dead skin. It also stimulates the skin surface and helps distribute the natural oils to ensure the coat is healthy and clean.
All dogs need to have their fur brushed every few days for these benefits and to prevent matting in a Golden Retriever.
If you notice any hair mats, you will want to remove them through brushing as soon as possible. Goldens are particularly prone to matting behind the ears, on the tail, and in the thick feathering on their back legs. Make sure to brush these areas frequently.
How To Make My Golden Retriever Stay Still While Being Groomed
Golden retrievers are energetic breeds and its kinda difficult to make them stay still while grooming them, trimming their nails, or brushing their teeth.
One of the things that work like magic with golden retrievers is exercise, so on the day you decide to groom them or do anything that requires staying still, burn all of their extra energy by playing with them, running with them, or even take them for a long walk.
Golden Retriever Grooming Includes Vaccinations And De
Vaccinations prevent serious disease and should start from the age of 6 weeks and continue up to the age of 5 with boosters thereafter every 3 years. You must make an appointment with your local vet to discuss a vaccination schedule. Golden Retriever insurance can help to cover these costs.All Golden Retriever pups are born with worms and de-worming is an essential part of grooming your dog. De-worming can start from 2 weeks. You should discuss an appropriate deworming schedule with your vet. Heart worms are fatal and a monthly preventative is recommended.
Learning how to groom your Golden Retriever will reap many rewards for both owners and pets in years to come. They are wonderful dogs that need the extra attention, love and care of every responsible owner. A Golden Retriever grooming routine helps you to bond with your dog and assists in keeping them healthy.
Stock Up On Cornstarch
This fine powder can serve a variety of purposes during your grooming sessions. Just sprinkle some onto tangles, and gently work it in to loosen knots. Cornstarch also absorbs grease so brushing it through your dogs hair works like a dry shampoo. This is perfect for days between shampoos or when you are traveling with your pet. You can also use cornstarch to brighten white markings on your dogs coat so they stand out.
The Golden Retrievers Double Coat
Double coats consist of an inner layer known as an undercoat and an outer layer known as the outer coat. The undercoat is short and dense with a wooly-like texture.
The undercoat sheds twice a year extensively . The coat is long and made of so-called guard hairs. The outer coat sheds moderately all year round.
The undercoat and outer coat grow at different speed rates and various lengths from each other. The undercoat grows faster but shorter. The outer coat grows longer but slower.
Being much thinner during summer and denser during winter, the undercoat serves as an insulator. It keeps the dog warm in cold, wet weather and cools in hot, humid weather.
The outer coat repels water and catches dirt and debris. It also protects against potentially harmful UV lights.
Retrievers have dense, water-repellent, and medium to long double coat in a very pale cream color or light golden shade. They also have extensive feathering.
Feathering refers to the linger fur that grows on specific body areas such as the neck, underbody, tail, and back of legs.
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.
Helps Maintain Physical Health
Having a professional wash, brush and trim a dogs coat can keep him looking and feeling great. A groomer can also identify and remove pests including fleas and ticks. Brushing teeth is another very beneficial grooming service; it helps prevents tooth decay. A dogs nails should also be trimmed on a regular basis to prevent them from cracking and breaking. A broken nail can be very uncomfortable and even become infected. Many people are also uneasy trimming a pets nails and prefer to have a groomer do it. It is advisable to begin mobile dog grooming when your pet is young. This establishes a good maintenance routine. It also gets your pet accustomed to these activities early in life. He may rebel and be harder to control if he is not groomed for the first time until he is older.
What Type Of Brush Should Be Used
Use pin brushes for everyday combing. Oster Combination 2-in-1 Dog Brush and Hartz Groomers Best Combo Dog Brush are some good and inexpensive pin brush options. However, it is important to use the slicker brush once in a while particularly to inspect the dog for any skin condition and flea and tick infections. The FURminator Undercoat Deshedding Tool is particularly designed to groom breeds like Golden Retrievers. It can effectively de-matt the undercoat of your golden doggy.
Step 5: Mani/pedi Time
With the nails being slightly softer from soaking in the water, this is a good time to trim them. Use the nail clippers or grinder to very, very carefully cut back the nails. Start with just one nail, and dont expect that youll get them all cut in one sitting. This can take multiple tries.
The ideal spot to cut nails is in a well-lit area, so you can make sure youre not cutting part of the quick. That will really hurt your pup, but also cause anxiety for future grooming. However, if this does happen, pack some of that styptic powder into the wound.
What Parts Of The Coat Should You Trim
There is really no need to give your Golden an all-over haircut, but trimming the feathering is a good idea to keep the coat looking tidy.
You will want to trim the fur on your Goldens feet and paw pads, the ears, the feathering on the back of the legs, tail, and bum area.
If you want to trim the fur along your Goldens neckline and belly you can do so as well. Many people choose to leave the neck hair long and instead use thinning shears to thin it out.
Ways To Dry Your Golden Retriever
Here are 11 efficient and effective ways to dry your golden retriever after a bath:
For my complete guide to bathing your dog, check out my post on how and when to bathe your golden retriever here.
How To Take Care Of Your Golden Retrievers Nails
If your dogs nails get too long, they can easily break or tear off or become so long that they interfere with how they walk.
To make sure neither of these things happens, clip your dogs nails about once or twice a month.
How often they need to be clipped can depend on their environment and activity levels.
For example, a dog that runs or walks on concreate will naturally grind their nails down more than one that only walks on grass, dirt, or carpet.
When you clip their nails, cut the nail above the quick, but be sure to have on hand to quickly stop the bleeding in case an accident happens.
We accidentally cut the very end of the quick once and were very thankful we had styptic powder on hand .
Trim Your Golden Retrievers Coat
A Golden Retriever has undercoat and overcoat, which helps to keep the dog at a comfortable temperature. This combination traps cool air between the coats on a hot day and catches a warm breeze on a cold day. So, avoid trimming your goldens intact skin. With thinning shears, Trim the coat of golden Retriever from feet, leg, body, chest, neck, ears up to its tail. Do not trim the fur too short. Trim the length by tapering the coat from base to its tip.
How To Groom A Golden Retrievers Ears
On top of the ears and behind the Golden Retrievers ears grows long, fuzzy hair that can form tangles if not shortened. Use thinning scissors for that. Ive bought a which I use on a regular basis and makes trimming life so much easier.
You can follow this step by step guide about how to trim your Goldens ears.
Step 1. Start with trimming the fuzzy hairs behind the ear. Hold the thinning shears vertically (with the scissors tips upwards and make sure the blades of the shears are under the fuzzy hair close to the skin.
Make sure you dont touch or cut the skin. Make about three cuts with the shears. After that, stop, brush out, and take a look. Repeat this a couple of times until the fuzzy hairs are thinned to your liking. Dont remove all of the hair. You just need to thin it and trim the straggly, messy hair so it will fall neatly on the neck.
Step 2. Trim the inside of the ear. Start in the middle below the ear entrance and work your way towards the face. The shorter and flatter you trim, the more you will create a hard look for your dog, so be careful with cutting too short.
Step 3. Trim the inside of the ear above the entrance of the ear. Unless your Golden is heavily, thickly coated on the inside of his or her ear, you only need to make one gentle stroke with the trimming scissors. Make on cut upwards following the shape of the ear, and one cut the opposite direction while making sure you cut close to the skin under the coat.
Tips For Determining The Best Possible Clipper And Blade For Golden Retrievers
Golden Retrievers, like all dog breeds, have an undeniable look about them. Part of that look for Goldens is their thick, smooth fur. Although their fur can be wavy or straight, all Goldens have a waterproof topcoat and dense undercoat that can make trimming them at home a struggle.
Youll want to ensure that you have clippers that can handle thicker fur, and preferably can move at varying speeds. Youll want faster speeds for dense areas like your Golden Retrievers neck and chest, but you can use slower and more deliberate speeds for their paws and faces if necessary.
Because Goldens have long, thick fur, youll want to ensure that you have a long enough blade. Standard #10 blades are okay, but you wont want anything shorter than that, and longer blade options like a #7 would be ideal for most of your dogs coat. Important note: shorter, in the case of clipper blades, is a higher numbered blade like a #15 or a #30.
Your primary concern with your Golden is trimming the hair on their feet and trimming stray hairs because doing more will definitely interfere with the overall look and breed standard of a Golden Retriever. You will want to get a clipper set that has precision abilities to ensure that you can get the most natural look with the least amount of trouble while you trim.
The Best Brush For Golden Retriever Grooming Is A Selection Of More Than One
The basic tools required are : pin brush, undercoat rake, bristle brush and slicker brush .
Mikes Question:
Complete The Grooming Of Golden Retriever
The grooming of the Golden Retriever is not complete without paying attention to its ears, eyes, and nails. Use mineral oil and cotton ball to clean your dogs eyes, but do not apply directly in the eyes. Take your time and cut your golden Retrievers toenails. Use a good pair of dog nail trimmers for nail clipping. If you dont want to bath your golden Retriever, then apply dry shampoo. To complete the grooming rituals, remember to use flea and tick preventive.
Trim And Groom The Paws
Youll need to manage the fur around the base to the feet first as they get a ton of fluffy hair development there.
So, trim the hair growing in the middle of your Golden Retrievers paws.
- Get your dog in a comfortable position.
- Open its paw pads with your fingers and brush the hair from inside to outside direction.
- Take a blunt end scissor and carefully cut the hair that are growing over the paw pads.
Then comes the Nail Trimming
- It becomes easy if you get your dog on a table or higher surface to trim the nails.
- Take the nail trimmer tool and talk nicely to your dog to distract and get the attention on you.
- At an angle of 45 degrees, trim the nail little by little until you reach quick. Make sure you dont cut the quick as it will make the nail bleed.
- And, to stop the bleeding, always keep cornstarch or styptic powder ready. Just dab a pinch of either powder on your dogs bleeding nail and within a few seconds, bleeding will stop.
- Dont forget to apply paw cream or vaseline, whatever is available to you, on your dogs paw pads to cure the cracked dry pads.
Also See:Best Winter Dog Accessories For Golden Retriever
Professional Pet Grooming In Frederick Md
At Old Farm Veterinary Hospital, we want to make sure your pets stay healthy and happy for as long as possible. Thats why weve got a professional groomer on staff to help keep your pets coat in peak condition. Our groomer gives your pet a good wash, trim, and brushing, going back to you clean and shiny. Schedule your grooming appointment today!
Step 2: Trimming The Fur
Once youve de-shed your entire dog, you can start trimming. You can use scissors or electric clippers. If youd like to use clippers, scroll down to How to Groom a Golden Retriever with Electric Clippers to learn how to choose clippers and how to go about using them.
Also, to keep your Goldens ears and tail trimmed in a more traditional fashion, you can read the guide below for How to Trim Golden Retriever Ears and Tail. Because the ears and tail are specific to the breed itself, Ive included a few more tips to help you do this on your own.
Start trimming at the front of your dog, moving toward the back. Do one side, then the other. Youll want just to make sure youre trimming enough to even out your dogs natural fur line. Its best to work in this order, if at all possible:
- Stomach Area: shave closer to the skin to avoid anything getting snagged in the fur while on walks or playing outside.
- Neck and Shoulders: using the clippers or scissors, thin out the existing hair, being careful not to get too close to the skin.
- Hind Legs: leave hair a little longer to maintain a traditional Goldens natural cut.
- Paw Pads: this is extra important because this fur is what comes into contact with the ground, making it extra dirty.
- Tail: a Goldens tail should resemble a flag, so be mindful when trimming and dont take too much off the top.
Finishing The Dog: Tools And Finish Grooming
The coat should be light, straight, and stand off of the body with no loose hair. Any loose hair or fuzziness to the coat should be carded. Everything about the finish should be natural. The feet and the outside edges of the ear are trimmed with thinning shears. In the warmer months, many pet owners try to keep the dog cooler by shaving the coat. The Golden Retrievers double coat is designed to protect them during any season. If you are trying to keep the dog cooler, you should elect to remove the undercoat with a good bath and blow out. When you shave this breed, you are exposing their skin to the elements and take away their ability to stay cool.
Tooth Brushing: Step By Step
You can introduce tooth brushing to your dog by first making the dog used to feeling your finger in his or her mouth. Once theyre comfortable with that, it will be easier to open the dogs mouth and introduce a toothbrush.
Follow these four steps to brush your Goldens teeth:
- Place a small amount of pet-safe toothpaste on a toothbrush designed for use with dogs.
- Lift the Goldens lip to expose the gums and teeth.
- Use gentle motions to brush the teeth and gum, just as you would with an infant.
- Ensure you reach the molars and premolars because they are most prone to cavities.
As long as you use toothpaste made specifically for dogs, your Golden can ingest it without running any risks. And if your dog is anything like mine, hell try to eat the toothpaste.
For most dogs, its not going to be easy in the beginning. So, dont forget to reward your Golden after the brushing. Rewarding them with a treat or a good girl/boy message will make brushing easier next time. Positive reinforcement is key!
Common Mistakes Dog Owners Make
There are some common mistakes dog owners make while or after bathing their dogs, so here are some of those so you can avoid them:
- Leaving them wet instead of drying them with a towel or a blowdryer as some dog owners think that when their dogs shake off all the water from their body the job is done and they dont need to do anything.
- Brushing them wrong is actually pretty common even though brushing them seems easy, some dog owners cannot notice that there are knots in their dogs fur and end up making their dog feeling uncomfortable and uneasy
- Some dog owners also dont know is that they should brush their dogs before and after the bath not just after the bath besides brushing them at least 3 times a week
- Brushing the wrong way is more common than it should be. Only brush your dogs hair in the direction it normally flows. Brushing in the opposite direction can be painful and leads to tangles and even hair loss.
- Do not try to brush them if their fur is tangled instead you should deal with the tangles or mats first
Prepare Them For The Grooming
Preparing your golden retriever is really important and not just before the grooming but also before bath time, brushing their teeth, trimming their nails, or anything that requires tools such as scissors or clippers.
So, how can you prepare them for grooming their tail?
First of all, you can exercise with them, play, or even take them for a walk, to make sure that they do not have any built-up energy and can stay still while grooming their tail.
The key is to have them calm and still but not too tired or exhausted that they just want to sleep and are annoyed by you trying to groom them.
If you also decide to groom them after a bath, you need to make sure they are completely dry before you groom them.
You can keep them around the tools to make them feel used to them before you actually use them.
Golden Retriever Grooming Is Simple
Golden Retrievers are one of the most endearing double-coated canine bread that people want to pet. Their naturally shiny and wavy gold fur and friendly temperament make them a good pet choice. There is a general misconception that its one heck of a task to groom a furry dog. It might be true with some breeds.
However, this is not the case with Golden Retrievers. Their grooming is as simple as doing the ABCs. If you are a new retriever keeper and not sure about how to groom a Golden Retriever, then just sift through this article.
If you fear that it will be quite an exhaustive process to groom an adult golden canine, we would want to address this apprehension at the onset. No, grooming a Golden Retriever is not a backbreaking activity. Grooming a Golden Retriever is pretty straightforward due to some of its own inherent characteristics.
Golden Retriever Grooming Advice
The Golden Retriever comes with a double coat: An undercoat that insulates against heat, cold and water, and an outer coat that protects the skin, for example, when your dog runs through dense bushes. The coat of a Golden Retriever does not need much maintenance, and the dog should look natural and normal. Still, some parts need to be trimmed to give the Golden a well-cared for and functional appearance. I decided to buy a for grooming my retriever Stippy.