What Type Of Shampoo Should I Use To Wash My Golden Retriever
According to many canine experts, its not recommended to wash your dog using dish soap or human shampoo. This will most definitely strip your dog of its natural oils.;Plus, shampoo made for humans is too acidic for regular use on a Golden Retrievers hair and skin.
The best shampoo to use is one thats specially formulated for dogs. Its recommended that you use a highly-rated oatmeal shampoo like this one at amazon.com to help in the nourishment of their coats.;Its organic, soap-free, and contains vitamin E and Aloe Vera to naturally soothe and moisturize sensitive or dry skin.
While using this shampoo, you should wash your pup from front to back, gently scrubbing your dogs fur to get the dirt thats attached to the undercoat.;
When drying your Golden Retriever you can choose to use an old dog towel, but many people choose to use a blow dryer on their dog in order to make sure that all their fur is dry. A double-coated dog, like a Golden Retriever, can stay wet for hours, even after being towel dried so a hair dryer can really speed up this process.
A pet-friendly hair dryer like this adjustable speed pet hair dryer on amazon.com, can also help with regular grooming. Its temperature controlled so it wont get too hot for your pooch.
Ears Eyes And Skin Care
The Goldens coated and floppy ears are susceptible to ear infections, says Talbott. Check the ears once a week for debris and infection and clean if necessary.
Goldens who like to swim will need more frequent ear checks, as the water gets deep inside the ear and makes them more prone to infections. After swimming, thoroughly dry the inside of the ears with cotton balls.
According to Talbott, Goldens are not susceptible to dry skin, but fleas will quickly produce allergies and hot spots. Keeping your Golden flea-free is crucial, she says.
Different Sizes Of Blades For Golden Retriever Clippers
As we said in the introduction, golden retrievers have a double coat. This is to keep them comfortable in any season, but it also means theyll shed their excess hair all over your house or apartment.
Since golden retrievers naturally regulate their hair, they dont require too much maintenance. This also means that traditional blade lengths might be a bit too short for the breed.
Unlike human clippers, animal clippers get longer as the numbers get lower. A #3 blade leaves hair ½ an inch long, and a #10 blade will leave 1/16 an inch of hair behind.
The standard clippers come with #10 blades. These are the most common and work for the largest percentage of animals. Unfortunately, you probably dont want to go this short on your golden retriever.
Well get more into the ideal blade length for your golden retriever below, but it should almost always be longer than the #10.
Since this is the case, the best dog hair clippers for golden retrievers are going to be those with blade attachments and removable blades. You might need to get an extra set of #7 or #7F blades to do home grooming on your golden retriever.
There are two different blade types for dogs: split-tooth and fine-tooth. The F that we included above is the fine-tooth indication. These blades give a clean, tailored look to the coat that split-tooth blades cant really match.
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Do Golden Retrievers Need To Be Shaved In The Summer
The answer is no, never shave a Golden Retriever, no matter how hot the weather is. The double coat of the Golden protects your furbaby during every season and every temperature. The double coat keeps your dog cool during summer and warm during winter.
Look at it this way, the double coat of a Golden or any other double-coated breed works like sort of an insulation for the dog. Besides keeping your Golden nice and cool during summer and warm during winter, the double coat also protects your Goldens skin from getting sunburned.
How To Brush My Golden Retrievers Teeth
If you do this for the first time, I recommend first to let your dog taste the dog toothpaste. For my dog I use the Virbac CET Enzymatic Toothpastewhich is vet recommended. Dogs like the taste most of the time! After that, let your dog get used to the toothbrush inside its mouth, so without putting the toothpaste on the brush, first, gently move the toothbrush inside your dogs mouth and rub it against the side of the teeth and the front teeth. Make this a positive experience for your pup by rewarding your dog with praise and a yummy treat.
Now the real brushing begins. Start by putting the dog toothpaste on the dog toothbrush. Have your dog sit or stand on a table or something high enough, so you dont have to bend over. Make sure your dog is safe and cant fall off the table. If you prefer your dog on the ground, then kneel in front of or beside your dog.
Gently move the toothbrush with the dog toothpaste on it inside your dogs mouth and brush it against the teeth. Make sure you clean the side, on top, and the back. Repeat this to brush on the other side and make sure you put new toothpaste on it before brushing the other side.
To brush the front upper teeth, apply some new toothpaste on the brush and gently pull up the front of your dogs upper lip to clean the front teeth. To brush the front lower teeth, gently pull down your dogs lower lip so you can brush the lower front teeth.
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Schedule Regular Vet Visits
I cant stress this enough: vet clinics arent just for emergencies. You should take your Goldie to the vet for routine checks, regardless if it has a health problem or not. This way, the veterinarian can diagnose a health condition even before it causes adverse symptoms like hair thinning.
Self-medicating your dog at home may do more harm than help. As much as youd want to save some bucks, skipping vet checks may lead to expensive treatments later on.
How To Trim A Golden Retriever
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link & purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.
Golden Retrievers are known for their long flowing coat, which requires regular maintenance to keep it looking tidy and beautiful. Regular brushing is mandatory, and trimming the coat occasionally will keep your Golden looking his best.
In this article, were going to find out how to trim a Golden Retriever. If youre Golden is looking a little shaggy, youre not alone! Many of us who regularly take our Goldens to the groomer, are having to take things into our own hands. Myself included.
So before you reach for the clippers and give your Golden a drastic haircut, just stop and read this first!
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Should I Shave Or Clip My Golden Retriever
You should never shave your Golden Retrievers hair, not even during the summer months. Golden Retrievers have a double coat which work together to protect your pup in both the winter and the summer months. In the summer, the undercoat is shed if you were to then shave it even further this could leave the Retrievers skin unprotected and bare for sunburn. Even clipping is not advisable with your Golden Retriever as it can hinder the growth of the undercoat later in the year.
How Often To Groom Golden Retriever Tail
You should groom your golden retrievers tail at least 3 to 5 times a week to make sure that their tail is clean and to prevent any tangling, infection, mites living in their coat, and to remove any dead hair that can cause an odor.
It can be a serious issue if unwanted bacteria lodge in and can cause them an infection.
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How To Get A Golden Retriever With A Shorter Coat
When my golden retriever, Oliver, was about six months old, I started to get a little worried.
He was lanky, had a really short coat, and looked exactly like my friends labrador
Was he a part lab?
Was he a short-hair golden retriever?
Check out the video below to see his adorable, short-haired lankiness.
As it turns out, hes not a lab, nor is he a short-haired golden retriever.
Hes just a regular golden retriever with a relatively short coat compared to some goldens .
And Im very thankful his coat is short because he doesnt shed that much!
Now where did he get his shorter coat?
From his parents, of course!
Coat length is hereditary, so if you want to find a golden retriever with a shorter coat, you need to find a breeder whos breeding goldens with short coats.
Olivers parents had relatively short coats, so he has a shorter coat, too.
Of course, when choosing a breeder you need to consider more than just coat length, but you can learn more about choosing a breeder here.
Do Golden Retriever Whiskers Need Trimming
How to cut golden retriever hair? Whiskers grow on your dogs cheeks, including the chin area and area above the eyes. It is vital to your dog since it helps them navigate their surroundings.
Whiskers are a vital part of your dogs senses. It helps them in the dark and is crucial to their role in hunting and retrieving as well as other activities.
Some owners prefer not to trim their golden retrievers whiskers since there is really no need. However, it is your personal choice. If you do accidentally trim it, you have the assurance that it will grow back.
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Overall Best Clippers For Golden Retrievers
| Our 2021 Picks: Best Dog Hair Clippers for Golden Retrievers: |
| Rank |
- 14 cord
- Shatterproof housing
The Andis AGC2 UltraEdge Super 2-Speed Pet Clipper is our top pick for the best clippers for golden retrievers. These clippers provide a long cord, multiple speed settings, and durable housing to prevent damage from accidental drops.
Corded clippers are usually the preferred option for most home groomers, although you dont have the freedom to move around with your dog as you use them. Although the clippers dont heat up quickly, they are louder than Andis advertises. Still, as long as your dog isnt too sensitive to the noise, you should be good to go with these clippers.
- Durable housing
- Two speed options
Best Pick for Matted Golden Retriever Hair: The Oster Golden A5 Two-Speed Animal Grooming Clippers is our pick for the best dog hair clippers for golden retrievers with matted hair. Of course, you should always try to straighten out your dogs hair before clipping. This tip is especially important when clipping a golden retriever.
These clippers are strong, powerful, and durable. They provide a detachable blade and two-speed settings for more of a precise cut. The detachable blade is crucial here since you probably wont be using the stock #10 blade very much.
- Detachable blade
- Non-clog features
- Lithium-ion battery
- 90-minute run time
- Full grooming kit with DVD
- 7,200 SPM
- Affordable
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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Can You Use Clippers On A Golden Retriever
How to cut golden retriever hair? A majority of people will say that you should never utilize clippers on golden retrievers since their hair is meant to be long. Any cutting that is required can be done utilizing scissors and thinning shears.
But many people utilize clippers for trimming their golden retriever to create a summer haircut. How to cut golden retriever hair?; If you want to give your Golden retriever and all over hair cut, it is crucial to utilize high-quality clippers. Avoid cutting their undercoats.
Never shave a Golden retriever. When utilizing clippers at home you want to ensure that you do not trim the coat shorter than an inch. Leave the undercoat of your dog intact.
If you are utilizing grooming services and require them to create a summer cut, which is also known as puppy cut, make sure that the groomer knows exactly what they are instructed.
How To Trim Golden Retriever Feathers
You can trim your golden retriever feathers by using scissors or clippers and cutting the feathers down.
Its the best way to reduce the mess on their butt and keep their coat intact.
Its recommended to trim using scissors to avoid accidentally hurting them. Make sure to trim an inch near their rear ends and its best if you bathe them after you trim their feathers.
However, most golden retrievers do not have long feathers and you shouldnt trim your golden retriever feathers on a regular basis.
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Trimming And Clipping Your Golden Retriever
As weve covered, youll want to do the bulk of the trimming with scissors rather than clippers. Trim the areas around the snout and ears with blunt scissors to limit any risks associated with grooming a dog from home.
You should also trim the paws and legs with scissors. The paws should be neat and slightly resemble those of a cat. Once youve established this look, youre good to go on these areas.
People are a bit split on the look of the tail. Some groomers prefer to let the tail go a bit and feather-out at the end, while others keep it shorter. The decision is yours here, but we recommend erring on the shorter side whenever youre in doubt.
You should keep the neck/shoulder area longer than the rest of the body. You can trim this back a bit with scissors if you like but should stop before you go to short. Many professional groomers recommend that home groomers trim the neck hair through multiple sessions, so they dont cut it too short.
Most of the time, you wont need to trim the belly of your golden retriever. The hair in this area never gets too long, so just give him some brushes, and youll be all set.
The Truth About Short Haired Golden Retrievers
Although theres no such thing as a short-haired golden retriever, some golden retrievers do have shorter hair than others.
Some types of goldens, like field golden retrievers, typically have shorter hair than other types, such as those bred for shows.
And although you might be tempted to turn your regular golden retriever into a short-haired golden by giving them a haircut, that could actually put their health in jeopardy, as well as ruin their beautiful coats.
So lets talk about the different types of goldens, first
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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.;
How To Take Care Of Your Golden Retrievers Paws
Taking care of your goldens paw pads is another important part of their regular grooming.
First, make sure that their pads are not dry or cracked.
Walking on hot concrete or road salt are two things can cause this to happen.
If you notice this happening, talk to your veterinarian about it.
Another thing is to keep an eye on the fur between their pads.
We talked about it in the section on trimming your golden, but this fur can mat easily and splay your dogs feet, so make sure it is trimmed, or at least not matted.
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