SOME
TIPS ON GROOMING
YOUR GOLDEN RETRIEVER
The Golden Retriever, because of his long coat, does shed hair, so if you are the type of person who does not like hair in the house, think twice before purchasing a Golden Retriever. However, when looking at coated breeds, the Golden Retriever would rank as one of the easiest breeds for which to care.
Grooming your dog regularly is important. Your dog not only enjoys his grooming session, but it is good for his coat, helps his skin to breathe and prevents the matts and tangles which occur with a neglected coat and which can cause skin disorders. Goldens' coats never matt or tangle if they are groomed regularly. At the very least you just need five minutes twice a week to ensure your dog's coat stays manageable.
Golden dogs lose their coat once a year and bitches after each season. During this time, the hair falls out everywhere - the garden, the house, your clothes, your car. To minimise the amount of hair left lying around, I would suggest at least a once daily (more if you have time) combing during this time. The sooner you comb it all out, the sooner it will start to grow. Some dogs tend to lose small bits of coat all the time. These also require more regular grooming.
I recommend a good quality steel comb and a pure bristle brush. I use "Mason Pearson's" - they are expensive, but there is no substitute for quality and they last forever, not to mention how good they are for the coat. Wire brushes and 'slickers' tend to rip the coat, giving a split appearance. Some breeders like to use a good quality human hair comb instead of steel (not plastic as it will split the coat too). It takes five minutes to run a comb through his coat and give him a quick brush and he loves it!
The correct Golden Retriever coat is weather resistant and dense. Next time your dog is out in the rain, check his coat. The topcoat may look wet, but the undercoat is quite dry. Goldens love getting dirty and will often present themselves to you, very proud of themselves, with a "look where I've been mum grin" and tail wagging furiously, looking more like a black retriever than a golden retriever. Surprisingly, when it dries, it usually brushes out or falls off and he looks spic n span again.
I usually advise to bath your Golden whenever you think he needs it. Depending on his activity it could be monthly, twice monthly or weekly if you think he is 'on the nose' too much. There are plenty of good dog shampoos and conditioners on the market. I tend to favour those containing 'natural ' ingredients.
If you are fortunate enough to have a fresh water swimming hole nearby, he will love a regular swim. For chlorine and salt water, you will have to make sure you hose all the residue out of his coat each time he swims. But beware, Goldens love swimming and once into your swimming pool, you may find yourself hosing him down regularly.
A Golden's coat requires a little maintenance to keep him "orderly" looking. You should follow these steps whether you show your dog or not.
Nails should be clipped regularly. Long nails can be very uncomfortable, not only for the dog, but for you when he jumps up. Long nails can completely spoil the shape of your dog's foot, causing it to splay, which can lead to more problems. You should check the nails on your puppy regularly to ensure that long nails are not impeding the final shape of the adult foot.
You need to get a pair of dog nail clippers and carefully snip the very tip of the nail off - don't forget the dewclaw on the side. If your dog has clear nails, you will see where the quick is. Never snip too close to this. It will hurt your dog, bleed immensely and you will have a terrible time trying to get your dog's trust for the next time. Should you cause a bleed, then "Condies Crystals" directly onto the nail will stop it.
I usually just snip the very tip of the nails off weekly. This keeps them at an acceptable length. If your dog gets lots of exercise on hard surfaces, you may find that even this is not necessary as they will naturally wear down.
Next, are the feet, and with a pair of ordinary scissors, gently trim the hair around the pads. Many Goldens grow "slippers' if their feet are left unattended and once again, this can be detrimental to the dog as well as being a collector of a lot of mud. Just follow the shape of the pad when trimming. Underneath, just trim level to of the pad.
The hair on the hocks (the area from the rear paw to the "heel") can be neatened by combing the long hair on the back upwards and with your serrated scissors clip it off and comb it back down. Around the neck is one area many people seem to be too frightened to "attack". However, practice makes perfect. It is important to remember that your dog should never look like he has been trimmed. He should look as natural as possible. Some show ring dogs have obviously been "shaved" with electric clippers around the neck. This is a "no-no" in our breed. They are not Irish Setters and do not need to look like one. It is the lazy man's way out. If you could only see how awful you make your dog look!
A darker coloured dog can have paler undercoat and it is here where the skill of a good groomer can be seen to ensure that you still don't notice the dog has been trimmed.
Using one sided serrated scissors trim the hair that is sticking out around the ears so that the coat is left close to the head. Trim downwards. With two sided serrated scissors trim around the neck. Remember, you can always take more off, but you cannot stick it back on. Therefore, just do one or two cuts under the top coat and then comb out. Do not trim the top coat. There should be no visible scissor marks when you have finished. The top coat should be left to lie over the trimmed areas to help give a natural appearance. Repeat this procedure -one or two cuts under the coat and comb out - until you can see that the neck looks tidier, but still natural. Do the same to the other side, ensuring both sides are as symmetrical as possible. Also, trim just under the chin to tidy any unkempt looking bits and give a smoother appearance under the neckline.
The tail should look like a fan and once again, trimmed as natural as possible. I find the best way is to twist the end, put your thumb just below the end of the tail bone and trim around your thumb with your single sided scissors. Then neaten the end and carefully form a fan from the end towards the tail.
If you are going to show your dog, remember bath him in time for his coat to regain its natural oils. A Golden Retriever has a coat that is medium harsh to touch. It should not be soft and silky and settery like. For show purposes you may also need to stay with your dog a little longer whilst he is drying to ensure his coat lies flat and does not stick up. A particularly thick wavy coat can take hours to prepare and sometimes a conditioner added at bath time will help the coat to settle.
It is usually a good idea to trim the tail and around the neck a good week before a show. This allows for a more natural look to return for the big day. I usually then just tidy up after their bath closer to the show.
Do not forget to regularly check and clean your dog's ears. They should never smell or have any black discharge coming out of them. If they do, then consult your veterinary surgeon as your dog probably has earmites which can be treated successfully.
Regularly gently clean with moistened cotton wool (I use witch hazel) the inside of the ear flap and as far as you can go without prodding into unseen areas. Never stick cotton buds down a dog's ear.
The appearance of your dog's coat is not just due to human intervention. If your dog is healthy inside, it shows outside and so you should always feed your dog a good quality diet. Regular worming is also required. Remember, if you have a flea problem, you will also have a tapeworm problem and more regular worming for tapeworm will be necessary.
Some dogs suffer from hot spots and other skin allergies. Some bloodlines are more prevalent to this. Humidity and too much red meat has been known to cause overheating of the blood which can lead to a "breakout", as can irregular grooming causing the coat to matt and not "breathe". Fleas and hormonal changes can also cause skin problems.
Basically, however, a good quality diet, regular worming and weekly maintenance of the coat should ensure that your Golden is always a picture of glowing health.