Generally speaking, golden retrievers are very easy to maintain. They have double hair that is soft, smooth and of medium length. Up to a period of 6 to 7 months, retrievers have “puppy” hair that is constantly changing, and only at the age of one can it be said that the hair is completely formed.
Golden Retriever Hair Care
The first shedding of hair will begin in the first spring, that is, then the undercoat changes. During this period, the hair changes intensively and regular brushing is welcome (at least once a day). Normally, the upper layer of hair constantly falls throughout the year, but the intensity of that fall is not too strong, so you will not have problems with large amounts of hair. Of course, the upper layer has longer hair, so they can be easily picked up from carpets, furniture… In any case, we recommend to get brushes for both the lower and upper layer of hair, which will allow you to adequately arrange your pet at any time.
Maintance and brushes
Standard maintenance involves brushing regularly twice a week. Use a stiff brush that first removes coarse, fallen hair and then use a fine brush that will give the hair a beautiful shine. Otherwise, practice bathing once in 3 to 4 months, as the skin can get irritated if it is excessively exposed to water and shampoos. Once you wash the dog and dry it, you will surely be interested to see how its hair is actually wavy and slightly curly.
If you want your hair to be straight and smooth, you will have to use a hair dryer. Brush with straight movements and blow-dry the hair to get a completely straight look. This is practiced only on special occasions (before exhibitions, for example).
Golden Retriever Hair Care 1 on 1
Occasionally you will have to trim a little, shorten the hair from certain regions. Here we primarily mean the ears. Start with the hair behind the ear, lightly chop the excess and then move on to the hair inside the earlobe. In fact, it is not a matter of cutting the hair to the skin, but to thin it.
Lets take a look of an example of Golden Retriever hair care:
By the same principle, thin the crumpled hair around the paw that has grown over time. It is very, very important to say here that you do not cut your lower leg too much behind your paw, because retrievers need to have longer hair there. It is better to thin your hair more often with less removal than to remove too much at once.
With both ears and paws, it is important to remove “fluff and feathers” and not to remove healthy hair. Don’t worry, your dog doesn’t have feathers and won’t start crowing, but it’s easier for me to explain with that terminology. ?
Don’t forget the tail
Also, the tail needs to be fixed. The easiest way is to brush your pet’s tail well and remove any fallen hair. Then let the dog lie on its side. Spread the dog’s tail nicely and comb the hair so that all the hair is straight. Trim the tail so that the hair at the root of the tail is longer than the hair at the top of the tail. Let the hair have an arched shape, the shape of a knife blade (as in the pictures). The longest hair, ie at the tail, should be about 12 cm.
This picture shows the appearance of a completely tidy and prepared dog from the show. Pay attention to the shortened hair behind the ear, on the paws, and how the shape of the hair on the tail is formed. Also, this picture best represents the appearance of the hair behind the paws because we said that longer hair must be left there.
And now, first time tidying up your pet. Believe that it will shine with a new glow.
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