Dog Grooming For The Golden Retriever
Tips For Grooming The Golden Retriever
Dog grooming can be very easy once you and your dog get comfortable with it. With a little trial and error, and a little patience you will soon seem like a pro, and your Golden will look great.
Golden Retrievers tend to shed a lot of hair. In order to keep them looking as they should they will need weekly grooming. I have found that about a half hour a week seems to do the trick.
Once you and your golden get familiar with the routine it gets rather easy and even enjoyable. You will start to see yourself becoming a pretty good dog groomer.
Golden Retrievers have a two layer coat to naturally protect them in the water, and from the elements. The down side of this two layer coat is that it is prone to get matted and tangled if not groomed on a regular basis.
If this happens it could mean a trip for some professional dog grooming, because sometimes it’s hard to tell if you are cutting out the matted hair or skin.
Regular combing and brushing should prevent this from happening. If you start this on your Golden at an early age they will become familiar with the process and there should be no problems.
Brushing your Golden is also a great time to examine them for any fleas or ticks. You also want to look for any cuts, open wounds, or skin problems that you might otherwise not notice. Take some time to trim you dog’s nails.
Using a pair of dog nail clippers trim them carefully taking off a small amount. If you take off too much you will hit the “quick” and they will bleed. You can stop the bleeding with a styptic pencil.
This is also a good time to check you dog’s ears and clean them if necessary. Golden Retrievers are prone to ear infections, so keeping them clean is important. You should clean you dog’s ears once a week with a good ear cleaning solution.
Trimming a Golden Retriever should be kept to a minimum. The only areas that usually need trimming are the hair inside the ears, a little trimming on the outside of the ears, the hair that grows through the pads on the bottom of the paws, the hair on the bottom of the tail, and the hair on the back of the hind legs.
These areas should only need trimming about once a month. It is best to buy a pair of scissors with rounded tips, in case your dog moves suddenly at the wrong moment.
Washing your Golden Retriever should also be kept to a minimum. They have a double coat to protect them, and washing to often can damage that coat. Always use a shampoo that is made for dogs. Using a shampoo that is made for people will damage a dog’s skin and strip the protective oils from the coat.
You can also use a dry shampoo that works well. Under normal conditions washing your Golden about every 8 weeks should be fine, as long as you are performing the weekly grooming.
Dog grooming may not be for everyone, but it will keep your Golden Retriever looking great, and should save you some money. I also think it is a great way to bond with your dog. They seem to love the attention.
Photos And Illustrations On Grooming Your Golden Retriever
