With the love of a Golden Retriever comes dog hair.. a LOT of it. I think every Golden owner can agree that a good vacuum is an absolute must! Yes, Goldens shed – but it is a small price to pay for all of the love they give. We have come across certain products and tricks overtime that have made grooming a breeze. We have tried professional grooming a few times, but were not overly impressed. Not only is it extremely expensive, but I have a hard time leaving them for several hours with people and dogs I do not know. I’ve also heard horror stories in the news about the kennel dryers that they use. Bottom line, grooming a Golden is easy and actually a lot of fun! Special bonding time with you and your pup 🙂
Shampoo: There are so many options, and we have tried just about them all because Brad brings home so many samples from work. Our favorite is PetSmart’s Top Paw Oatmeal Baking Soda Shampoo. The 64oz bottle is less than $15 and lasts for months! It smells really good, is gentle on their skin, and even helps reduce shedding.
Brush: We have a few that we use all of the time, and each work differently on the dogs since they both have very different types of fur (Quincey’s is thick, and Roxy’s is fine and static-y). We have a basic pinhead brush, basic soft slicker brush, and our favorite – The Furminator! I highly suggest buying your Furminator on Amazon – in retail stores they can be over $75!  We brush the pups about twice a week and find that it really helps with shedding. Make sure you brush them outside – or fur will be flying all over your house!
Nail Trimmers: Not needed. Quincey and Roxy file their nails every morning on our walks.
Teeth: We have yet to attempt to brush their teeth. They chew so much on toys like Nylabone that their teeth are in great shape! Do you brush your dogs teeth? I would love to hear what you use and how you do it!
Ears: Due to the shape of a Golden’s floppy ear and ear canal, they are very prone to ear infections. The vet gave us a large bottle of Anti-microbial anti-septic solution that we regularly clean the pups ears with. We squeeze the solution in their ears, massage the solution so it gets into their ear canal, and wipe with a cotton ball. We also have an ear powder solution that we use for Roxy in the summer time because she spends so much time in the swimming pool.
Bathing
Quincey and Roxy get a bath about every 1- 2 weeks. We have found the best place for bath time is on the cool-decking of our pool because the yard always gets too wet and muddy. We use a hose attachment with a gentle shower option, it’s perfect! Since Goldens have so much fur, make sure you get their coat completely wet before applying the shampoo, and that the shampoo is completely rinsed before drying. Also be careful to avoid getting water inside their ears. Both the dogs make it very easy for us to bathe them – they absolutely love their baths. They never run away from me, they just lie on their backs and enjoy getting their bellies scrubbed.
Since they have so much fur, it also takes a while for them to dry. A good towel dry followed by a nice long walk in the sun always does the trick. When you get home, you don’t have to worry about your house smelling like a wet dog. We live in Arizona, so we are blessed to have warm weather with plenty of sunshine – making it easier than ever to wash the dogs.
Shaving
To shave or not to shave? We have considered it – between all of the dog hair around our house and how warm it gets here in the summertime. But, I just love their fluffy coats – they are so soft and beautiful! Will it grow back the same? Plus I have to think about how they feel. I wouldn’t want someone to shave my head – so maybe they wouldn’t want someone to shave them! lol 🙂
I’m curious to hear your thoughts, advice and suggestions!