Grooming Your Golden

Some people mistakenly believe that shaving or severely clipping their golden is a wonderful way to keep the dog cool and comfortable in warm weather. What they don’t realize is that they’re actually putting the dog at greater risk of health problems like skin cancer. Here’s why:

A golden is a double-coat breed. Its coat is made up of two parts – the long and smooth outer coat, and the soft and fuzzy undercoat. These two layers work together to protect the skin from sun, heat, cold and moisture. The fur acts as an insulator against ALL weather conditions. Double coated breeds were meant to work outside in all kinds of weather, and removing that coat does not make them cooler, but compromises their body’s protection.

Dogs do not release heat through their skin. They “sweat” through the pads and feet, and release heat via panting. Removing their coat does not make them cooler, but rather exposes more of the skin’s surface area to the sun and heat, making it more difficult to cool down. Furthermore, goldens were bred to retrieve water fowl, the golden’s coat also acts as a water repellant and is designed so that dirt and debris is kept from the skin and brushes off easily.

Some people think shaving their golden protects it against fleas and ticks, reduces shedding, and eliminate hot spots. Not true! The golden will still shed, fleas and ticks are better controlled with a spot-on preventive, and hot spots can be controlled with a premium diet and supplements.

Simply put, there really isn’t a good reason to shave your golden. Instead of shaving away your golden’s natural protection, vigilantly guard your golden’s activity in the hot summer and follow the basic grooming steps below.