This golden has been clipped very close.
One of the common things I’m seeing these days is that golden owners clip their dogs. If you live in a tropical climate, this might be a good idea. If you are American, the only places with a true tropical climate are Hawaii, southern Texas. and South Florida. Clipping might seem like a good idea in warm climates, but it is very simplistic calculation.
I once clipped one of our dogs, thinking that would make her more comfortable in summer. In reality, it merely made her develop hot spots. I vowed never to do this again. And I never will.
That long hair really isn’t a disadvantage in the summer for two reasons. One is that they lose a lot of undercoat when they shed out, so it’s not exactly a thick sweater all the time. The second reason is that the coat is like a thermos. It does insulate the dogs from extreme heat and makes sunburn less likely.
I think that most people are shaving goldens for this reason. It’s not wise to do, unless you have a skin condition. Then, it sometimes works. But in my case it actually opened the dog up to hot spots.
There are other people who clip to reduce shedding. This is also not advised, especially if you want your dog to develop a full coat so it can swim in the cooler months. A golden can swim in virtually any temperature of water, provided it has a chance to keep warm when it’s out of the water and it is not stuck in the water for more than a few minutes at a time. What do you think makes it possible for the dog to be able to stand that cold water? It’s that undercoat. You know, that stuff that you hate when it falls out twice a year and covers the floor. If you clip it in the summer, it won’t develop thickly enough in the fall to provide enough insulation. So if you hunt waterfowl with your golden, it’s not a good idea to shave it down.
That thick coat alos protects the dog from thorns and briars, with which it may come in contact as it runs through undergrowth. So don’t clip it if you hunt in the undergrowth. I remember that our beagles would get their ears torn to bits as they chased rabbits in the briars. I’ve never had this happen with a golden chasing grouse.
The truth is that breeders should be breeding for a more moderate coat in goldens. That really long coat isn’t functional in the field, and it’s even more annoying in the house. If you get a very long-haired golden that has a very wavy coat, you suddenly have an almost impossible dog to care for. The coat will mat if not brushed daily, because the undercoat won’t leave the fur as neatly as with a straighter-coated dog. A shorter-haired dog with this coat, though, is usually not much of a problem.
In the summer months, just make sure your golden has access to a cooler part of the house, fresh, cool water (even add ice), and possibly a wading pool. All of these are better alternatives than clipping down that coat. That coat took many centuries to develop both in Newfoundland (through the St. John’s water dog) and in Scotland. It is an asset to the dog, not a hindrance. And if you don’t like it, don’t get a dog with a coat like this. It’s that simple.
I thought of you today (with a wry smile in your honor) when I went to the local park, even though I hadn’t read this yet. Guy was playing ball with a very light blonde golden bitch (not cream, though). Her coat looked very puppyish, but she was 3.5yo, so my guess is that she was clipped over the summer. He mentioned that she is pretty lazy and he has to force her to exercise. She is very overweight, but her owner is aware of it and taking steps to change that. Cute face, though!
At least she was retrieving.
I wonder if he’s checked her thyroid or hips? Both of those can reduce activity level in dogs, but the real problem is that they are breeding for genetic calmness or mellowness.
Yeah, I’ve been told that we don’t know what a tomato tastes like until we eat one right off the vine or what milk tastes like until we taste it fresh from the cow. It’s because you can’t get the fresh stuff delivered to the supermarket. The vast majority of people will never know what a real golden retriever’s temperament and trainability potential are simply because the breeders are using these rather degenerate lines that are mass-producing legions of cute puppies that turn into mellow adults.
The way a golden retriever is supposed to be is something like the gundog answer to the border collie. They once called the golden a “swamp collie” as a pejorative. Most people who like the working golden now take that term wth pride.
And just like the BC, no one should have a working type golden (or Lab or anything else) without giving it a job to do. Those mellow ones don’t have the need for mental or physical exercise that the working strains do. So they could be sold to people who really don’t understand dogs very well.
The problem is that some experts, like Temple Grandin, think that breeding for the mellow temperament will result in higher levels of epilepsy in goldens, which do have their share of the disorder already. The mellow temperament is caused by an overproduction of serotonin, which might be messing up the whole brain chemistry in the dogs. This same thing happened to the domestic silver foxes in Russia, which also produced high levels of serotonin. This chemical in the brain is very much associated wth domestication, but too much of it really isn’t a good thing.
The epilepsy connection is interesting. From what I have read, showbred Australian shepherds seem to have a higher incidence of epilepsy than the working lines. It could be urban legend, could be the intense line/in-breeding that was used early on to set physical type in the show lines happened to be based on dogs with epilepsy, could be that epileptic working dogs are culled more drastically because of the effect on their work, could be the mellowing effect that you mention.
As for the golden, he said her hips have been checked and are okay.
Also associated with the seizures, according to Grandin, is aggression.
You can breed a dog with low aggression and low fear with high trainability, but you can’t also breed one with low aggression and low fear with high trainability with a very mellow temperament without something being forced to give.
The show line Aussies are undergoing a type change. The ones my grandparents had were little bob-tailed dogs that could run like the wind and drive even the toughest bull.
Question, I have what I thought was a Retriever/poodle, with a thin coat at 9 months. I wanted the mix to help my allergies. Now that he is grown, there is absolutely no poodle in him and he is a huge, long haired, thick haired lovely retriever. I have bought the furninator, rakes, straight brushes, but can’t get him looking sleek. I have just been looking into clipping and wondered if this would work for us. He lives on Vancouver island so he isn’t exposed to extreme temps, sleeps inside and has an owner that can’t be around him when he is shedding. I even tried adopting him out but because of his shy temperment due to a shaky start in life, wasn’t an option. Any ideas? I would love to be more comfortable around him and don’t want to do anything detrimental at the same time.
You can do lost of things to reduce shedding, but really, if it’s part golden retriever, it’s almost impossible to make it so that one can live with it, if you have allergies.
Even if you clip them way back, you will still have dandruff and the hair is always oily, which collects dander.
It’s a very tough situations.
BTW, you can get goldendoodles that have the golden retriever coat.
I have just clipped 2 of my 5 retrievers quite short hoping that they will still produce a summer coat. We have had a paralysis tick infestation in this area and I removed 11 off one of my dogs as I clipped. I understand this isn’t the best practice however living in the sub tropics is a challenge with goldens. fortunately we have a wonderful creek ( which creates awful matting when these guys moult) and they can swim when they want to help with the summer heat. I don’t intend to clip all of my dogs all over as one in particular, probably the one with the worst coat last year, was clipped and grew a magnificent coat back which is soft and manageable. I shall have to reduce the length of her leg and belly hair to reduce the risk of picking up too many ticks but she looks great.
Reducing the feathering is quite different.
I don’t even recommend this breed for much of the Southeastern US, which has also subtropical climate and a tropical climate in some areas, unless you’re really into taking care of the coat and skin. A lot of them have very sensitive skin and get hot spots very easily.
Are you able to procure those topical tick treatments? I don’t know if they are available in your country (I’m assuming Australia?) or if they even work on those kinds of ticks.
I have to worry about fleas maybe 4 months out of the year, and ticks, usually only about 2.5 to 3 months. If you put one of those topical treatments on, it’s good for a month and it’s waterproof.
I have no idea if they work for paralysis ticks. Lyme disease seems like a treat compared to tick paralysis! I’m glad we don’t have those!
I’m working as a vet nurse at the moment and we have had a disgusting tick season throughout winter which is unheard of, and yes I am in Australia. We do have topical tick treatments however my dogs are much safer if I can go over them and physically remove the ticks. I have been fortunate enough to be able to teach them to come and tell me if they have a tick by fussing over them when I do find one, you can’t be absolutely sure you have got them all tho’ but by following this proceedure you can create an immunity as when you remove a paralysis tick it boosts the immunity within your dog for a short time. The ongoing removal stimulates more resistance however this resistance is short lived and no-one should be tricked into thinking their dog will be immune next season if unlike this year you have had a tick free winter. I love my goldens so much but I won’t have them again in this kind of environment.
Well I did it and shaved my Golden after much thought in August. He went from a huge, long wavy haired lunk to a short haired ‘puppy’ although he is 5. He looks like he loves it, the way he holds himself and moves. We live on Vancouver Island so he doesn’t have the extreme temperatures but seemed to have so much more energy this summer when it was hot. He will still swim his heart out in the ocean without appearing chilled. Again, its not that cold here. For us it was the right choice, no furballs everywhere and I can brush him so much easier. Will do it again next summer even though I know its possibly not the right thing to do… it is for our pup. Wish I could post a picture, would love to show the difference. He looks like a different dog, although a happy goofy dog.. he still looks quite different.