# Tail feather problems



## AmberSunrise

here is a website link to trimming tails 
Morningsage Goldens Grooming 3

I use a method similar to the 2nd method (I don't twist the tail feathers and I brush & trim 3 times, each time letting the pom pom become fuller - the last 2 trims are really just evening the pom pom out). 

I personally don't trim the anal area but if that was needed I would ask / find a someone who shows golden retrievers and knows how to properly trim them.

I usually trim tails about once a month.


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## elly

I either use that method or I lay the dog down and brush his tail so that the fur lays flat against the floor and then cut it from there as if I were cutting a dress pattern out..always brushing and making sure all the hairs are laid out and available for trimming along the line. Then I stand the dog and hold his tail out, standing at his side and cut any stragglers and straighten the cut so it's even. It all depends how still your dog can be. :doh:The first method works best for my busy Manny, :uhoh: the lay down method works best for my chilled Chester.


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## LOVE GOLDENS

Thank you both for the advice. After looking at the grooming link, I think I worded this wrong. It isn't her actual feathers on her tail is she having a problem with. It is the hair under the tail, the very full area on each butt cheek. In between her back legs, not sure what to call that hair. There is so much hair back there. I am hoping she isn't having a problem leaking urine or anything. I don't think so, or I would take her to the vet. It is only after she immediately urinates so it seems like the hair is just getting in the way. I never have noticed her wet back there otherwise. Has anyone had this happen? I have heard of poop back there but urine? But thank you for the advice on the tail, I am going to use that anyways! Sorry I worded this wrong. Any suggestions or input is appreciated!


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## cazzy

are you on about the hair on the back of her hind legs that gets long or in between the hind legs. My bitch has a lot of feathering on her rear legs and i do tend to thin it out a little between shows i think i would have the same problem you are having if i didn't you just need to be carefully and only do 2 to 3 cuts with thinning scissors and brush it out. 

the only other thing i can think of is maybe she has long hair hanging from her I'm going to call it bits and that is getting covered in wee then it transfers to her hind leg feathering when shes moving

if you cant work it out maybe i can post a couple of pictures to help you and show what i do i'm no expert but it stops me having that problem and she can still be shown


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## Prism Goldens

You can use thinning shears and cut that hair that grows on the inside of her rear legs and the couple of inches on the inside side of her rear furnishings. Don't chop it, just cut and comb (or brush) until you have reduced the volume of the hair that she's hitting when she pees.
You probably won't even notice it's gone. Older girls often hit that hair, and if you get it gone and leave the rear furnishings, it will be ever nicer to use your nose when she's near!


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## LOVE GOLDENS

Thank you! I can't thank you both enough for this advice. I must admit I am getting a little freaked out because I can't find any information about this. I was wondering if it was unusual because this just started. Like I say, I don't notice it any other time other than immediately after urinating so I am assuming it is not a health issue. Glad that both think that older girls may have this. Great advice! I have a pair of Miller Forge thinning shears and I will try to do what both of you said! Hopefully it works, fingers crossed! I can't thank you enough for putting me in the right direction!


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## cazzy

My girl is 6 years and took me a while to get it right . Just remember to take your time when doing it and it may take a few try's to get it right but it will grow back else if you can get her to roll over a little after doing a wee you may even see where it is getting wet so you know where to thin it. using the thinning shears/scissors will make it look more natural then just chopping it off. I think my girl looks a lot neater afterwards as well.

If it helps my girl hasn't had a really good trim since middle of July because she was pregnant and her pups are only just coming to 1 wk of age but she is starting to get a little wee on her coat so I will have to trim her a little at weekend to stop it


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## LOVE GOLDENS

It seems to be working! Thanks for the advice everyone!


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## Goldens&Friesians

I have a 14 yr old golden who has this issue, but she also has incontinence issues that started a couple years ago. Our vet prescribed proin and that has helped her to not have accidents in the house, however she still would get it in her pants (feathering on the hind legs) when she goes potty outside. I am a groomer and we usually do what we call a sanitary trim on goldens because they get matted and dirty down there; I just never did it on mine because I know how to keep them brushed and clean. However, a couple months ago (mine get bathed every 4 weeks) I decided to try a sanitary trim on Autumn and it definitely seems to have helped get rid of the hair urine was sticking to! So basically what a sanitary trim is is shaving the lower belly area around the penis (on males) and vulva (on females). It should not be noticeable while the dog is standing or sitting-you should not be able to tell its shaved under there unless he rolls over or something.  Also, I understand your fear about groomers. Unfortunately there are too many out there who groom for quantity (more $$) and not quality. When I check in my grooming patients and ask the clients what they want done, I do what they say (although if you have a golden or other double coated breed and you tell me you want its hair cut, I'm going to try and talk you out of that!). Just if you go to a groomer, make it perfectly clear that you you DO NOT want that dog to come home with a single hair cut off from anywhere but the sanitary. Tell them you want strictly and bath and brush and no haircut. As for me, I always assume you want your golden to look like a golden (bath, brush, and feet & pads trimmed) and would absolutely never cut its hair unless you insisted upon it. (and then I would be back there telling the dog how sorry I am that he has to lose his beautiful hair and that the other doggies are laughing at him.) Anyway sorry this post has gotten so lengthy.


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## Martin

Dolce also gets pee on the fur between her legs even though she's not that old. It doesn't happen every time she pees, but it happens fairly frequently and usually on consecutive days. I get the impression that it happens more often when the grass is long, but I'm not sure about that.

I don't quite understand the directions for thinning the fur there. Are thinning shears different from normal scissors? I bought scissors from a pet store years ago, and I don't remember what term they used for them. Exactly how does one use thinning shears in that area?

She also has some fur around her genitals. It's red, and I read somewhere on this site that red fur can be a result of fur getting wet. I used to try to trim the fur there because I thought/think that some pee gets on that fur as well, but she hated it. She much prefers just getting that area showered after every walk; I'm not as thrilled about that idea, partially because I'm lazy and partially because I'm afraid the topical anti-tick medication will wash off. It says Andvantix stays on when a dog gets wet, but it also says that this isn't true if the dog gets too wet or if shampoo is used. Is there a way of dealing with this fur that she might be more okay with?


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## cazzy

This is the scissors/shears I use when thinning hair out on my girls. You pretty much use them the same as normal scissors/shears. I normally lay them up under the fur near the skin and give a couple of cuts and then comb out where I just cut you should see the coat isn't as bulky anymore. If you have some hairs a little longer then the rest you can use these as well to get rid of them and it doesn't look like the coat hasn't been cut like it would with normal ones I wish I had pictures to so you how I do it but she just had a cut I will try and remember for next time.


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## Martin

Thanks for the photo.  I haven't seen shears like this before. I'm pretty sure the store I usually go to for my dog supplies doesn't carry them (it's a very small store). The owner would probably be more than happy to order them for me, but I don't know if she would know which ones are good. I have the same problem online: lots and lots of choices, yet no information as to what makes one pair different from another aside from price (Effilierscheren was my first Google hit, and it alone has a huge assortment). Does anyone have a recommendation? of course, I don't know if the same companies that sell them in the US also sell them here in Germany...

I would really appreciate it if you would take pictures the next time you do use them. Do you use them parallel to the dog's length or at a right angle from it? Or at another angle completely?


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## cazzy

hmm mine cost 350kr (swedish money) sort of middle price you dont want a cheap pair because they will not last at all i know i cut my dogs a lot because of showing but still i have had this pair for a year and they still cut like new and it works out cheaper in the long run as well. I am sure others will be doing this different and i will try and explain it with my dog standing i lift the tail and look at how the fur lays and go under it against the way it lays if you understand. Every one has they own way of doing it but this works for me and my girls as they will stand the whole time i groom but i think if you have your dog laying down it will be just lifting the leg instead i hope you understand if not i will take a couple of pics tomorrow maybe that will make it easier for you never had to explain how i do it just shown people before that is so much easier


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## Martin

I still don't quite understand  I'm bad at visualizing things.


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## cazzy

lol i think i am just bad at explaining i will get my daughter to help me take a couple of pics to give you an idea later today


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## Martin

Thank you


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## cazzy

Sorry I totally got side track yesterday our house is rather busy right now as we have a litter but I stood their mum this morning and my daughter take a couple before she went to school so they might not be perfect but you should get the idea she had a mat that I removed using the same scissors so you could see it doesn't look like she was cut. Her hair is a little fizzy now because of losing a lot of it since pups were born. You will have to work out where and how much to cut on your girl and you may make a mistake but it does grow back just take your time if you give it a go













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## cazzy

omg i just looked at the pictures and the first thing across my mind is damm she needs a good bath,blow dry and cut. I guess that is what happens when you are running around after 7 pups ..lol


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## Martin

Thanks! I do have a better idea if what to do now. Up to now I've occasionally cut the fur on her belly with plain scissors to see if it would help - and while it did help a little, it looks awful. When she's standing up, you can't see it, but when she exposes her belly, it looks bad. Now I just have to figure out which pair to buy...

Have fun with your puppies


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## Prism Goldens

I hold them at a different angle- so know that whichever way works for you is fine- I lay the scissor pointing downwards about halfway in on the rear furnishings andcut twice, comb, cut again,until the hair at the inside of britches is reduced. Not to confuse- just be sure to cut. comb. cut. Don't get in a hurry!


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## cazzy

another tip is if you haven't cut much before put some plasters on your fingers where the scissors sit otherwise they may end up a little sore plus I think your golden would be cut the same as mine as you are in Germany but i am not 100% sure but as you are in the same area as me (EU) it should be so in case you want the info the thinning scissors can be used for cutting some of the coat shorter on parts of her neck, parts of the ear, the tuffs of hair that stick up on the top of paws and a few other places to tidy her up. the plain scissors are normally just used to trim tail, around 1 edge/side of the ears and around paws and under them anyway this is just a guide in case you want to trim other bits. In the end you will see which way suits you best and gives the results you would like. I do have a guide i can send a link to but it is in swedish so you would need to use google translate.


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## Martin

To be honest, I usually don't cut much fur at all. I don't show my dogs and don't worry about how they "should" look. If cutting between the legs will keep some of the pee off, it's really useful so I'll try that. I've tried to keep the paws neat, but I almost never do a good job. Maybe it will look better with the other shears?


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## cazzy

I just use normal scissors for the feet and cut around the edge of the paw so it matches the pad line the tuffs of hair that stick up i pull down between the toes when i remove the hair under the foot then i comb the top of the foot the wrong way which makes them stick up above the paw and use the thinning scissors to remove them 
here are 2 links to guides 1 in english 1 in swedish but it has pictures maybe they will help you. Both contain information on the type of scissors and where to use them. Yes it tells you about every area on the the dog but you can just look at the section you need.These are used to show people how to groom and same cut is done for showing here but a lot of golden owners here still cut their dogs the same way even if it is just a pet 
Golden Retriever, how to groom, Step 4 (english)

goldnews.se (swedish)


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