# Did I mess up her coat for good?



## Barbie Smith (Oct 7, 2019)

So, I have always owned short hared dogs and have always wanted a GR. So I found an AKC breeder who was wonderful. The place was clean, I met both parents, the dad is BEAUTIFUL. The moms temperament was so sweet and calm. He had 4 puppies I could choose from which was important to me as well. I didn't want to get a pup just from a picture I wanted to be able to match one with our personalities. So, I brought home Ava. At 12 weeks I started her with a groomer that was well known in our small town for being amazing. They had a large following and Ava seemed to love it there. I followed her advice and did a TON of de shed baths where they raked out tons of hair... I also got a collar she recommended to me. The collar slipped over her head and didnt have a buckle to it so it was not easy to take off so I left it on. Well, 2 months ago some very sad things came out about this groomer. The owner of the business ( a retired groomer) checked her cameras on the employee groomer and she was caught severely abusing a Yorkie puppy to the point that the pup actually died and was thankfully brought back. The girl is now being charged with Felony animal abuse. When that came out I started questioning things she was telling me. I also about that time went to a trainer who asked if my dog was purebred. I know she is but she questioned it because of her fur, how short it was. Then she noticed the collar and said it was NOT the collar to use. I took it off and immediately noticed a raw place just under it. Please dont think poorly of me as I didnt realize that it was rubbing. I take my pup to work with me every day and in my defense no one at work noticed either until the collar was removed. I also felt like the groomer would of noticed as well and would of told me... or so I thought. So there were also some questions as to if it was groomer created in light of the recent events that came out about her. I also was using a furminator brush on her as well. I now have done my research and have done training to reverse the advice from the girl grooming my precious Ava. I have also started giving her cooked duck eggs ( we dont have chicken eggs at my home only duck) Her neck is MUCH improved and I brush her every day with now a slicker brush. I have stopped doing the de shed appointments as well, and changed collars. I am doing weekly training sessions and daily well checks on her now. I know I have made some horrible grooming mistakes with her and trust me I feel in the pits about it. I have had so many people mistake her for a lab, a mix breed and not even a golden at all. She will be a year on 10/23/19. My question is, is there any chance that her fur will recover from what I did? Will she ever resemble a GR with the beautiful neck and body fur?


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Pay no attention to the clueless people telling you she's a mixed breed. Baloney.


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## Barbie Smith (Oct 7, 2019)

Thank you Megora, The trainer that first questioned her breeding I actually only did one training session with her. She was very condescending, didnt show me anything other than the poor collar choice and to speak ill of her coat. She actually looked down her nose at Ava like she was not important enough to truly train. I am now with another trainer who is so wonderful and is very interactive. Shes helped us tremendously and Ava is close to being able to do her Good canine citizenship testing as well as therapy dog test.We also have a new groomer but shes only been to the new groomer once now. She goes again this weekend for her second time with the new groomer. I just feel I did a dog mom fail with not knowing the proper brush, the proper grooming of a GR and the first trainer actually made me cry in my car after we left due to the rude comments she said about my dog. I actually contacted the breeder I got her from, he is so amazing that he remembered not only the dog but myself as well. He was so kind to post a video of her mom in reassurance to me of her wonderful temperament and breeding quality. I am just so worried that I hurt her coat, it has shown improvement but I am worried that the coat will not grow properly now.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Welcome, your girl is pretty. She's still quite young, she and her coat will change a lot as she matures. 

FYI-your pictures will appear sideways when they are too large. If you're attaching photos using the paperclip icon-the attachment icon. A window opens up, below where you can upload your photos, there is a "key". The Key tells you what type of files are accepted and the size limits. 

If you reduce your photos, they will post in the correct position.


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## Barbie Smith (Oct 7, 2019)

*thank you*

Thank you, I just now tried to resize the photos and feel I might of messed them up more lol. Thank you for explaining to me why the photos were sideways I had no clue why they came out like that! I will continue trying to fix them. Any and all advice is welcome!


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

Whoever said she didn't look like a Golden doesn't have much experience. She looks like a Golden. I would use a comb not a slicker (slickers can abrade the skin) but otherwise she will be fine. And will grow hair.


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## Barbie Smith (Oct 7, 2019)

Prism, Thank you so much for the encouragement!!! The slicker brush that I got has tips on the brush ends so that they arent sharp. Is that still ok to use? If not what kind of comb should I get? Thank you so much for the help!


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## Brave (Oct 26, 2012)

She is still young. I believe the coat will change until they are over 3 years old by then they should have their full, adult coat. She looks like my girl (who is 16 months old) in terms of coat.  

Re: the comb, I'd recommend a greyhound comb like these: https://www.cherrybrook.com/grooming/brushes-and-combs/greyhound-style-combs/


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## Barbie Smith (Oct 7, 2019)

Thank you for the comb options! That will be my next purchase in helping her. I was so worried that I might of damaged her fur beyond repair. I had read that some who have their GR shaved that the fur is never the same again. While she was NEVER shaved I was worried at the damage I unknowingly did with the raking of her fur that I had done monthly at the groomers AND the furminator damage I caused with using it frequently, and then concern for her neck regrowth after the spot from the collar. I of course can still see and tell where the collar messed up the fur on her neck as the fur is much shorter there then the rest. But in just even a month it has gotten so much better. The new groomer was the one who suggested the adding of boiled egg to her food for extra protein help. Plus she sure enjoys it too


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## Barbie Smith (Oct 7, 2019)

I also felt like what some others have said when someone who comments about her not being a GR that they must not be educated in their dog breeds. The one trainer I tried first who was the most harsh in her accusations was not gone back to. There have been people who have questioned her breed but not a professional like the first trainer claimed to be.


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## Caseykathie (Feb 8, 2019)

Let her hair grow out. Stop “deshedding” her. Use only an undercoat rake, a slicker, and a pin brush.


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## Barbie Smith (Oct 7, 2019)

I have stopped the deshedding, the use of the furminator and have added eggs to her diet. The only brush I use right now is a slicker brush with tip protectors. However, I was concerned that her hair would actually grow back or if I had permanently damaged it.


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## mzilke (May 4, 2019)

At least you can post


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## Otter (Feb 23, 2011)

She's a pretty girl. She reminds me a bit of our Sandy. 
Sandy will be 4 this winter and her coat was not very heavy/long until just in recent months. 
Like Brave said it takes time.


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## Goldens&Friesians (May 31, 2014)

Sorry for a late reply. I am a professional groomer. First, your dog definitely looks like a purebred golden, so don't listen to people who don't know what they are talking about.  Second, I would not ever use a furminator on a golden and make sure your new groomer isn't using one. It not only pulls out undercoat, but it also rips out and damages topcoat. I do not think her coat permanently damaged though-she is still young and every dog grows in their full adult coat at a different time. I wouldn't expect her to have a full adult coat until she is about 2 years old or so. And some goldens just don't get much coat-what did her parents look like? I would expect her coat to look like her parents. If she is intact, girls will blow their coat with their cycle and can get pretty naked. Also, if you spay her, that can change the coat, just fyi-usually causes spay coat (little light colored whispy hair most commonly found on the hind legs-basically dead undercoat that won't fall out.) and as they age can cause an excessive thickening of the coat. I also just wanted to give you a product recommendation that you can try if you want to see if it will help your girl at all. I recently switched all my grooming products over to a product called Trophy Line Mane-ly Long Hair. They have a shampoo, conditioner, and polisher/detangler. I discovered this product when I was attending a horse fair and took some home to try on my horse who likes to rub her mane out and had very dry, brittle hair. This stuff has changed her hair to be absolutely amazing and helps quicken the growth of her rubbed out mane! I tried it on my own golden and loved the results so started using it on client dogs. I loved it so much that it is now the only product I use on my horses, my dog, and all my grooming clients! I have found that it creates stronger, healthier coats and keeps them cleaner and tangle free longer. I use all 3 products on every dog I groom-start with the shampoo, then the conditioner, then towel dry and apply the polisher/detangler, then blow dry and groom. There aren't many stores that carry it, so I always just order off their website.


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## OscarsDad (Dec 20, 2017)

What a lovely girl.


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## ecaba (Aug 19, 2019)

Hey, just to add on to what everyone else has said and to hopefully make you feel better, my 11.5 month old is constantly confused for a labrador at a distance, and a shaved golden, of which she is neither. She just has shorter hair right now and it's still growing out. Don't beat yourself up too much about it. Your girl is beautiful and looks a lot like my Zelda so much so that I swear it's her were it not for Zelda peacefully napping in her crate behind me at this moment.  Our girls may not ever be the super long-haired goldens, but I'm personally ok with that for Zelda. Her fur is coming in more now (tbd on if it's adult hair or winter coat or both) so I'm hoping to get more and more of a glimpse of what she'll look like all grown up.


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## JulesAK (Jun 6, 2010)

Goldens&Friesians said:


> Sorry for a late reply. I am a professional groomer. First, your dog definitely looks like a purebred golden, so don't listen to people who don't know what they are talking about.  Second, I would not ever use a furminator on a golden and make sure your new groomer isn't using one. It not only pulls out undercoat, but it also rips out and damages topcoat. I do not think her coat permanently damaged though-she is still young and every dog grows in their full adult coat at a different time. I wouldn't expect her to have a full adult coat until she is about 2 years old or so. And some goldens just don't get much coat-what did her parents look like? I would expect her coat to look like her parents. If she is intact, girls will blow their coat with their cycle and can get pretty naked. Also, if you spay her, that can change the coat, just fyi-usually causes spay coat (little light colored whispy hair most commonly found on the hind legs-basically dead undercoat that won't fall out.) and as they age can cause an excessive thickening of the coat. I also just wanted to give you a product recommendation that you can try if you want to see if it will help your girl at all. I recently switched all my grooming products over to a product called Trophy Line Mane-ly Long Hair. They have a shampoo, conditioner, and polisher/detangler. I discovered this product when I was attending a horse fair and took some home to try on my horse who likes to rub her mane out and had very dry, brittle hair. This stuff has changed her hair to be absolutely amazing and helps quicken the growth of her rubbed out mane! I tried it on my own golden and loved the results so started using it on client dogs. I loved it so much that it is now the only product I use on my horses, my dog, and all my grooming clients! I have found that it creates stronger, healthier coats and keeps them cleaner and tangle free longer. I use all 3 products on every dog I groom-start with the shampoo, then the conditioner, then towel dry and apply the polisher/detangler, then blow dry and groom. There aren't many stores that carry it, so I always just order off their website.


I have to say that I have been using this line on Maggie for about 6 months now and her fur is wonderful. Nothing sticks to it! Not mud or burs and everything just brushes off her so easily. They are definitely working for us.

Jules


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