# So, When does the hair start growing?



## rhondas

My golden's hair starting to grow longer and get feathering at around 5 months old.
It took mine about 2 years to his full adult coat.
Your boy is very cute and it seems like he is going to be a big boy.
My male at 6 months old weighed 30 lbs and today he is always between 58 and 60 lbs at just about 4 years old - a little lighter than the low end of the standard for weight.


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## Deb_Bayne

I appreciate the feedback rhondas


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## Megora

He's a pretty boy, Deb. And I think his coat is about the same as my guy's coat when he was the same age. I DO think your dog looks more like a golden since my guy was built stockier like a lab. 

Your dog's hair is growing. I see those beginning tufts.  

My guy's coat got thicker before it got longer. So you might see that for the next few months. Jacks' coat was starting to get longer when he was between 12 and 15 months. 

At 3, his coat is longer and fuller than it was when he was 2. 

My guy is intact, so if your dog is neutered now or will be neutered, I'm sure that would make a big difference.

ETA - I think he is about the same weight Jacks was at the same age. Jacks was 70 lbs by the time he was 12 months. His weight did go up to 80lbs, but he's thankfully back down to the more ideal 76 lbs.


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## Deb_Bayne

Thank Megora for your insights. I had a different brush and the private trainer I hired suggested a different one, wow, what a difference, the first few times I got so much hair out of him that I think it was all his puppy fuzz is gone. Left him looking sleek and shiny. Yes, there are some long spots happening, especially on his chest and butt (it's so thick there). 

I was feeding him 3 3/4 c. of Purina LBP and the vet suggested I cut back to 3 c. a day to maintain his slimness, better for him in the long run. He seems to be just fine with a little less. 

Bayne will be getting neutered probably by the end of this month, I'm concerned that 6 months is early, since we waited to neuter our cats at 9 months.


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## Megora

> Bayne will be getting neutered probably by the end of this month, I'm concerned that 6 months is early, since we waited to neuter our cats at 9 months.


My feelings on cats and dogs is that cats should be neutered as early as the vet will do the surgery. Dogs are easier to contain and control and I'd wait as long as possible to allow proper growth. That's just me though.

I would not be using any fur stripping type brushes either. It may clear out the undercoat so you have less shedding at the 12 months coat blow, but it could damage the coat...


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## Deb_Bayne

If you mean the furminator? No I will not use that on Bayne, I just use a regular wire brush and haven't even got the rake yet since he doesn't have longer hair yet. 

So how long is long to wait for neutering? At first I thought that neutering would settle him down and then I hear it doesn't. I do not want to impair his growth at all, I'm aware of the hormonal aspect and want him to have the full benefit health wise.


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## cisobe

Our Tobey is now about 1.5 years old, and he still has a relatively short coat though his chest, withers and pants are more or less grown out, but he's just not "fluffy"... Which was somewhat expected as his parents didn't have really thick full coats either.

As far as neutering goes, we waited till about 7 or 8 months, but he became such a handful, and started trying to hump female dogs at the dog park... The neutering helped a bit with the humping, but he was still a handful (still is, however he is settling down a bit as he is almost done with his naughty teen years ~months 9-24). We were hoping to keep him intact till at least 18-24months as most will likely suggest, but the humping was starting to become an issue, and we didn't want it to grow into a habit with him (the neutering seems to have resolved that).


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## paula bedard

He looks about like both of my boys did at the same age. He should have his full mature coat by his 2nd year. Some Goldens carry more coat than others. His parents coats will be a good indication of what he will look like when me matures.

As for neuturing, there is some medical evidence that it is safer for the health of the dog in the long term, to wait until he matures to neuter him. Many of the breeders on this forum have the age of neuturing, 1.5 - 2 years, written into their puppy contracts. This also allows the dog to mature and develop properly. I wish I'd known this before I had my boys neutured, I'd have waited.


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## Laurie

Bayne looks very much like Lincoln did at that age.....I've attached a pic of Lincoln at 5.5 months. His coat took awhile to come in but now he's got a lovely coat and is well feathered. 

We had Lincoln neutered at 6.5 months. I am pretty sure it didn't affect his growth too much....he's a very solid boy at 77 pounds.

My next puppy (if there is to be one) will be neutered as per the breeder's contract.


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## iansgran

His fur will be getting longer any time now.


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## MittaBear

He'll grow more hair soon...no worries. He's just in that awkward stage now. 

Chester was really fluffy as a puppy so I don't think he ever really looked like that, but I know my first golden Misty did. It took a little while, but she eventually started filling out and looked more like a golden.


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## jpajinag

Our boy is 6 /2 months and his fur is only a little fluffier. His mom at that age was like your guy. Her fur started getting heavier and longer closer to a year. Her coat thinkend dramatically after she was spayed (I have heard this is common with Goldens females??) at 2 1/2. I have also heard though that the full blown golden coat seems to be complete closer to age 3. He is a gorgeous boy and close to the size of our lean but big guy, "Moose", he is about 65# now.

PS: He looks much more like a Golden than a lab, no worries there


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## Deb_Bayne

Thank you everyone for your input, I feel so much better that he is developing normally. I don't have pictures of his parents, but I do remember that his dad was light colored and pretty fluffy, his mom and aunts were dark red and smooth shiny coats. We did meet them in the winter though since Bayne was born Dec 29. 

As for neutering, the vet says to do it now at the 6 month mark I do trust her but I also am aware that doctors just go by the book rather than personal experience of ownership.


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## Gable

I have the same concerns about Gable's coat. He is 12 and 1/2 weeks with no fluff at all. He was with us at the Fourth of July festivities and more people thought he was a lab than a Golden.


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## paula bedard

Deb_Bayne said:


> Thank you everyone for your input, I feel so much better that he is developing normally. I don't have pictures of his parents, but I do remember that his dad was light colored and pretty fluffy, his mom and aunts were dark red and smooth shiny coats. We did meet them in the winter though since Bayne was born Dec 29.
> 
> As for neutering, the vet says to do it now at the 6 month mark I do trust her but I also am aware that doctors just go by the book rather than personal experience of ownership.


My Vet recommended neturing at 6 months also and I hadn't learned of the medical studies on neuturing until joining this forum and Ike had already been snipped. Maybe these are new findings, I don't know. I just wish I'd waited. Cancer is common in our beloved breed and anything I could have done to lessen their chances of developing it, I would have done, had I known. Also, I'd love to know what Ike would look like had he matured fully before the procedure. He has feminine features and long legs, which are said to be common in (young) neutured males. I guess I'll never know.


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## KatieBlue'sMidnightSky

Every Golden is different....some carry a ton of coat, and some look more like labs when they are young---like my Katie did. She didn't really get much of a coat until a year, and then it was quite nice by age 2. 

My current Golden is going to be much heavier in her coat than Katie. The bottom photo is Katie at about 3 1/2 yrs....and below is Bella at 5 months. Bella has more fur at 5 months than Katie had at 3 yrs, other than the feathering. Katie was had very straight, flat fur and Bella's fur is coming in quite wavy. It took a long time for Katie to get her beautiful feathering and people mistook her for a lab a lot when she was young. Someone asked me the other day if my Bella was a goldendoodle, ugh! She was wet, so her fur was supremely wavy. I love the wave! Reminds me of beach hair--sexy. LOL! Anyway, I digress. Your pup will get his longer fur in time, but he may never have a massive coat--not so much to take care of!! He has a beautiful sweet face!


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## Deb_Bayne

Bayne has that stripe down his back that is quite wavy when wet, once I brush him out his fur goes straight. I'd like it if he had a more softer silkier coat and not the wavy wild look I see on some goldens, like his two playmates that come over once in a while.


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## oakleysmommy

Oakley will be 6 months on Monday, Bayne is bigger than he is no doubt! His hair is pretty long already especially on his front paws ,chest,tail i will have to post some pics. Its crazy how different they all can be at the same exact age!! Bayne is a big boy! i will be weighing oakley tomm but at 5months he was 40lbs, but he has grown so much this past month. Bayne is a handsome boy! One dr at my vet said neuter now, then another one said i can hold off til he is 18months. Breeder said 18months as well.


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## KatieBlue'sMidnightSky

Silky soft fur on an adult Golden is a fault---but it would feel nice on the fingers! Bella's adult fur is coming in on her back and tail first, which is typical, but she still has her soft puppy fluff on her sides. The rest will follow. I love the wave and I hope her front chest is a little wavy too when it comes in!



Deb_Bayne said:


> Bayne has that stripe down his back that is quite wavy when wet, once I brush him out his fur goes straight. I'd like it if he had a more softer silkier coat and not the wavy wild look I see on some goldens, like his two playmates that come over once in a while.


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## KatieBlue'sMidnightSky

Ahhhh, the boys! They get all that fabulous chest, "lion's mane", fur! I am getting a boy next!!!  Bella would have massive "slippers" and shaggy ears if I didn't keep them trimmed. She had her first trim at 9 weeks! (ear/paws) I keep that trimmed constantly. I love neat tidy paws and ears....as well as neatly trimmed tails---kept trimmed to the hock joint. 





oakleysmommy said:


> Oakley will be 6 months on Monday, Bayne is bigger than he is no doubt! His hair is pretty long already especially on his front paws ,chest,tail i will have to post some pics. Its crazy how different they all can be at the same exact age!! Bayne is a big boy! i will be weighing oakley tomm but at 5months he was 40lbs, but he has grown so much this past month. Bayne is a handsome boy! One dr at my vet said neuter now, then another one said i can hold off til he is 18months. Breeder said 18months as well.


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## Deb_Bayne

oakleysmommy said:


> One dr at my vet said neuter now, then another one said i can hold off til he is 18months. Breeder said 18months as well.


The vet's office called today, I saw the caller ID and didn't answer, but the message was about scheduling Baynes operation. I want to do more research and get more feedback first. He's so lively and such a puppy right now, sure he gets out of hand occasionally but that's all part of the puppyhood. I'm not comfortable taking a chance of taking that away from him. He does do some humping on his blankets but never on people or other animals, is this indication of timing?


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## KatieBlue'sMidnightSky

The humping is not an indication that he needs to be fixed--he's just wanting to be alpha over something.

Go with your gut based on the range of what you've read and heard is reasonable and wise. I don't have a boy, so I don't know. I am waiting to spay Bella AFTER her first heat, but before the second. There are a range of opinions on this too, but that is what my gut says.  



Deb_Bayne said:


> The vet's office called today, I saw the caller ID and didn't answer, but the message was about scheduling Baynes operation. I want to do more research and get more feedback first. He's so lively and such a puppy right now, sure he gets out of hand occasionally but that's all part of the puppyhood. I'm not comfortable taking a chance of taking that away from him. He does do some humping on his blankets but never on people or other animals, is this indication of timing?


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## dberk

Maddie had very little fur at 5 months. She now has very thick, and very long fur.


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## paula bedard

Deb_Bayne said:


> The vet's office called today, I saw the caller ID and didn't answer, but the message was about scheduling Baynes operation. I want to do more research and get more feedback first. He's so lively and such a puppy right now, sure he gets out of hand occasionally but that's all part of the puppyhood. I'm not comfortable taking a chance of taking that away from him. He does do some humping on his blankets but never on people or other animals, is this indication of timing?


Good for you, think it through and be comfortable with your decision. As for neuturing calming him down, I've not witnesses it with my two boys. My Sam was calm from day 1 and my Ike has been a nut from day 1, and as I mentioned before, both were snipped at 6 months. Their personalities are all different and probably there from birth. Ike is a humpaholic too, so neuturing obviously did not curb his inclinations. Luckily, he humps his toys, not people or other dogs. My sister's female spayed beagle was also a humpaholic, it's common.

Oh, almost forgot, Ike's adult coat came in in patches, starting with a 'stripe' of curly courser hair down his back. This patch was a bit darker gold too, and I could watch Ike's darker gold slowly spread over his body. It spread up the back of his neck and onto his head, down his face, and onto his muzzle. He's had a bit of a sugar face since his coat finally came in, since his muzzle never fully darkened up. His feathering is much lighter, like his puppy coat. He's 4 now and still continues to darken a bit. I notice it in pics taken from year to year. 

Good luck with your decision.


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## Deb_Bayne

Thank you to everyone for your comments and advice... 

LOL this has turned from a 'when is he growing fur' to 'to neuter or not to neuter'. 

Earlier today I responded to a post another member had their dog neutered recently and it came to mind that I'll be taking Bayne to the cottage Aug 6 and he'll be experiencing swimming for perhaps the first time. If he has surgery now or within the next week, he'll still be recovering by the time we leave and I won't relax wondering if the incision could still get infected. 

I think I'll call the vet and tell them I'm holding off until at least the later part of August or maybe later in the fall or winter. This way I won't feel pressured at all and be informed.


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## bioteach

Nugget is 9 months now, and he is just beginning to look like an adult Golden. When summer started (remember, it's hot in Phoenix) he blew his entire puppy coat at once! As his coat began to grow back first he had the stripe down his back but little else. Finally, the rest is growing in and he is getting some nice feathers. 

Patience! You'll be vacuuming up tons of golden fur before long.


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## Nath

Deb_Bayne said:


> Thank you everyone for your input, I feel so much better that he is developing normally. I don't have pictures of his parents, but I do remember that his dad was light colored and pretty fluffy, his mom and aunts were dark red and smooth shiny coats. We did meet them in the winter though since Bayne was born Dec 29.
> 
> As for neutering, the vet says to do it now at the 6 month mark I do trust her but I also am aware that doctors just go by the book rather than personal experience of ownership.


Such a controversy with the neutering situation. We waited the 1.5 to 2 year mark with General and I really didn't see the difference except that he would mount all my females in the house even after the surgery. I spoke in length about it today at the Vet with my little one Jax who feels that the 9-11 month would be good for him. Supposedly, it's good for them to get their hormones for maturity. 

Your boy is a beauty. My Goldens would start to get their hair around a 1.5 to 2 years.


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## GoldenMama

Odd - I look at our little 2.5 month old Golden, and she seems to have feathery fur on her back and tail already...?


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