# Spinoff: shedding coat



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

bumping up


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## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

MillysMom said:


> I've read many threads about the woes of dog owners preparing for shows and their dogs starting to shed/blow their coat right before.
> 
> When it comes to judging, how much would this natural occurrence hurt a dog's score? I would think when you put your hands on a dog to go over them you can tell what great structure is, and you don't need coat for great movement. Obviously, coat is an important part of the Golden Retriever breed standard so a nice coat will be rewarded in the show ring.
> 
> ...


You'll learn so much having people in either your local golden club or an all breed club go over your golden and give an opinion--or by taking your golden to matches. You'll find out that coat is really just one of many features--that structure, gait and conditioning are as important too. You can certainly get some info from the GRF, but it won't substitute for hands on, up front, face to face, honest assessment of your golden. Hope this is of help.


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## MillysMom (Nov 5, 2008)

Thank you so much! I was actually interpreting it that coat was not as important, but was uncertain. 

I'm dying to get more hands on experience - I've only had two opportunities, and they were quite some time ago. I like to think I've learned a lot since then - I basically took across from my hands on experience that you should look for the same things in a horse with good conformation as a dog with good conformation. One dog I had the opportunity to go over had good pieces, but when you took them as a whole the pieces just didn't fit together - if that makes sense. It was like the symmetry to the structure was out of line... the parts of the dog while good on their own didn't fit together nicely. It was neat to compare that dog with great structure. I wish at the time I'd known more what I was supposed to really look at... I feel if I did the exact same thing with the breeder and these two dogs now I'd take away something very different. 

I really appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions! My gut was that it would be similar to showing horses or ponies in conformation - a thin tail can hurt the overall impression, but the actual structure and movement of the horse/pony is what REALLY matters, and the most weight is placed on with most judges.

Your answers were great! Thank you so much!


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## rappwizard (May 27, 2009)

My male golden retriever was neutered at about age 2 1/2; I don't know if that impacted his coat or not, but IMHO, although he had beautiful, abundant coat, it was not correct--it was on the silky side and if I was a judge, I would have penalized him accordingly.

Interestingly enough, although he was sold to me as a "pet quality" golden, when he was older, I showed him, and had him shown in veterans, and he did pretty well, defeating a local pointed golden that had years of experience in the show ring (my boy had very little experience in comparison). He also defeated, most of the time, my other golden, who had better structure overall, but just didn't have that joie de vive that you like to see.

Was coat the difference? I certainly don't think so. Was structure? I don't think so either--local breeders would put their hands on his shoulders and wince, they were so upright and straight. But he had an overall carriage and athleticism--call is symmetry. Would he have been competitive as a youngster? No, I don't think so, but it was fun to see his wins as an ol' boy and see him age so well.

I find it fascinating to go to a show, big or small, and watch the goldens and the judges and handlers. IMHO, the judge is the factor that determines who wins or loses, but there is a lot that handlers can do to present their dogs to their best advantage. Remember when presenting bitches--everyone is going through that "coat blowing phase" to various degrees--we're all having to deal with the same thing--so you just make your best decision, based on your dog, the judge, your goals for that show--and have fun!


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