# First Groom



## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

I did my best!
Before:
















After:
























(his ears were still a bit wet at the end)


----------



## LittleGoldenofthePrairie (Dec 14, 2021)

FinnTheFloof said:


> I did my best!
> Before:
> View attachment 888038
> 
> ...


Very nice


----------



## Emmdenn (Jun 5, 2018)

Great for your first groom! Practice makes perfect 😊


----------



## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

SouthernGurls said:


> Very nice


Thank you!


Emmdenn said:


> Great for your first groom! Practice makes perfect 😊


Thank you! I’m excited to get better- it’s too bad his fur will take so long to grow back!


----------



## LittleGoldenofthePrairie (Dec 14, 2021)

FinnTheFloof said:


> Thank you!
> 
> Thank you! I’m excited to get better- it’s too bad his fur will take so long to grow back!


Haha but he’s young it looks like so not as long as you might think!


----------



## Tagrenine (Aug 20, 2019)

The paw fur grows back way faster than you want it to 🤣


----------



## LittleGoldenofthePrairie (Dec 14, 2021)

Tagrenine said:


> The paw fur grows back way faster than you want it to 🤣


For real… my moms Golden has grinch feet for at least a few days a month during the winter😆


----------



## FurdogDad (Mar 30, 2021)

I thought you did a nice job as well. His feet turned out really good. I'm sure his fur will grow fast enough for you to get plenty of practice.


----------



## LucyNoble (Apr 10, 2021)

My little female looks incredibly like Finn and fur growth. You did an awesome job! My 2 cents is groom them often and get them used to you trimming/primping/clipping. I call them "Spa Treatments". LOL.


----------



## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

FurdogDad said:


> I thought you did a nice job as well. His feet turned out really good. I'm sure his fur will grow fast enough for you to get plenty of practice.


Thank you! I’m really happy with his feet, but his ears definitely turned out a little choppy- it's something to work on!


----------



## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

LucyNoble said:


> My little female looks incredibly like Finn and fur growth. You did an awesome job! My 2 cents is groom them often and get them used to you trimming/primping/clipping. I call them "Spa Treatments". LOL.


He's almost a year old right now- not much coat because he's not from a very good breeder. I wish I had done more with him when he was younger!! I just got this table and scissors for Christmas and he's been very tolerant so far. I'm going to try to do a lot with him now- it can't really make up for any socialization as a baby, but it will make life easier moving forward (I hope).


----------



## Howler (Feb 4, 2021)

FinnTheFloof said:


> He's almost a year old right now- not much coat because he's not from a very good breeder.


Yours looks an awful lot like mine. Why do you think yours lacks coat?


----------



## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

Howler said:


> Yours looks an awful lot like mine. Why do you think yours lacks coat?


Mine isn't from a good breeder. I haven't seen his parents, and the only dog in his pedigree that I have a picture of looks like this:








Not much coat. I think that my boy will probably grow more than he has already, but he won't have anything like the beautiful coats of dogs like this:


----------



## Howler (Feb 4, 2021)

Mine is KC registered, and he is 50% xanthos.co.uk

The Xanthos champion coats seem shorter than the Somerset Hills exemplar you have selected. It's just my opinion, but my view is that there is a limit to how much coat a Golden Retriever should have. They are a working breed, and a sport breed, optimised for retrieving large fallen prey in Scotland's wet hills where their legs will go knee deep in mud. Maybe I am just too novice to see the differences, and again just my opinion, but I don't see a lack of coat on yours.


----------



## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

Howler said:


> Mine is KC registered, and he is 50% xanthos.co.uk
> 
> The Xanthos champion coats seem shorter than the Somerset Hills exemplar you have selected. It's just my opinion, but my view is that there is a limit to how much coat a Golden Retriever should have. They are a working breed, and a sport breed, optimised for retrieving large fallen prey in Scotland's wet hills where their legs will go knee deep in mud. Maybe I am just too novice to see the differences, and again just my opinion, but I don't see a lack of coat on yours.


Mine is AKC registered- doesn't mean he's well bred. 
My dog also doesn't have the correct coat that would keep him safe from brambles and thorns and that dries and cleans easily, regardless of how much or how little he has. It is thin on his belly and legs, exactly the parts where he would be covered in mud. It's rough and tangley on his tail, which would be whipping through thorns and briars. Overall, he doesn't have enough coat on his body to keep him from being soaked through or scratched. I have met the dog in my example picture, and can attest to the fact that his coat would be able to all of the things that my dog's coat couldn't.


----------



## Howler (Feb 4, 2021)

FinnTheFloof said:


> Mine is AKC registered- doesn't mean he's well bred.
> My dog also doesn't have the correct coat that would keep him safe from brambles and thorns and that dries and cleans easily, regardless of how much or how little he has. It is thin on his belly and legs, exactly the parts where he would be covered in mud. It's rough and tangley on his tail, which would be whipping through thorns and briars. Overall, he doesn't have enough coat on his body to keep him from being soaked through or scratched. I have met the dog in my example picture, and can attest to the fact that his coat would be able to all of the things that my dog's coat couldn't.


Rightly or wrongly I will push back on your very interesting observation.

Mine has not heard a rifle, or been to Scotland, so I cannot attest to how he would cope as a working retriever. The closest mine comes to his origins is hunting rabbits in fields of oats, which is closer than a lot of pet goldens. When he runs in the fields he gets muddy all over, from above his nose to inside his groin, and he cleans himself.

The one thing he could not do is dry himself under his legs, because each time he licked they were made wet again. This was a real problem because sores developed in the pits of every arm - poor boy! 

Vets and groomers gave their varying advice, but what really helped was clipping the fur. His fur is now a lot thinner in those areas, air dries the skin no matter how often he licks it, and the sores are gone. I'm only suggesting that having a lot of long hair _all over_ might not be ideal.


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

FinnTheFloof said:


> Mine is AKC registered- doesn't mean he's well bred.
> My dog also doesn't have the correct coat that would keep him safe from brambles and thorns and that dries and cleans easily, regardless of how much or how little he has. It is thin on his belly and legs, exactly the parts where he would be covered in mud. It's rough and tangley on his tail, which would be whipping through thorns and briars. Overall, he doesn't have enough coat on his body to keep him from being soaked through or scratched. I have met the dog in my example picture, and can attest to the fact that his coat would be able to all of the things that my dog's coat couldn't.


He is also young. Many lines - the dogs do not grow thick coats until they are over a year old. 

Good start with the feet - don't forget to trim nails.


----------



## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

Megora said:


> He is also young. Many lines - the dogs do not grow thick coats until they are over a year old.


As much as I'd like him to have a big coat, I don't want to get my hopes up because he really doesn't have any trace of good lines in him- he's from a puppy mill and we got incredibly lucky to get such a stable, intelligent dog from such a bad source. He's in k9data if you'd like to see what I'm talking about- his registered name is Pond's Fast Fish . 


Megora said:


> Good start with the feet - don't forget to trim nails.


I have not forgotten, but am sort of at an impasse- he, for no reason that I understand (we've never cut them too short) hates getting his nails trimmed. He will take off if the clippers even come near his feet. I'd like to get a dremel, but my parents said no. I try to trim them when he is sleeping, sometimes, but it takes a lot more to fully konk him out lately and the sound of the clippers wakes him up, so I can only do one nail at once.


----------



## Emmdenn (Jun 5, 2018)

FinnTheFloof said:


> As much as I'd like him to have a big coat, I don't want to get my hopes up because he really doesn't have any trace of good lines in him- he's from a puppy mill and we got incredibly lucky to get such a stable, intelligent dog from such a bad source. He's in k9data if you'd like to see what I'm talking about- his registered name is Pond's Fast Fish .
> 
> I have not forgotten, but am sort of at an impasse- he, for no reason that I understand (we've never cut them too short) hates getting his nails trimmed. He will take off if the clippers even come near his feet. I'd like to get a dremel, but my parents said no. I try to trim them when he is sleeping, sometimes, but it takes a lot more to fully konk him out lately and the sound of the clippers wakes him up, so I can only do one nail at once.


Save up for a dremel! Not too expensive. Bought mine at Lowe’s. It’s the dremel lite.


----------



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I'm scared of dremels....  

Nail trimming without it being a full wrestle workout takes conditioning (ie release to praise and treat after every foot + keep trimming sessions short). 

I agree genetics and breeding makes a difference whether a dog has coat or not... sometimes. But most goldens will have coats. It just takes time.

The below is pictures of our first golden. He was a backyard bred boy with all field lines behind him. You could not have had a worse breeder for a variety of reasons, including the father/daughter bred litters, pups born outside and raised under the front porch, etc.... He's the reason why when I hear people recommend getting field lines because they won't have as much coat, I get all glazed over. He had a ton of coat even with a kidney problem and it only went bye bye when his remaining kidney started failing.


----------



## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

Megora said:


> Nail trimming without it being a full wrestle workout takes conditioning (ie release to praise and treat after every foot + keep trimming sessions short).


He was doing fine when he was a baby, and we did nail, treat, nail, treat, etc.
Then, about three months ago, a switch flipped and he won't let us clipped nails. No nicked quicks, nothing. I guess I could try but just having sessions where I hold the clippers, hold his paws, etc?


Megora said:


> I'm scared of dremels....
> 
> Nail trimming without it being a full wrestle workout takes conditioning (ie release to praise and treat after every foot + keep trimming sessions short).
> 
> ...


He is adorable.

Do kidneys effect coat? I don't know much about dog health, yet. 

I guess with Finn I just don't want to get my hopes up for a big froofy coat and be disappointed. He's never had very correct coat, though, even comparing to other dogs of his age.


----------



## Emmdenn (Jun 5, 2018)

FinnTheFloof said:


> He was doing fine when he was a baby, and we did nail, treat, nail, treat, etc.
> Then, about three months ago, a switch flipped and he won't let us clipped nails. No nicked quicks, nothing. I guess I could try but just having sessions where I hold the clippers, hold his paws, etc?
> 
> He is adorable.
> ...


I also find my dogs are WAY more cooperative on the table. With everything. Lots of treats and praise on the table and they get up there now no fuss and let me do whatever


----------



## FinnTheFloof (Jun 27, 2021)

Emmdenn said:


> I also find my dogs are WAY more cooperative on the table. With everything. Lots of treats and praise on the table and they get up there now no fuss and let me do whatever


He is skeptical of the table because it moved approximately 2 millimeters once so now it’s suspicious 
He’s getting one of his meals each day on the table, though (more if I’m feeling lazy) and I’ve been giving treats and praise the whole time


----------

