# What to Ask Groomer



## goldieforme (Aug 18, 2019)

My boy just turned 1 at the end of May. I took him to the groomers to get his nails trimmed and grinch feet trimmed when he was a puppy to get him used to it, that’s it. Once he hit around 5-6 months, he was somewhat used to it and I am able to do it at home now. I also bathe him at home (every 1-3 months, depending on what we do) and have a good dog dryer. He’s well brushed, no mat’s behind ears, ears kept cleaned and dry. I just don’t know how to trim anything else besides his feet.

I would like to make an appointment to get him trimmed up in other areas. What do you guys ask for when going to the groomers? Definitely telling them *NO* shaving him *AT ALL *(I know some people do, I just am not), but what areas should I ask to be trimmed lightly? Trim his feathers, butt, ears and sanitary trim maybe? I’m not sure. I love his feathers one his legs, but I see some people cut them short and some don’t?

I appreciate the help in advance!


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## DevWind (Nov 7, 2016)

I used to have a poodle. Ask around and see who other people use. My dog was always happy and pranced around after being groomed. I was often told that I gave him a girl cut, but he liked it. One time, after I moved, I took him to a groomer closer to my new house. He came out crouching with his tail tucked. I asked them what happened and they said nothing. He never went back. Pay close attention to how your dog acts when you pick him up!


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

Most groomers... in DFW TX anyway, have no idea how to groom a golden. See if this video helps, the only thing that needs to be done is thinning shears to lesson the bulk/long hair on ears and behind them. Feet which you have that covered, and length of tail so it doesn't drag the floor  A show quality groom of course is more detailed but to maintain a neat and tidy appearance this about covers it. LOL easier said than done but with practice you will do great. I do nails and clean out ears every week... much easier than waiting months.








Grooming Your Golden by Joanne Lastoka - Golden Retriever Club of America


“Grooming Your Golden” by Morningsage Goldens Photos and Text – Joanne Lastoka Jan. 18, 2001 GRCA would like to thank Joanne Lastoka for donation of these pages on Golden Retriever grooming. The tutorial for grooming the ears, tail and shoulders and one for grooming feet are all on this page...




grca.org


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## jdavisryan (Jan 28, 2018)

Maybe your local breed club can recommend an experienced groomer? I agree that some groomers don’t know how to groom Golden’s, and tend to be heavy-handed, using clippers, shaving areas that should be thinned, etc. After a few bad (and expensive) experiences with our previous Goldens I invested in straight and thinning shears, studied a few articles and online videos, and learned to keep the dogs tidy myself. A grooming table saves my back and I’m upgrading my dryer soon. I really enjoy grooming and people frequently comment on how nice our dog looks. If you’re already doing his feet I bet you can learn to thin around the ears with no problem.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Whether you trim your dog yourself (make sure you have good tools to do that) or having a groomer do it, ideally you want to find a groomer who knows the breed and can show you examples of how they have trimmed goldens before. Go through your breed clubs to see who is grooming in your area. Many pro handlers (dog show people) are groomers when they aren't showing. You just have to track down which shops they are grooming at.

Make sure they bathe and blow out your dog first. Most family pets desperately need baths and blow dries more than anything else. I don't think the owners realize how dirty the dogs are.....

The below is not just a show trim - it is basically how goldens should be trimmed. This is not a poodle breed. You do not need to touch the body coat AT ALL. No clippers are needed or should be used on this breed.

The areas where goldens DO need trimming are numbered below.










1. Trim as needed. If your 12 month old's feathers are still baby feathers, DON'T TOUCH.
2. Feet trim tightly around - but NOT BETWEEN TOES. Lightly shaped.
3. Neck in front and on sides (under/behind ears) - strip out bulk. This does not mean remove "bib". You just want to debulk.
4. Ears - remove any shag growing on the ears or behind/under ears with stripper, thinning shears, stripping knife. Trim edge of ear so clean line.
5. Neaten hocks - as needed. Same as front leg feathers, might not be much there at 12 months old.
6. Trim tail to point of hock (typically about 2 fingers length from end of tail bone, very light neatening up for natural look) - like with feathers, some 12 month olds have a LOT of feathers growing off their tails, others like mine just have baby stuff that just needs length twisted and trimmed for quick and neatened appearance.

THE BELOW ARE JUST HIGHLIGHTS on areas that typically need trimming. Not all goldens need much trimming in these areas when they are younger than 2-3 years old. Some do. Depends on the breeding + also depends on whether the dogs are neutered as well.




TAILS -

The below shows the tail on the same dog. This is just length trimmed off the end and then feathers lightly neatened up for "fan" shape.










EARS -

The below are trimmed ears.

If I were showing right now, I'd probably go back over the ears with a stripping knife to remove more fuzzies.

As you can see, I leave just a little fuzz on the ears for a natural look. If I were showing him right now, I would want that smoother. For regular family pets around the house, you want to thin out the bulk (remove as much as possible) and neaten up. No need to overfuss.










This is the closest I could come to quickly finding an untrimmed ear pic from one of my dogs. This is the dad of the above pup when he was about 7-8 months old. You can see how shaggy the ears can get if not trimmed. The above pup definitely would have that much shag if I did not touch up every 2-3 weeks.











NECKS -

Untrimmed neck example below on a young dog (about 20 months old).

As you can see, this dog did not grow much "grinch" fuzzies on his feet, but made up for it with too much shag on his neck, chest, and even leg feathers.

If I still had this dog today, I would have attacked him with a mars stripper to get all that bulk out. Not trimming the feathers SHORTER, but removing bulk. Leg feathers would have been brushed straight down and trimmed.










The below shows a "just groomed" neck/shoulders on my 12 month old.










FEET AND FEATHERS

The below shows trimmed feathers on the above pup's dad when he was about 23 months old.

The feathers had the length trimmed and that was about it. Hocks were also trimmed (and left "natural").










The below shows how feet should look. This is just trimming the thick stuff under the feet and then trimming around each foot and then lightly shaping the tops. Going for rounded/cat feet look.

Again, you see see my baby doesn't have much hock hair yet (thank God). Some dogs might. You just trim so there's about 1/2-1" length of hock and straight line up and down from top of hock down to back of the pad.

Somebody told me to think of "pillars" while shaping the hocks. But I don't think you need to get too fussy when trimming a family pet. You just want to trim off excess length - if your dog has excess length.


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## goldieforme (Aug 18, 2019)

Megora said:


> Whether you trim your dog yourself (make sure you have good tools to do that) or having a groomer do it, ideally you want to find a groomer who knows the breed and can show you examples of how they have trimmed goldens before. Go through your breed clubs to see who is grooming in your area. Many pro handlers (dog show people) are groomers when they aren't showing. You just have to track down which shops they are grooming at.
> 
> Make sure they bathe and blow out your dog first. Most family pets desperately need baths and blow dries more than anything else. I don't think the owners realize how dirty the dogs are.....
> 
> ...





Megora said:


> Whether you trim your dog yourself (make sure you have good tools to do that) or having a groomer do it, ideally you want to find a groomer who knows the breed and can show you examples of how they have trimmed goldens before. Go through your breed clubs to see who is grooming in your area. Many pro handlers (dog show people) are groomers when they aren't showing. You just have to track down which shops they are grooming at.
> 
> Make sure they bathe and blow out your dog first. Most family pets desperately need baths and blow dries more than anything else. I don't think the owners realize how dirty the dogs are.....
> 
> ...





Megora said:


> Whether you trim your dog yourself (make sure you have good tools to do that) or having a groomer do it, ideally you want to find a groomer who knows the breed and can show you examples of how they have trimmed goldens before. Go through your breed clubs to see who is grooming in your area. Many pro handlers (dog show people) are groomers when they aren't showing. You just have to track down which shops they are grooming at.
> 
> Make sure they bathe and blow out your dog first. Most family pets desperately need baths and blow dries more than anything else. I don't think the owners realize how dirty the dogs are.....
> 
> ...






Thank you so much for this! This was super helpful! Screen shotting it all and saving! 😄🐾


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## Jmcarp83 (May 4, 2018)

I am starting to groom in between my groomer because it is expensive to me. I just had both girls done and with tax...275.

And when their breeder, who’s also a groomer, asked how much I pay...she said it’s a good price.

I’ve looked at almost every groomer around here and none of the goldens look right. Now, maybe those owners aren’t fussy but it’s consistently the same cut on every golden. or lack of one.


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