# summer hair cut?



## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

There are a few recent threads on this...look for a title that included the words "shaved golden".

It can help some dogs, esp older dogs, dogs with super crazy thick coats, and/or dogs with health issues that impact how well they regulate heat and/or coat type.

Many dogs it does not make a difference and can even be not-helpful. 

For the hot spots....a short clip could help, air could get to the area better. 

I would recommend getting your dog professionally bathed and dried, with you there to watch and see how it's done so you can in the future at home (...or if you just try yourself...wash 2-3 times, scrub REALLY well, rinsing completely between each wash.... and then dry every last hair). 

A fake-skirt clip might be a way to go, the hair on the belly is taken off....but only in the center, making her look 'normal' from the side.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Goldens should not be shaved. The double coat _insulates _them, protecting them from heat and cold, and shaving them exposes them to sunburn and greatly increases their risk of melanoma.

Dogs do not sweat through their skin. They release heat from panting, and through the pads of their feet. Shaving them will not keep them cooler.


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## Lilliam (Apr 28, 2010)

Actually I've always understood that hot spots are not heat related but rather are a result of insect bites, allergies, stress related self mutilation like licking or scratching, or an infected wound. I'm not sure why it's called a hot spot, but my impression is that it's not really heat related. 
I would suggest that you take her in to see if there isn't anything systemic...

I could be way off base here.....


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Lilliam said:


> Actually I've always understood that hot spots are not heat related but rather are a result of insect bites, allergies, stress related self mutilation like licking or scratching, or an infected wound. I'm not sure why it's called a hot spot, but my impression is that it's not really heat related.
> I would suggest that you take her in to see if there isn't anything systemic...
> 
> I could be way off base here.....


You are not at all. They are called "hot spots" because of how inflamed, red, and "hot looking" they are, and because they appear so quickly, and sting/itch.


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## hutch (Jun 17, 2010)

I wouldn't shave a golden but we use to clip our two a little shorter in the summer, made them easier to dry after swimming and easier to get the burrs out after running in the bush. Mine usually got hot spots from areas that were hard to dry like the neck under the ears (female had a thick curly coat in that area) and clipping her a little shorter in that area really helped avoid or lessen the hot spots.


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## susieq (Apr 23, 2010)

Hutch, thank you for the input. I have not shaved Tate but he does seems to have a hard time with the heat. After we go to the park for a walk.... now, in the heat of the South Texas Summer, I don't even leave the house till 7:30 or 8 pm, even a quick rump in the doggie park only last a few mins. He hasn't had any more hot spot so I am thinking it was stress related, he had a tough nutering about that time. I didn't know about the total drying effects, I was use to a towel drying with my short haired dogs, Boxers and Bullmastiffs. And I just thought since Golden are bird dogs and, what i thought anyway, good swimmers. Tate does not not seems to favior the water. The park is on a river and there's a spot to walk the dogs down to the water. Buster, my Boxer (past) would get a drink or swim a little but Tate doesn't even like to get his feet wet. All dogs are different and Tate is a really good boy. So Thank you again. All information is good information. Sue and Tate Monster


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## dogsportgirl01 (Jun 26, 2010)

Long and heavy coated dogs, including goldens of course, coats accually help keep them cooler. Of course they will still be hot but their coat protects them from the sun beating straight down on their back instead of just on their coat.


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## sneakypete (Aug 29, 2011)

hello friends! 

I didn't want to drown the forum with another thread and this one seems most appropriate from a short search I did. 

ok...question. why do we keep the coat on the breast, back of legs, belly, and tail longer? some of the show dogs have really long hair in these places and I see some that have been groomed a little shorter. 

is it ok to groom these parts a tad shorten than usually? It seems like it would be easier to keep clean.


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## aerolor (May 27, 2011)

Sorry I have messed this post up - please ignore.


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## aerolor (May 27, 2011)

Part of the physical attractiveness of a golden retriever is what is called the featherings or furnishings - i.e. the length of hair on the tail, chest, belly and legs. These areas do gather mud, so they do need a bit of a trim and tidying up, but it shouldn't be taken off. The hair from the hock down on the rear legs should be thinned/trimmed short, but the hair on the front legs is kept longer. I could never shave a golden. :no: The double coat insulates against heat and cold. As others have said shaving does not help keep the dog cool. A properly groomed golden retriever in full coat is a beautiful dog.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

sneakypete said:


> is it ok to groom these parts a tad shorten than usually? It seems like it would be easier to keep clean.


I would guess it depends on how much shorter you are talking about. 

I helped my sister groom our collie yesterday this after she'd been putting off doing a full grooming session for a couple months. My sister's not abusive, but sometimes we golden people get used to just having a dog breed with an easy coat that does NOT need to be brushed at least 3 times a week while he's blowing his coat in summer. It took two hours with two of us working together. 

While his outer coat is rough and fairly easy to get sorted out, the undercoat is soft and gets matted VERY EASY. And at this time of the year, the burrs that make it past his outer coat get hopelessly buried in the undercoat. 

^ I mainly sat down to get the burrs out of his ruff, but it turned into a huge job of picking mats out and removing dead hair. By the time we were done we had filled a medium size garbage can full of hair. <- And to put this in context, the first sign of spring is my horse blowing his coat. Using a shedding blade on him will remove a good mound of hair all at once. Last night we removed a bigger mound that that from one little collie. :bowl: 

And for what it's worth - thank God for baby powder, seam rippers, and baby oil. 

By comparision, my golden retriever takes about ten minutes to clean up after he's been chasing bunnies through the burr patch. He will come in the house absolutely GREEN from all of the burrs sticking to his coat. But they usually come right out after a quick spritz from the detangler as I brush through. I DO brush him at least once a week, but even if I didn't I doubt he'd get as bad as the collie. 

And I don't think it's the length so much as the coat texture which really makes deburring him an easier job. 

Our previous golden - Danny - had an extremely thick coat with RIDICULOUS feathering.  And even in his case it was mainly the texture that caused problems, not the length. The feathering around his ears were horrible for matting. It's why I trim all of that off my current guy's ears as a preemptive. 

That said the length and thickness of coat that my guy has right now is ideal. <- So I guess what I'm saying is I can see the sense in a light trim up if your dog has excessive coat.


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## sneakypete (Aug 29, 2011)

cool, thanks guys. 

I by no means would shave a golden or even cut the "featherings" or "furnishings" down the same length as the rest of the dog, but just making sure it would be ok to go a little shorter than I usually see. 

We are on the hunt for our first puppy. Went and played with the first litter yesterday. The puppies were great but I wasn't sold on the condition of the house, which made me a little leery to the quality of the breeding, so we walked away. it was pretty hard, but understand it's better not to rush the search.


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