The golden retriever requires the right grooming to keep its double coat healthy, shiny, and mat-free. But a golden retriever’s grooming needs are often overlooked by the family that is so focused on the cuteness of a fluffy puppy. It is important to learn how to groom your golden retriever from the moment they come home with you.
The truth is that golden retrievers do require daily grooming. This includes brushing and combing everyday or at least 3 times a week. Creating a grooming routine with your dog is vital to keeping their coat mat-free! Matting is the number one grooming problem that golden retriever owners encounter.
Matted fur does not only look bad, but it is very painful for golden retrievers. If not removed, it can also cause other health issues including discomfort, skin disorder, flea infestation, mites, worms, and other parasites. And severe matting usually leads to a shave-down right to the skin.
Brushing on a regular basis also gets rid of loose fur and debris. Plus, it helps reduce the amount of loose hair around your house specially when they are blowing their coat, which happens twice a year.
TOP 3 BRUSHES EVERY GOLDEN RETRIEVER OWNER SHOULD HAVE
Before brushing and combing your golden retriever, you need the right grooming tools. Using the wrong tool can actually cause a lot of damage to your dog’s coat. These are the top three tools that should be used on a golden retriever’s coat.
1. An Undercoat Rake / Deshedding and Dematting Tool
The undercoat rake is perfect for grooming your dog’s undercoat where all the mats and tangles occur. This rake is also great at getting out dead fur and all that loose hair especially if your dog has a thicker coat.
The Freshly Bailey Dual Undercoat Rake is a fantastic option. The side with less teeth is designed to remove mats, tangles, and debris. It effectively gets rid of mats and knots without hurting your dog’s coat or skin. The side with more teeth is perfect for deshedding and removing all dead and loose hair that usually ends up all around the house and all over our clothes. It saves lots of time on grooming and gets a ton of hair out with each stroke.
*Quick tip: when brushing with the side with less teeth, use short and gentle strokes on your fur baby and work on one mat at a time ;).
2. A High Quality Slicker Brush
The slicker brush is the number one dog brush recommended by grooming professionals for golden retrievers. It is actually the type of brush you want to start with when grooming your dog because it helps break up any knots and prevents matting.
We love recommending the Self Cleaning Slicker Brush because it is very easy to use, super effective, and easy to clean and maintain at the same time. It is always important to keep the bristles of a slicker brush from bending or getting damaged as this can cause skin irritation, pain, and discomfort.
What we love about this brush is that you can brush your dog, and then just click and clean the brush. The bristles retract when you click so they are kept from being damaged. And your brush can be stored and ready for your next brushing session.
3. A Metal Comb
A metal comb should be used after you have brushed your retriever thoroughly with the slicker brush and undercoat rake. The end result should be the ability to get the comb from the root to the tip of the hair.
We like the Dual-length Dog Metal Comb. It is the perfect comb to add the finishing touch to your dog’s coat. It has long and short stainless steel teeth to quickly and painlessly remove any remaining tangles or knots. Its rounded head pins keep your golden retriever’s skin from getting scratched. And the anti-slip handle protects your dog from any slippery accidents.
HOW TO PROPERLY BRUSH A GOLDEN RETRIEVER AND PREVENT MATTING
Common Mistake #1: UNBRUSHED HAIR + WATER = MATS
ALWAYS brush your dog’s hair before giving them a bath. If you bathe your dog's matted hair without detangling it, it will just get worse! Brush, bathe, and wait for the fur to dry, and then brush it again. Do not brush a wet coat.
SHEDDING SEASON GROOMING
Shedding season for golden retrievers occurs twice a year, which is when they "blow their coat". They get rid of their old undercoat in preparation for the upcoming season. We highly recommend grooming with the Undercoat Deshedding Grooming tool. Use the the 9-rounded-teeth side first to remove any matting or tangles (use short strokes). When done, proceed to use the 17-rounded-teeth side to begin deshedding and thinning out your dog's coat. You won't believe how much hair will come out!
YEAR-ROUND BRUSHING ROUTINE
1. LINE BRUSH YOUR DOG FOR BEST RESULTS: Grab your slicker brush to brush your dog’s hair. Do not just brush the top of the coat as this does not really do anything to prevent matting. Start at the bottom of the coat, grab a handful of hair, and brush a line of fur away. You should be able to see the skin. As you go, brush the hair down making sure that with each line you get right to the skin. Do not drag the brush across the dog’s skin, but do a pull-away type of stroke. Move up as you go along, and make sure you brush your dog’s entire coat. Don’t forget about the tail and armpits.
If you have the self-cleaning slicker brush, just click, clean, and store when finished. Otherwise, make sure the bristles are thoroughly cleaned.
2. USE THE UNDERCOAT RAKE for areas that are really matted or tangled. Use the wider-tooth side and short strokes for mats, and the side with narrow teeth to deshed and remove dead fur. The undercoat rake will save you tons of time when grooming your dog. It also creates a massaging effect that dogs tend to love.
3. FINISH WITH A METAL COMB: After brushing with the slicker brush, take your metal comb, and comb your dog’s coat thoroughly until the comb moves easily through the hair. If the comb gets stuck in any particular section, go back and brush out the tangle with the slicker brush.
4. CONSISTENCY: Create a positive grooming routine and make sure you brush and comb your golden retriever at least 3 times per week.
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