Summer "Doo" for Goldens? (new doo pics added pg 2)

Dunno if this is the kind of thing you're looking for, but here is a girl I do every 8 weeks in a spaniel/setter style of clip.  The back is about 3/4".  I have another picture of a Golden I left about an inch all over, I'll post that picture here when I get the time.  You will probably get some negative feedback from folks who think clipping your Golden is wrong.  I agree that it's wrong, but I'm in a service industry.  People have me shave their dogs, or  they take them somewhere else.  They don't really care if cutting their dog's hair will actually make him hotter.

 

Thanks! Yes, I'd love to see the other photo you have. In this photo, what is happening with the pantaloons? ...same length as bib? I don't want the topline cut at all. The photo looks like the top has been cut.

Seeing through your groomer eyes, I can completely understand your perspective. I would hope that after a client has been bringing their dog to you for a while that they give your opinion more credence. My groomer friend will NOT clip, cut, or shave a dog that she disagrees with doing, and she's busy out in the boonies...and there are a number of groomers in the area. I admire you for doing what you need to do, as well as my friend for what she needs to do!

I've seen shaved Goldens and their owners claim that their dogs love it. I question that - and most of these people live on the water. With the coat being shaved, I worry about sunburn and other issues that come with being overexposed and under protected. I do know that with the shorter cut Willow had last year, she did love it.

I've been maintaining their coats for years, so cutting them shorter is NOT about me as much as people potentially will insist that it is...but each of us is entitled to our opinion especially on a public dog forum. Of course being flamed is the only reason I thought twice about posting my query. Willow and Oakley do not have the typical skin and coat problems that sometimes plague the breed and that it partly due to breeding and the other part is their excellent care.

With Willow especially, moisture likes to get trapped in her hair and skin. As I mentioned before she takes forever to dry - blow drying after each swim is not realistic and it should dry naturally anyway after a good toweling. She picks everything up in her coat, like velcro - leaves, branches, sticks, prickers, you name it, etc. Oakley's coat is completely different.

Note to readers: If I didn't want to maintain their coat - as is - then I wouldn't have the breed.

I am already feeling the need to defend myself here and so I am going to stop now.

Here are a couple photos of their current look. Not the best pic of Willow (her upper lip is caught, lol) but you can see the difference in her and Oakley's coat. I will post photos of their new summer cut...if I can find a style that I like.

Willow

Oakley

 

Well, I don't have a golden myself but I groomed for several years and have an idea that might work for your goldies.

Ask your groomer to use a snap on comb of the length you would prefer (I believe the longest comb leaves 2";).  This would not be a shave down, but it would definitely trim off the chest/tummy/leg/rear end feathering so that it will dry faster.  They won't look shaved either, just tidied up a bit. http://groomblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/golden-retriever-summer-cut.html  Here is a friend of mine's blog.  This is what I was thinking might work for you.

I wanna see pics if you do!!

 

Oh, and don't feel the need to defend yourself... if your dogs are going to spend a lot of time in the water, I'd clean up the long hair anyway, so they'll dry faster and be less likely to develop those nasty summer skin infections.

TAOofGoldyShep

Thanks! Yes, I'd love to see the other photo you have. In this photo, what is happening with the pantaloons? ...same length as bib? I don't want the topline cut at all. The photo looks like the top has been cut.

The pantaloons were cut off completely by another groomer.  Probably the reason they started coming to me, though I suppose there is a possibility they were mattted.  They look pretty "normal" now, this picture is at least 6 months old now.  I  just do some light trimming/shaping on them now.  And yes,  as I said above, the back has been clippered with an attatchment comb in reverse to leave about 3/4". 

 I'm getting confused, do you just want their furnishings trimmed up, or do you want one length all over?  LOL, I'm kind of getting mixed messages.

Shamrock, you KNOW Barbra Bird personally?  Total coolness!  I visit her world-famous blog often.  Very educational!

Thanks, shamrockmommy! ...I will check out the link. Will definitely post pics.

willgroom4chocolate

I'm getting confused, do you just want their furnishings trimmed up, or do you want one length all over?  LOL, I'm kind of getting mixed messages.

Sorry for the confusion. I'm not sure if I want it all to be the same length or what...this is why my hope is to see a variety of photos/style options and hear suggestions, lol. The only thing I am certain of is that I don't want the length on their topline cut...so, if it were to all be one length, it would at the very least be the same length as what they already have there.

I greatly appreciate the input.

 I'd trim them down, for sure. They're gorgeous, but that's a lot to deal with, getting wet. Drying faster means less liklihood of hot spots and other nasties.

 

My favorite Golden gets a very similar haircut to the one WillGroom posted. His mom just LOVES it. I use a clipper comb on his back, and heavily scissor his feathering. He gets to keep his undercoat and protection. I've also clipper combed entire dogs, which makes them look like puppies. Very cute, and comfortable.

first off, your goldens are gorgous. so from that standpoint, id hate to see you do anything to them, b/c as a groomer, i rarely see goldens that pretty. i share the veiw of many who believe that these dogs, and many others, should not get haircuts beyond scissor trimming. owners believe their dog is hot, but it isnt true. if your dog is brushed out and has his undercoat blown out, then the dog will be cooler than if he ever got a haircut. its a fact, and if your dog seems cooler it is b/c the dog had impacted undercoat.

 im glad that you dont want to shave these dogs, but i am a little scared that if you were to take the dogs to any groomer but the one you mentioned, that they will misunderstand you and you will end up with a shaved dog. many groomers are not skilled enough to make a golden look good with any blade other than a #7 which only leaves an 1/8 in of hair on the dog. your instrustions are a little more than confusing.

 

from what i am gathering, you want the coat to not be clipped at all, just the feathering trimmed down (feathering would be the pantaloons, leg feathers, chest and stomach if needed, and paw trimming) it would be considered an outline trim by most groomers, and i think is what you want. they can trim as much of it off as you want, without putting a clipper to the coat. you will also get to keep the golden look, and not risk any overheating, sunburning, or the coat taking a while to grow back. as far as you dogs being cool enough, i will urge to look past the shorter coat=cooler dog theory. get the dog groomed, with a coat blow out, ever 4-6 weeks and keep up with the brushing, and you dogs will be fine.

 also you mention your girl gets infections and such, and a hair cut wont really help you with that. that has to do with the hair being wet and staying that way for a long time. either your dog is seriously always swimming, or not drying entirely every day. so even with shorter hair, you should still completely dry your dog everyday it gets wet. i know its a burden. i work at a kennel, in the summer all the dog get hosed off when its hot, but we have to hand dry every single one every night so they dont get hot spots. just warning you that the infections arent necessarily due to longer hair, but the dog having wet hair. even labs will get the same thing and they have much shorter hair.

jennie_c_d: thanks for your input!

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lvdgs24

first off, your goldens are gorgous. so from that standpoint, id hate to see you do anything to them, b/c as a groomer, i rarely see goldens that pretty.

Thank you very much. They look like this each and every day. Most people assume they have always just come from being professionally groomed, in actuality though it's just daily grooming and care by me and my husband.

And, these dogs are active. They don't sit around and look pretty all day long. We live out in the woods - they like to play and romp with each other, roll in & run through the grass/dirt/mud/muck/horse pucky/prickers/you name it. Maintaining their coat condition is my second job! LOL

Not all Goldens have the length of coat my two have.

lvdgs24

...many groomers are not skilled enough to make a golden look good with any blade other than a #7 which only leaves an 1/8 in of hair on the dog. your instrustions are a little more than confusing.

I haven't actually given any instructions here. But I don't know groomer language for the tools you use...so, in that regard, there definitely can be confusion with the language. Clipper, shaving, #7, etc is a foreign language to me. I do understand scissoring. There are only two things that I am certain of at this point: I don't want the top line trimmed or cut at all and I don't want their feathering/furnishings/pantaloons/bibs/etc cut too short. I would like them to be a little shorter than my friend cut last year. She would prefer me to bring her a photo. I trust my friend...however, my other choice is to find a groomer that specializes in Goldens (which I really don't want to do). They get their ears and paws trimmed by us regularly.

lvdgs24

from what i am gathering, you want the coat to not be clipped at all, just the feathering trimmed down (feathering would be the pantaloons, leg feathers, chest and stomach if needed, and paw trimming) it would be considered an outline trim by most groomers, and i think is what you want. they can trim as much of it off as you want, without putting a clipper to the coat. you will also get to keep the golden look, and not risk any overheating, sunburning, or the coat taking a while to grow back.

Yes, you are correct. And thank you, this is great info.

lvdgs24

also you mention your girl gets infections and such, and a hair cut wont really help you with that. that has to do with the hair being wet and staying that way for a long time. either your dog is seriously always swimming, or not drying entirely every day. so even with shorter hair, you should still completely dry your dog everyday it gets wet. i know its a burden.

In 7 years, Willow has had only one problem. Last year from swimming in the lake. She had an allergic reaction to a bacteria in the lake. Neither of our Goldens get hot spots. After any kind of swimming - ocean or lake - they get rinsed well when we get home and then completely towel dried, and brushed. We usually hang around outside until they are pretty much dry, after the toweling.

lvdgs24

...but we have to hand dry every single one every night so they dont get hot spots. just warning you that the infections arent necessarily due to longer hair, but the dog having wet hair. even labs will get the same thing and they have much shorter hair.

I agree, and this is exactly what we do. Mats get nipped in the bud due to daily brushing and going over the coat with my hands. Towel drying is not a problem. At times, toweling is not enough with Willow. A blow dryer after each swim and rinse is just not practical.

shamrockmommy: Thanks again for the photo and info link! The cut shown is shorter than I want to go.

I'm thinking now - after all of the excellent input I'm getting here - is just to take the "normal trimming" of the furnishings up a level that would be considered more than a trim. So for description & instruction purposes that would be considered all scissoring, correct? No shaving, or clipping.

From your description, I'd clip the pads and sanitary (because I always do that, unless someone specifically requests that I don't), then take just a bit off of the feathering. You can tell the groomer exactly how much you want off. I tend to be a bit conservative, because I can take more off, but can't put hair back on.

jennie_c_d

I tend to be a bit conservative, because I can take more off, but can't put hair back on.

Whoa, you can't stick hair back on a dog, and you call yourself a groomer?  You better get your little butt back to grooming school!

I know, I know. I've not quite mastered that art, LOL. If I had, I might turn Ena into a Puff! 

Goldies are going in for their summer trim next Friday. I will post pics! Hopefully, I can get my ideas across correctly...and then you won't be subjected to seeing a pic of me bawling! I have faith...that with the help and language you ALL have given me, it will be fine.