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

 Robin,

I was thinking, maybe you could write down a list of exactly what you want done and give it to the groomer.  I know that when people drop off their dogs sometimes they forget to talk about an important area.  Even better get some pics of you dogs and point out (in writing) on the picture how long you want the hair in each area.  Give the list or picture to the groomer when you leave so they have it in writing also.

Your Goldens are beautiful and they have show coats in their natural state, but remember, that show coats are trimmed (the furnishings) for the show ring to achieve the looked called for in the standard.  And it is the coat called for in the standard, which is shorter than your pups' coats that are the functional coats made to go in the water all the time.

 My previous Golden Dexy, had an excessive thick and open coat.  I kept his furnishing clipped relatively short since he swam twice a day at least 8 months of the year.  He looked great in his shorter do!  Like your dogs, I was very lucky that he never got hot spots, but was seldom dry.  Do what you need to do keep them happy.  By the way, my current girl Selli has a correct coat (although as one CCA evaluator stated, a working coat), and it is so much different.  I only have to brush her like once every other week.

Oakley's coat obviously needs brushing and proper care but Willow's coat is a challenge. She tolerates grooming where Oakley and our longhaired Shepherd absolutely love it. Oakley and Myrika have undercoats, too but their coats are much more thick and coarse - they stand in line to be groomed. I think Willow's coat is fine (although she has a lot of it!) and her skin is sensitive...her hair tangles so quickly. And, this group is always mouthing each other and tackling each other outside...Willow brings the outdoors in with her, lol...even if she's been trimmed.

When the Goldies swim, their coat floats up like a flotation device...so, I'm concerned about how the shorter cut will affect them during swimming.

Thanks again and for your kind compliments on them, as well.

 I always thought my Dexy's coat helped him swim because he seemed to be especially buoyant, he could float like no other dog I knew.

One other suggestion is to get the hair clipped close beneath and under the ears.  It helps with preventing ear infections because it increases the air flow into the ears and if it done right, you do not notice any difference in the look of the ear.

Enjoy the summer! 

willgroom4chocolate

 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.

Ok, please repeat that to me 3 or 4 times and make me believe it!  LOL!  I just spent 2 hours bathing and brushing out Indie (Woobie took less than 20 minutes!   ) and I was mightily tempted during that time to consider a clip.  I love, love, love his long fur, but the guy is an UNDERCOAT MACHINE!!!  I brush him out frequently with a pin brush to keep down the mats but his rear end is so thick and so long that he has a hard time keeping the poops off of it.  Due to his hip dysplasia, he squats in a way that has his bloomers and his tail practically laying on the ground.  It tends to get stinky pretty quick.  I've thought about thinning it out and making it a bit shorter or having a sanitary trim done to keep his belly cool and less hair around his bum, but I hate to admit, I like how thick and fluffy he is.

So I guess I have to just keep on line brushing......    I filled a bucket with undercoat today and that didn't include all the stuff I got out with the undercoat rake while he was full of conditioner.  Now that he's dry, I estimate there's still another bucketful trapped in there that needs more combing and brushing to get out!  I'm taking him to a groom 'em yourself shop and giving the forced air dryers a try to get out more undercoat.

Robin, I was thinking, at my friend's salon, we used to leave the "look", but have less work during summer.  My friend showed me how to use thinning sheers under the coat -  shears facing up, under the outer coat, so no choppiness visible.  Just a quick snip, then brush through so that part of the undercoat was thinned and came out..  Hard to describe without showing you, but it left all the long luxurious guard hairs intact (which is the part that never seems the same once you shave it), just thinned the undercoat.  Then, we would trim the "dreadlocks" behind the ears and just neaten up here and there, plus the feet.   Without a bulky undercoat the dogs still looked beautiful, but dried lots faster and still looked like Goldens, and not Chows-))

GoldenAC

One other suggestion is to get the hair clipped close beneath and under the ears. It helps with preventing ear infections because it increases the air flow into the ears and if it done right, you do not notice any difference in the look of the ear.

Enjoy the summer!

spiritdogs

My friend showed me how to use thinning sheers under the coat -  shears facing up, under the outer coat, so no choppiness visible.  Just a quick snip, then brush through so that part of the undercoat was thinned and came out..

Ah yes, the Dreadlocks, lol. They sport what we call their Rasta-doo! It can get matted easily and quickly behind the ears - aside from trimming & thinning, daily brushing really helps. A little humidity in the air and they are frizz central. We've actually had people ask us if we curl/crimp the hair behind the ears! Noooooo, we do not, lol.

TAOofGoldyShep

We've actually had people ask us if we curl/crimp the hair behind the ears! Noooooo, we do not, lol.

  I get this same question about Woobie!!!  If he gets slimed by a dog, the fur around his ears gets all ziggy zaggy and people have asked if I did it on purpose!  I'm thinking "It's wet!  Think I'm hiding a crimping iron here in my pants???"  LOL!

They both appear to really like it. Willow was running around as soon as she got off of the groom table. Oakley was racing around (and chasing Myrika) after we got home from swimming which he normally doesn't do.

Willow

Oakley

The Bums (Willow on left)

Willow Bum

Oakley Bum

Awww, they look purdy!!!  Not too short but nice and neat.  Looks very comfy.  What did you ask the groomer for?  I wonder if this would be a good length for Indie.  I'm still on the fence about trying to use the thinning shears on his rear and tail by myself.  I did trim a little around his bum and that seems to have helped alot with the poop butt situation, but he sure did not like it, freaked out a bit about the scissors, so I had to take it very slow.  Not sure a groomer would have that sort of patience or how he would react, I don't know that he's ever been formally groomed.   

BCMixs

Not sure a groomer would have that sort of patience or how he would react, I don't know that he's ever been formally groomed.   

LOL, I'm sure the groomer has seen worse. Whatever you've got, the groomer (unless his name is Jonathan) has seen worse

They look GREAT! That's what I refer to as a "short Golden trim", buuuuut that's definitely not universal. Definitely. Not. It's just what it is, in my head In my head and in the real world are two, totally different places.

 LOL!  That's true.  I could always leave a bag of yogurt drops and tell them it's the way to his heart! 

Doh! Wow, I'm not the brightest bulb in the chandelier am I?  I'll just print those pics and say "I want that".  Geez, what a numbskull!   

jennie_c_d

LOL, I'm sure the groomer has seen worse. Whatever you've got, the groomer (unless his name is Jonathan) has seen worse

BCMixs

What did you ask the groomer for? 

I love Willow & Oakley's coat though, especially the way the breeze blows through it - just breathtaking at times.