golden retriever

I would look at her lineage...see what her ancestors look like...if possible, check with the breeder.  My two have a very long coat but both looked more like yellow labs as pups.  I can't remember when their coat really started to get long but I believe it was more than 5 months.

i can't look at her parents.  yes, she looks more like a yellow lab now.  i can't remember 12 years ago to my last golden as a puppy.  anyone else closer to puupyhood and remember?

The hair on the tail starts to "unwravel" about now, but do you have a field Golden, a show line Golden, or a BYB Golden?
 
Showlines have profuse coat, and at about a year things start to poof up (by two they've got a pretty nice full coat).  If your dog is field/byb lines the hair is going to be much more sparse and at a year basically what they've got is what they've got.

Do you have any pics to post?  If you'd like, I can post a couple of mine with coat length differences at different ages.  I'm headed out for the day but will be back this evening...if you'd like me to, just say the word. []

Funny because I have been kind of wondering the same thing. Before Maxine I never paid much attention to their coats. However, Maxine never lost her puppy fur (she is 10 1/2 now). She is so fluffy, and a very soft coat. The only "hard" hair she has is just on her back bone. Everyone I know thinks she is overweight because she is so poofed out. She is ALL undercoat.

Teddi has a VERY shiny coat, and is much more flat coated than I thought she would be as a pup. She was so curly and her puppy coat was so thick. I thought for sure she would have hair. Her parents seemed to be very thick coated. It was December when I saw them. Teddi is now 8 1/2 months, and she does not seem to have any undercoat. I wonder if she will get any.

It amazes me how different the coats on golden retreivers can be. I don't care how my girls coats turn out (as long as it is healthy). I just am wondering what it will be in the long run. My first golden when I was a child as she aged she got really thick long hair. Maxine is just seeming to start getting the fur on her feet. Only the past year have we had to trim her toes. However Teddi already has the tendency to furry feet. Never a dull moment!

interesting.  like someone said, it just started to look like her tail is unraveling.  but otherwise all her hair is flat. prob makes for less shedding.  shedding was terrible when we first got her when her coat was a little fluffy.  now it isn't bad at all.  wish i had a digital camera.  maybe for my bday in sept.

prob makes for less shedding

hah, nope xD
 
You've got at least a year-year and a half of waiting to see how the coat comes in.  At 5 months, she's still transitioning from puppy coat to adult.

ok thanks, just curious