Any Golden Retriever experts?

[TheCrenchinglyMcQuaffenBrothers]

We’ve just adopted a gorgeous Golden Retriever, came home on Sunday.

We’ve had a lot of dogs but never a Golden. So any experts on GRs here who can tell me the best way to care for his coat? He’s been in rescue a while and brushed often but maybe not as often as needed, so want to start off correctly to keep him healthy and looking his best. I’ve googled best brushes and there’s lots of ‘stripping’ anti shedding brushes recommended, but is that too harsh? He’s definitely leaving more hair around the house than my three Labradors put together!

He’s only four but he’s a massive porker bless him, bad diet and lack of exercise but we’ve dealt with that before so I’m confident we can get him in shape fairly easily. Good diet will help improve the smell a bit I expect (he does pong bless him). But I imagine good grooming will also help. Don’t worry I’m not expecting him to ever be smell free! So any good recommendations?

(obligatory photo!)

No advice, just thanks for the photo of a lovely GR. Very fond of the breed thanks to a neighbour's dog when I was a child.

Ha ha editing to add I do remember him being quite stinky!

You do need the harsher looking brushes to get through the top coat and get rid of the fluffier stuff underneath.

If he's not spooked by the hoover / noise, you can get ones that attach to the hoover hose - never tried as our golden would be terrified!

Don't clip their coat. If you are going to get him groomed professionally at all make sure they aren't going to clip it. They can use the blower things to try to get at the fluffy undercoat and they can trim around their toes, shape the tail and the feathery bits on the back of the legs, but that's about it.

They never stop shedding though, no matter what you do. Prepare yourself to live in a fluffy house!

Do not get him groomed as they destroy the double coat.

That's not a goldie it's a bear in disguise!
He looks gorgeous, what a boy!
Skinners join aid and hypoallergenic dog food, keeps my doggo from ponging, also gives her a super glossy coat. (She's a lab, but absolutely honks on some food).
My last goldie I used a soft bristled brush, then followed by a brush suitable for double coated dogs.

Omg he's gorgeous 😍. I have a 5 year old Goldie and use a wide tooth comb. He hates it. We brush a little bit of him each day until he's had enough. Never had him groomed and never used a stripping brush either. The only bit I've ever had trouble with is the back end when his food hasn't agreed with him 🤢💩. He then gets a bum wash and brush 😅. The things we have to do!

Hope you have a good hoover, I'm on my 3rd in 5 years 😀

Ohh the poor thing (I have a really big place in my heats for GRs) - so chubby! So glad you're going to give him a better life, OP!

FWIW I use a Furminator and https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08JHTC1LY/ref=ppxyodtbsearchasintitle?ie=UTF8&th=1

My Golden loves the linked one - Candure dematting comb for anyone not wanting to follow strange links! When I pick it up he literally runs to the back garden and takes up position ready to be groomed. You need to take care on the spine/legs (the spikes are sharp) but on chest and the scruffy trousers it works magic.

Omg what a gorgeous chunky boy, I’m so glad he’s found you.

I agree with pp about the Candure - it’s bloody brilliant. Start small with loads of treats that work with his diet and he’ll soon be begging to be brushed.

Please post updates!

Yup, as already mentioned,'fulminator.'

As you probably know, unlike labs, their coats take awhile to dry - we'd always keep a few micro towels in the car as they would always like a roll in the mud which I'm not sure if it's specific to the breed?

Thanks everyone! Ok will get a decent brush for him. Luckily he absolutely loves to be brushed, he lays down and lifts his front legs up one at a time so you can get to his ‘armpits’! I’m prepared for the shedding - as mentioned I had three Labs at the same time once, but he’s going to out fur them, that’s clear! He’d only been home a matter of hours and I’d ordered a Miele Cat and Dog Hoover 😂.
He’s such a good boy, he’s never lived in a house before but he’s making up for lost time by using every room, no concept of stairs though, never seen them before! He just wants love and cuddles all the time, he plonks himself right in front of you and stares in to your eyes (even when right in front of you is the large hole you’ve just dug in the garden to plant the flowers you’ve just bought). He’s a real character 🥰

He's found a beautiful home with very loving owners that's for sure 🤗

We use a furminator too

Three furminator!

He’s beautiful! They are such wonderful dogs, enjoy him!

Mine loves to be brushed too and we have a cuddle and brush session most evenings. I just use a normal dog slicker brush. We do have something similar to the furminstor but I think it’s quite harsh and not needed. However goldies can have quite different coats - our boy is not as curly and woolly as some.

I also recently found a double-headed brush that has one side with dense soft bristles, and it’s really good for when his floofy bits are a bit tuggy. In wet weather/winter his leg fringes and underbelly can get a bit tangled and the soft brush is more gentle and effective than the slicker.

We get lots of comments on his coat (he’s both fluffy and shiny) and I think it’s a mixture of genetics, grooming and diet. He is fed a mixture of raw meat, fresh vegetables and some kibble and I do think it made a difference to his coat. He also gets a gut health supplement sprinkled on top.

Regular brushing definitely helps minimise the smell and regular vacuuming keeps the carpets under control (relatively speaking).

Im so happy you’ve given him a home and he’s going to get love and comfort ❤️

He's a beauty and so lucky that you've taken him on.

Oh he is really beautiful! What is his name?

I've not tried it myself but Bugalugs do a dentangling spray which might help with the knotty bits!

Oh what a lovely toasty boy.

My heart is aching thinking he's never lived in a house before 🥹.

Do you know much of his history.

I'll give my palest cream girl extra hugs tonight thinking of your boy.

Thank you for rescuing him, you're a true angel.

Also get a lefant robot hoover and laugh hollowly when you read the instructions that the bin will need emptying every three days 😜 xx

OMG! The Furminator is brilliant. Arrived today and DD spent ages on him, it’s like magic, he’s all smooth and soft now and smells lovely. That is possibly because he decided that whilst I was cutting the grass today, he was going to flatten my lavender and rosemary by lying in it. 😂 There was literally a black bin bag full of hair!

He’s called Ziggy. He’s adorable 🥰

Be wary of furminator and similar, they can be far too harsh on goldens coats!! If huge amounts of fur is coming out then that is showing you are basically stripping their undercoat too much! People often mistakenly believe thinning the coat will help dogs keep cool in summer when in actual fact the undercoat help insulates from heat so by stripping the undercoat too much you are taking away their barrier.
A wider toothed rake style comb is so much better, used little and often.

Yes thank you, that makes sense. I think it’s something that we will rarely do, and do as you said other than that. I think he just needed a real good brush out because he’s been in a kennel environment for so long (and far worse before that) and his coat was very thick, matted, dull, greasy and smelly. It looks far better now but I understand your point.

Yes I think now you've got on top of it it should just need regular quick comb throughs now with something lighter.

This is the one we use and she's very thick coated. Then finish with a slicker brush to neaten up the top coat.

He's a very handsome boy 😊

He looks a completely different dog! The happiness in his eyes and the shiny condition of his coat ✨️ 😍 💕

Look at gorgeous Ziggy! He looks amazing op. He’s certainly landed on his feet with you.

Please keep updating, I’d love to see how he gets on.

Just a quick update for those who asked….
It’s been a week since we collected Ziggy, and he’s made himself at home! Think I said, he slept through the first night without a peep, but in hindsight I think that was because he was so exhausted due to coming to a brand new environment. Is put him in the (relatively) small boot room, with the door shut (I’d dog proofed it all first) because I thought that would make him feel safer. But by the third evening it was clear he was not ok, panting so hard and barely sleeping at all, that I actually feared for his health. It took me a night or two of no sleep myself (listening to him) to realise it was the shut door he didn’t like. I felt so stupid to have not realised, but anyway, I didn’t shut him in the next night, left the whole of the downstairs open to him and he was absolutely fine - and still fasto when I came down the next morning. He’d chosen to sleep in the boot room though 🤦‍♀️, silly boy, the open doors made all the difference. He’s carrying his toy with him everywhere (I say toy, singular, but he’s now got more toys than a pet shop, and he puts one back in the box when picks up a different one, so funny. I presume it’s a security blanket for him basically. He loves everyone and every dog he meets (and he’s getting a lot of love from everyone too, and why not, he deserves it). He’s dug himself a hollow in one of my flower beds to keep cool as it's under a tree. Oh, and he LOVES the car!

No, it’s ok Ziggy, I don’t need help with the loo, I’ve got this. Off you pop….