What's your opinion on shaving a golden retriever in summertime?

Question

What's your opinion on shaving the fur on my golden retriever for the summer? Groomer did it once and it was wonderful...all the undercoat was gone and helped with shedding. Have heard good and bad on this subject. I know to keep her out of the sun during the afternoon for fear of sunburn...but does shaving mess with their natural ability to keep cool? Thanks!

Answer 1

Coated breeds have the coat for a reason. They use it in the winter to keep warm, and in the summer to keep cool. That is why it is there. What is the reason to get a coated breed if you are going to shave it. You should have gotten a poodle.
If the undercoat is out, the dog will be fine. It is cheaper to just brush the dog!!! And the coat can change texture after shaving. The dog may never look like a Golden again.
If my Newfs can weather the summer coats intact, a Golden can too!!!

Answer 2

Shaving A Golden Retriever

Answer 3

That's a big NO! You should never shave a Golden! You will be exposing it's skin to all kinds of issues that will be a bigger head ache than brushing your dog. Not only will it cause the sun to be able to burn the dogs skin but dry it out horribly. Insects like mosquitoes will be able to bite easier and flys too! You can get your golden a summer cut which is nothing more than having it's belly trimmed up close to help keep the dog cooler. But nothing replaces a good bushing while they are shedding with the right tools. If you dont have a double coated rake for your dog then get one! It the best tool to get all the dead hair out of your dogs coat. To make sure matts dont happen you have to brush the dog at least every other day while it shedding season which is now! Get a good pin brush too. Use it! Shaving a Golden is the worst thing you can do. The coat may never come back in correct and it takes forever to do so too. Get the tools I recommended and both you and your Golden will be happy and remain healthy!

Answer 4

We shave our Golden Retrievers every year just before the summer. All hair grows perfectly back without a problem for the winter. The dogs love it and so do we. No more hairs around the house and a dry coat quickly after a swim at the beach.

Opinions vary on this subject but I guess it all depends where you live. It gets pretty hot over here in summer.

Answer 5

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RE:
What's your opinion on shaving a golden retriever in summertime?
What's your opinion on shaving the fur on my golden retriever for the summer? Groomer did it once and it was wonderful...all the undercoat was gone and helped with shedding. Have heard good and bad on this subject. I know to keep her out of the sun during the afternoon for fear of sunburn...but...

Answer 6

Golden retrievers are not meant to be shaved. First, you can get undercoat out just by having your dog groomed professionally, there's no need to shave them for it. Shaving dogs like that only leads to sunburn, skin irritation, dry skin, increased allergy problems, and a dozen other things. Dogs survived and were happy long before humans got the dumb idea to shave down dogs with long hair. Leave the poor thing alone.

Answer 7

My family had two goldens and we shaved them every summer. It definetely helped them stay cool. However, when I say shaved, it was more like trimmed-we still left about 2" of hair on the body and left the head alone. Make sure your golden has a nice shady area to lie down in and refill his water bowl often as it will evaporate quickly in the heat. Also, sometimes we'd hose our dogs down. You can even get one of those plastic swimming pools and fill it up-our dogs loved those when they weren't taking a dip in the creek. Hope that helps and long live your golden!

Answer 8

I don't think dogs should be shaved. I have Chihuahua, both long and short haired. Some people will shave them, but I like mine to be natural. I would leave them with their full coat, just make sure to keep it brushed. If they get into weeds that get into the fur and make a mess, them maybe shave it then because some of those things can be hard to get out of long haired dogs. My daughter has 2 goldens and she has never had hers shaved.

I had a Lhaso/poo a few years ago. We lived in the country and he would always get what we call stick tights and cuckleburrs ib his fur, so I started shaving him myself in the summer. They were imposssible to get out otherwise.

Answer 9

I had a lab/husky cross for 17 years, she was much more comfortable when we would take her to the groomer and get her shaved for the summer. She acted embarrassed the first time we had it done, but then she loved it and would get all excited when we got to the groomers and practically pull us through the door with her to get inside and get all cooled down. She was the real light (buff) color with a pink nose and pink skin so she would ge plagued with "hot spots" in the summer and would end up biting herself and would have to be on meds and we would have to put mineral oil in her food to help. Once we started having her shaved no more hot spots. Just don't let your dog stay out in the extreme heat for long periods of time, as the coat does insulate also. Have a good night!!!

Answer 10

I've seen it done both ways, shaved and unshaved. Honestly today where I live it was 105 in the shade. Go ahead and let the groomer shave your Golden, it's merciful.