Golden Retrievers are outstanding dogs and if you just adopted a puppy or older golden your about to find out how awesome this breed is. The main question people have when thinking of getting golden or even after they have already adopted one Is do golden retrievers shed?
Yes, Golden Retrievers shed a lot, especially when the seasons are changing. Look out for extra shedding during the spring and fall seasons. Daily brushing and using a deshedding tool will help get loose hair out of your dog’s coat. 9 tips below for combating your golden retriever’s shedding.
Let’s dive into how you can combat the shedding of your Golden Retriever. But let’s face if once you have a golden retriever your home will never be hair free and that is okay. Golden Retrievers are worth living with a little hair on the floor.
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How Much Do Golden Retriever Shed?
Golden retrievers are pretty amazing in every other department besides shedding. They tend to shed moderately year-round and profusely twice a year. Most of the time you find some coarse hairs around the house, furniture, and even your clothes. Those black yoga pants you like to wear well, get used to needing that lint roller before you head out. I have learned to love the lint roller as much as my dog.
Twice a year usually during the spring and fall seasons shedding becomes well unbearable and you will need to pull the vacuum, lint roller, and anything else you have in your cleaning arsenal. For me having a self-cleaning vacuum like the Roomba has been a game changer. If you will need a high powered pet vacuum if you don’t want your home completely covered in pet hair.
You will see your golden losing its entire coat when the season change. They will grow a new coat for the approaching season.
It’s safe to say golden retrievers are heavy shedders in general, and you will have to regularly clean up hair in your house. You will need to brush, vacuum, and have a lint roller handy.
Why Do Golden Retriever Shed So Much?
The reason golden retrievers shed so much is due to the makeup of their coat. They have a thick double coat. Their undercoat is oily and fluffy while the outer coat is waterproof.
This helps goldens do what they were initially bred to do, swim. They can spend a good amount of time outdoors and in the water swimming or retrieving.
However, it’s not all good news with a double layer coat, according to owners of golden retrievers. Often, the undercoat will shed and grow new hair for your dog’s needs, so as the weather gets colder, they will develop a thicker coat that will eventually shed off when springtime arrives.
This is the reason why golden retrievers shed profusely two times a year.
In the spring, your golden will be shedding their thick winter coat. When fall arrives, your coat will shed their light summer coat to make room for a new thick winter coat.
The hotter the climate is for your golden retriever the more shedding is expected to help keep them cooler during the summer months.
While heavy shedding is entirely normal in most golden retrievers, there are a few health reasons that could make there moderate shedding during the year worse.
Health conditions that irritate your dog’s skin and increase scratching will result in more shedding.
Your dog can experience skin irritation from allergies, hotspots, skin yeast infections. These can be brought on by several reasons, including your dog’s food, shampoo, or outdoor allergies; if your dog is suffering from one of these, it’s best to consult your vet and find a solution to the issue.
Keeping your golden up to date on their flea and tick prevention treatment will also help make sure they don’t get any fleas and ticks that will cause skin irritation and increased itching.
If your pup doesn’t have any of the above conditions and they are shedding more than usual at the time of year. They could be environmental shedding due to stress. Just as we get stressed with new things or changes, your dog can also feel stressed and could result in hair loss.
How To Reduce the Amount Of Shedding?
If you looking to reduce the normal amount of shedding here are some tips to help manage.
Due to their double coat, a golden retriever will always have some shedding lets dive into some helpful tips.
Making sure your golden retriever has a healthy and strong coat. Depending on your pup, this may mean feeding your dog a high-quality dog food that provides proper nutrition. If your dog is suffering from an allergy, it’s essential to figure out what your dog is allergic to so you can avoid feeding it to them.
Providing your dog with high-quality food that is high in protein will help keep your dog’s coat healthy and strong. Supplementing with fish oil is very helpful in restoring your dog’s skin. This is also known to help reduce shedding.
Brushing your dog daily will help reduce shedding by removing the dead, lost straight hairs from your dog’s coat before they have a chance to fall out in your house. Being golden retrievers are long-haired; this will also help prevent any tangles or matting that may occur if they are not brushed regularly.
When you bathe your golden retriever, you should also you a high-quality hypoallergenic shampoo that is gentle on their skin. Avoid using harsh shampoos that contain chemicals, including dish soap.
Shampoos that are too harsh will dry out your golden skin and lead to shedding. Also, avoid over bathing, which is sometimes hard to do with a golden since they seem to love to get dirty; if your like me and need to bathe your golden retriever quite often, use a nourishing conditioner on them.
Brushing & Deshedding
To start, you will need to brush your golden retriever daily, especially during those months that shedding is excessive. There are a couple of different tools out there you can use to brush your dog and get out the loose fur before it has a chance to fall out in your home.
The Furminator is popular among golden retriever owners. The furminator is a deshedding tool, not just a brush, it removes loose dead hair from your golden undercoat.
For best results, the furminator should be used once a week. This will decrease the amount of shedding in your home. You can also use the furminator conditioner and deshedding tool for maximum hair removal.
This should be used once a week along with regular daily brushing.
It’s important not to overuse the Furminator or tools like it due to it being abrasive to your dog’s skin. Also, always use the tool in the direction of the hair growth to be sure not to pull your dog’s hair.
Dog Dryer
A high power dog blow-dryer comes in handy when you have a dog that loves the water. These are great to have at home so you can properly dry your golden retriever.
This is a great tool to have when you have a dog that loves to swim. Insuring your golden retriever is completely dry after bath or swimming is important for skin health.
Leaving your dog wet can result in skin infections like yeast infections that can also cause itching and odor.
Of course, when there is any increase scratching you will see an increase in shedding for your golden retriever.
Making sure your golden is completely dry will reduce any chances of them developing a skin yeast infection, which will lead to more hair on your floor.
It’s also great to use after bath time and blow out all the loose death hair, for best results, use the drying in conjunction with the Furminatior.
Shaving Your Golden
We want to mention this in case you are thinking that shaving your golden will solve all the shedding issues.
Goldens Retrievers are not meant to be shaved!
This will cause more skin problems for them and leaves them at risk of getting sunburn and having a heat stroke.
It will also affect the way your goldens hair will grow back, so its back not to shave them and continue to manage the shedding with brushing and a deshedding tool.
Self Cleaning Vacuum
This leads up to the self-cleaning vacuum. As a golden retriever owner, you will want a vacuum cleaner made for pet hair. You also don’t want to have to vacuum your life away, so getting a self-cleaning vacuum cleaner will save you time.
We recommend the I7 Roomba because it cleans and empties all by itself. You can also control it from your phone and keep it running while you are at work. So you can come home to a clean floor and not worry about vacuuming dog hair up when you get home.
Recommended Read 20 Tips How to Keep Your House Clean With Golden Retriever Shedding.
Conclusion
We know golden retrievers shed a lot, but it is manageable in the home with the right tools. By tools, I mean lent roller and high powered vacuums.
In the end, if you have a golden retriever, you will have to accept the fact that you will be living with some dog hair in your home and possibly on you.
These dogs are so impressive they are truly worth dealing with the shedding.