Best way to groom a GR?

Gemma · 10-09-2006, 02:52 PM

I have a golden retriever, she has pretty long hair that's also curly/wavy (she's not a show dog

) Anyway, she got skunked close range a couple months ago and it gunked up the fur along her stomach. We had to cut it out, now it's grown back mostly, but she looked like a mess at first. That got me thinking, is there a special way to cut a GR's fur? Would a typical groomer know what you ment if you just said, "give her a golden retriever cut" ?
Also, my friend had a GR that she took to a groomer to get a "puppy cut" does this exist? It pretty much just looked like they shortened the hair everywhere, but they contoured it along the legs, stomach, chest, and tail.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
~Gemma

Gemma · 11-11-2006, 10:01 AM

Anybody????

blackgavotte · 11-11-2006, 01:34 PM

Hi Gemma, every shop or salon can have its own terminology, but generally when they speak of a puppy cut, if you remember, a puppy's coat is not usually as thick or long as an adult, it just means an overall shortening. They usually will buzz the main body of the coat with a coarser blade, depending on what the owner wants, then trim off and thin out, and shorten the feathering, chest, tail and undercarriage. The ears may be trimmed down about a quarter of the way or not, depending on the groomer and her skill at blending.

If your gr does not have excessively heavy coat, then you may be able to just trim the feathers ( leg and tail ) including the rear skirt and underskirt. If you are doing this yourself, expect some roughness at first. Remember to try to teach him to let you do between the pads at least with a scissors. If you or your dog has not had any training for table or with the tools of the trade, you just may want instead, at first, to brush and comb the heck out of the hair until you can either take a home grooming course or read up on everything you can.

If you go to some shows and check on the judging times for gr, make sure you are there in loads of time, you can watch ( if you're quiet and unobtrusive) some final grooming out in the prep and kenneling areas, (before the ring time, at least 1/2 hour before, you will likely see your breed up on their tables in that area, getting their final touch ups ) you will then get a feel for what they do, and get a peek at some of the equipment you will need if you really want to do a good job. Good luck. If you have any more specific questions, fire away, I'll watch this thread over the next few days, will be away all tomorrow. ( Sunday )