JJ: Can you believe I am 18 months old, and I hadn’t been to the groomer before Saturday?
Alanis: For me, I hadn’t been to the groomer since January 2018! And it showed – my hair was a mess. At least you are a male, JJ! You can get away with waking up in your crate every morning with messy hair. Me? I can’t. Society doesn’t let me. Every little hair out of place is the reason for criticism on Instagram. Meanwhile, you could look like you just put your paw in an electrical socket and people would still think you are the cutest thing! It is so not fair!
JJ: What the heck are you talking about, diva? We’re DOGS!
Alanis: You have never lived a day in my collar.
JJ: Thank goodness for that.
Alanis: Anyway, this was a new groomer! Daddy was looking for a new groomer for a while for the dogs in this household. It isn’t that groomers have done bad jobs with the dogs who have lived here (quite the contrary!), but he wanted to find a new “forever” groomer!
JJ: Yeah, that isn’t an excuse for us not getting our coats taken care of!
Alanis: He knows that. We are Golden Retrievers! We shouldn’t necessarily get a lot of baths (it can be bad for our naturally oily skin), but we do need to be groomed regularly or we can have some serious hair issues.
JJ: I have a nice coat, but even it can get rugged. The amazing thing is not how I look before grooming – it is how I look AFTER grooming. That is when you see the big difference in how much better it makes me look (and how much better I feel!)
Alanis: I was so excited! My hair was a mess – I had overgrowth all over my paws, and my coat was in serious need of help. The groomer did an incredible job making me feel good. I really needed it badly 🙁
JJ: Mommy and Daddy were both wondering if she swapped out dogs! That is how different you look!
Alanis: Yep, we both look rather amazing, if I do say so myself.
JJ: My trainer saw me today and said I looked like a puppy!
Alanis: By the way, we were both very good dogs. Mommy and Daddy both work from home, so we aren’t used to being away from our owners. Yet, we both behaved wonderfully – which is especially impressive for JJ, given his crazy antics and being in a brand new environment. We all had no idea what to expect, and he ended up being very good. As many Golden Retriever owners will admit, we have this tendency to be like “OK, new house, new people – I guess you are my new owner!”
Me: That is so true! Golden Retrievers require a lot of coat care – it doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive, but be aware that they do require maintenance and professional grooming should be a part of your budget when you bring home one of these awesome dogs.
We have used a mobile groomer, a salon, and taking our dogs to someone’s house. Josh started off at Petco when he was young. One of the Petco groomers eventually went into mobile grooming, and we used her for years. Alanis went to a salon for her last grooming. This time, both dogs went to a groomer’s house. Mobile groomers are convenient – you don’t have to leave your house, you know exactly where your dogs are as they are being groomed, and they are typically independently run businesses. That may give you some sense of security knowing that people who choose to go to this level are doing it as a career. I loved our mobile groomer -she was excellent with our dogs. Jeter never knew another groomer other than her.
Petco is not necessarily bad. They can tend to run a little cheaper, though some may look at their services similarly to their pet training – it is good, you can learn a lot, the price is reasonable – but you may not be getting exactly what you want from the experience. Josh used Petco for YEARS until our requested girl left to do mobile grooming, so that tells you that I felt comfortable using them. Local grooming shops are also an option, and many of them only have their one facility where they groom their dogs. It may make you feel better to know you are supporting a local business.
House grooming? I think this is a great option if you are comfortable with the person grooming your dogs in their house. Obviously, you shouldn’t just randomly bring your dog to someone’s house for the sake of grooming. That wouldn’t be smart! However, if you know someone who does dog grooming and they have the ability to do it from their home, it is a great way to keep your dog in a home environment while they get groomed. It may make them feel comfortable. I met this groomer through my dog trainer who brings her dogs to her.
Expect your Golden Retriever to spend a lot of time at the groomer! They are not easy dogs to groom. Alanis & JJ combined took about 3 hours and 30 minutes. Josh and Jeter used to be similar with the mobile groomer. Because of the length of time the dogs can take to groom, you may have to book your appointment WELL in advance. Golden Retrievers aren’t dogs that many groomers can fit in within 48 hours, especially when you have multiple dogs like we do! This is where having a box store on speed dial can be useful – for those times when you are desperate to get your dog groomed since they are more likely to fit you in quickly.
You should have a high-quality brush at your disposal to keep your dog’s coat as normal as possible in-between groomings. You should check to make sure there aren’t any fleas in their coats (flea combs are available for this!). Fleas are experts at hiding on dogs that don’t have long hair – with a Golden Retriever, it is even harder to see them with the naked eye.
“Wait! You just admitted that your dogs’ coats weren’t in great shape!” Exactly. Don’t do what I did! It is uncomfortable for the dog. While groomers are paid to perform a service, it still is helpful to them if the dog’s coat is in some sort of workable shape when you hand over your dog to them.
This is obviously a big topic for me! The health of your Golden Retriever should always be monitored given the types of issues the breed can deal with – and their hair health is as important as anything else. Another benefit: Groomers are dog lovers who have seen it all. They may point out something to you that you haven’t noticed, which could help save your dog’s life! That may sound drastic, but it is the truth – we aren’t bad owners because we might miss something. Having a groomer looking over your dog every so often is like having an extra owner for your pet. There is no downside to that.