Never again!!!

Toad

Toad

Active member
Will I get a long-haired dog! Just gave my ol' gray-faced golden retriever his annual pre-season haircut. He sure is a good sport about the whole thing, but man what a pain in the butt. Clippers won't even touch that silk. Gotta do pretty much the entire job with scissors... I filled half a five gallon bucket with purdy red hair. Beats chopping out the burrs in November, I guess.:thumbsup:

Unfortunately for him, nobody would want me for a barber... I'll give him a good wash in the morning and see if he wouldn't mind posing for a pic. That's him in my Avatar, but he doesn't look quite as youthful these days.
 
Haircut for a Golden...

Greetings to you,

Have shaved four Golden's over the years, And am glad to have the task. They are great dogs with exceptional noses.

My eight-year old just turned blind, so now I have the task of retraining him to hunt without sight. He is an intense retriever and hunter - fortunately his blindness will slow him a bit!

There's a product that is used on horses called "show sheen" that helps shed burrs et al. A spray bottle of hair conditioner helps combing out the burrs, although some need to be cut, but it's always been worth it with all my dogs.

Good hunting to you,

jon
 
With a Springer and a Setter I finally bought a good pair of clippers, I cut them in the summer and have to be careful to not have them to short when it gets cold. I spend 20 minutes after every hunt getting out burrs from ears and tails, gotta keep some hair. I've been watching the weather out west I'm going to ND this weekend if it doesn't cool down they might get a trim, my Setter gets hot.
 
Yea it's a pain but I guess it's a "labor of love".

(I concur w/ jonnyB, Goldens are one of the best kept secrets in the gundog world.)

Sadly, the old boy in my avatar blew out his ACL this summer & won't be hunting at all this year.
 
Yep, Trigger is very rusty. At almost 13 he just gets around. He could use some good lube on those shoulders. The meds are having less effect as time goes on, won't be too long now.
 
Sorry to hear that. I have a 13 1/2 yo myself and she sleeps alot lately. Synflex was a big help as she's had 'sports injuries' for some time now.
 
FCSpringer said:
If you get a good clipper they work very well. And a de-matting comb rips those suckers out effortlessly. They are the ones with the blades on them, a must have.
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Is there a good brand or style of clipper for super soft hair? With the clippers we have, everything just lays over and the hair never reaches the blades. Even going against the grain with a #3 guard I can't get the hair to stand up enough to touch the blades. I end up doing the whole job with a comb and scissors. The cheap clippers we have never got the job done at all.

Yeah, I would tell anybody that the golden retriever is a great joy in the home as well as the field. He is very gentle, intelligent, and eager to please. He sure is a pretty dog too when he's dark red and all feathered out...

But a couple years ago I got a GWP pup with extremely short hair straight from the factory. Her hair is short and coarse, repels burrs, and isn't long enough to mat. She is also gentle, intelligent, and eager to please... and maintenance free.:D It sure is nice at the end of the hunt to just check her face, feet, belly and be done!:thumbsup:

No offense intended to anybody who loves the long-haired breeds but I think I'm done with the mats, the burrs, and the butcher-job haircuts on any future dogs I plan to get. I'm sure whatever your favorite breed is has its own unique strengths that can't be duplicated by any breed with short hair. But for me, I think I'll be content to hunt with a dog that's got a low maintenance coat.
 
No offense taken from anyone I suspect, heck you have one:D.
I am, along with others, are seeing due to breeding, shorter straighter hair on our springers. It does not curl or get real long. I will shave them, but only once or twice a year. Down fall is they shed more then the springers of old. This is all a trend of Field bred dogs VS old show lines. When you pet mine its not much different then a lab. Just softer finer and way more cuddly:D.
I bought a Andi's AGC Super 2 speed. I got it in the horse grooming section at Mills Fleet farm. It has the T-84 horse blade. No need for a comb, it cuts at a great length with out hurting the dog at all and no scalping. If you scalp you would be doing something wrong. It cuts very fast compared to the el cheapo 30-40$ jobs you get at wal-mart or somewhere. I am going to do one today in fact, for this weekend with her. And I won't do it again till spring. Those clippers were just over a hundred bucks. I believe that blade is a difference as well. The local groomer gal had me go and get it. It cut time way more then half and not near as much of a pain. I used to do it for a 2hr session with having to take breaks etc. just because both the dog and I got tired of it. Now I whip through it in a matter of minutes. I can put the ear on my hand and simply run the clipper pressing on the ear to my other hand and not worry about depth or pinching, it's great.

PS at most of those fleet places you can always try it and return it if it don't work for you. I took home others that were slightly cheaper and those sucked too so I exchanged them for this one.

( " In The Horse Section" T-84 blade Andis AGC Super 2 speed.)
 
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Thank you for your advice FCSpringer. I will write down the model of the clipper you mentioned and see what's available at the local farm stores. If it works the way you claim, I will be one happy camper for sure. It would be worth a hundred bucks to do the job properly each year, even though unfortunately it won't be for too many more years.:(

Also, my wife's dust-bunny-looking dog will get clippered too just for good measure. :eek:
 
HighTailSetters said:
Spray legs and belly with Pam cooking oil. they come right out.:cheers:
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My dog rides in the cab, so... probably not a good idea.:eek: I'm sure that tip would work great for most hunters though.

THANKS A MILLION FCSpringer!:thumbsup:
Got new 2-speed clippers with a T-84 blade this moring and clippered the dog tonight. He actually looks good instead of looking like an abused stray. Luckily the guards from my old clippers also fit on the new ones, so everything is neat and even and I was able to leave enough hair that he will be good to go for duck season. Started and finished the job during halftime of the KSU/KU football game. WOW!

I think the dog looks sharp, but my wife was very sad that he now looks like a lab... No offense to lab owners but goldens are just better looking.;)

Lucky for my GWP that I didn't have these clippers three years ago. I would probably have a brittany right now. :eek:
 
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Hey guys something else that in a pinch works really well is a show steer product from Sullivan called Hocus Pocus. It is designed to remove the hair adhesive on cattle but works great on burrs, gum in the daughters hair and everything. Just tried it on the Mrs. cocker after taking it to cut wood. worked awesome.
 
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