🧴Grooming and care for a Golden Retriever: brush, bath, health

Golden Retriever : Its medium-length coat with a dense undercoat sheds heavily: brush 2-3 times a week with a slicker brush and undercoat rake, daily during shedding season. Floppy ears plus a love of water make ear infections common, so dry and check them regularly.

🩺 Reminder: this page informs, it does not diagnose. For any symptom or health question, your veterinarian remains the only reference.

In short: Large dog, 51-61 cm at the withers (25-34 kg), medium-length golden coat with a dense undercoat, high energy level. A gentle, patient, cooperative dog, as keen on water as on retrieving. Bred to retrieve game undamaged, it has a famously soft mouth: it greets you carrying an object rather than destroying it.

Coat care, brush by brush

Plan, for a Golden Retriever, on a slicker brush and a metal comb, two to three sessions a week; note that it sheds heavily all year round: a de-shedding tool and a sturdy vacuum are part of the kit. Start early and reward: a few positive minutes per session build an adult that accepts grooming without drama.

Baths, claws, ears, teeth

Plan a bath roughly quarterly, exceptional messes aside, with a specifically canine shampoo: a dog’s skin pH is not yours. Check claws monthly — natural wear often does the job on such an active dog, inspect ears at the same time, and brush teeth two or three times a week.

Health watch-points for the Golden Retriever

In the Golden Retriever, the documented watch-points are: hip dysplasia, ear infections linked to floppy ears and swimming and increased predisposition to certain cancers. Nothing inevitable, but they steer prevention — and at the first unusual sign, the vet decides, not the shop aisle. Life expectancy sits around 10 to 12 years.

Frequently asked questions

Which brush for a Golden Retriever?

For its coat, plan on a slicker brush and a metal comb, two to three sessions a week.

How often should a Golden Retriever be bathed?

Two to three months between baths is a good rhythm, muddy accidents aside; the shampoo, always, is a dog product.

The guides that apply to you

The rest of the Golden Retriever’s gear

Care & grooming for related breeds and species