Golden Retriever Care Tips

Golden retrievers are loyal, friendly, and easily trained dogs, whether you want an American, Scottish, or English golden retriever. Most golden retriever breeds are medium to large sized animals with a medium energy level. You can expect your retriever to live a long life of 10 to 12 years. However, you should understand that your dog will require special care, just like every other breed of dog. Keep reading to learn about a few helpful tips that will assist you with care. 

Groom Properly

Golden retrievers typically have short to medium length coats of wavy or straight hair. Two coats will be noted on your dog with an undercoat and a topcoat. This undercoat means that your golden retriever is likely to shed quite a bit on a regular basis. Along with this regular shedding, you are likely to see your dog building a new topcoat and undercoat of hair two times a year. This usually occurs during the spring and fall seasons to get ready for the upcoming warm or cold temperatures. While some dog owners may feel that shedding is an issue, you can keep hair to a minimum by brushing your dog once a day during the spring and fall and two times a week during the summer and winter.

You will need two types of brushes to groom your golden properly. Purchase an undercoat rake and a slick brush. If possible, look for brushes with wire pins or with thin wire bristles. This will help to pull the tangles and mats out of the wavy hair. You also should think about bathing your golden retriever around one a month. Most dogs can be bathed with a mild dog shampoo. However, you should understand that your golden may develop an inherited skin disease called ichthyosis. When you bathe your dog, look for scaly patches along your dog's body. The scales are likely to flake off your dog's body as he itches them. To stop this from happening, think about purchasing a moisturizing lotion for your dog that you can place on the skin immediately after you give him a bath.

Keep the Heart Healthy

While golden retrievers typically do not have a multitude of health problems like other dog breeds, they can be susceptible to heart issues. Specifically, golden retrievers are more likely to form heart disease than some other breeds of dogs. To help prevent heart issues, make sure that your dog does not become overweight. Exercise your dog at least one hour every day. As the name suggests, golden retrievers are good retrieving dogs. This means that a long game of fetch outdoors will be one of the best forms of activity for your pup. Just make sure to throw tennis balls and other softer toys so that your dog's teeth do not become injured.

Along with exercise, make sure that you do not overfeed your dog. Do not place a full bowl of dog kibble on the ground and allow your pup to graze all day. Instead, institute three separate meal times. Your veterinarian can help you to figure out home many calories your dog needs so the caloric intake can be split between the meals. An online dog food calculator can assist you with this as well. With the figures in mind, look for a dog food that contains mostly protein. Also, a variety that has omega-3 fatty acids will help the heart. These foods are typically made with fish. If your dog does not like dog food that contains fish, then think about adding a fish oil supplement to your dog's food. In general, you will want to provide your pup with around 20 to 55 milligrams of fish oil for every pound of weight.