Do Golden Retrievers Shed? Let’s Find Out!

There’s a long list of things that Golden owners love about their pets. But the shedding isn’t just one of them. As you know, the distinctive foggy hair of your breed somehow makes its way to every surface of your home, from couches to carpets to clothing. How much do golden retrievers shed? Let’s find out.

Why do the Goldens have shed so much? The guilty one is the dense double coat of the breed, made up of a pelvis undercoat and a fluffy layer on the top. It’s that wet, fuzzy undercoat that makes the most mess. While the Golden Retriever sheds lightly during the year, it sheds its undercoat twice a year in large quantities as with any double-coated dog.

How Much Do Golden Retrievers Shed?

These adorable dogs have lost their hair moderately over the year. And mildly, we say you’re going to notice a few of their short, rough hairs straying over your furniture, clothing, and potentially your carpets.

This shedding ramps up twice a year during the spring and fall seasons for several golden retrievers. If shedding doesn’t convince you to get a high-powered dog’s hair vacuum for the rest of the year, we’re willing to bet you’re going to want to be in the shedding seasons!

If you’re looking for a decent cordless vacuum cleaner to handle your dog’s fur, then one with a motorized head is a must. Anything else just won’t do the job.

You should expect a lot of hair to escape from your golden color at this time when they blow their fur, ready to develop in new ones for summer and winter, respectively. You should expect a lot of hair to escape from your golden color at this time when they blow their fur, ready to develop in new ones for summer and winter, respectively.

It’s hard to define precisely how much your dog is likely to shed as it varies so widely between individual dogs, but it’s enough to assume you’re going to have to clean your house regularly and brush your dog if you want to stay on top of it.

Why Do Golden Retrievers Shed?

Golden retrievers are a few dog breeds fitted with a double coat, consisting of a dense, downy undercoat and an oily, waterproof outer coat. This remarkable duality is what makes the golden retriever so resilient to various types of weather and happy to spend a lot of time outside and in the water.

But it’s a double-edged sword (at least for the owners of the golden one as the downy undercoat also sheds hair to allow new hair to grow. The undercoat adapts to the weather and temperature needs of your dog – an extra thick undercoat will develop during the cold winter months until most of it will be shed in the spring.

That’s why shedding is so heavy during spring and fall: in the spring, your golden coat gets rid of their thick winter coat, and in the fall, they get rid of their lighter summer coat to make room for the cold winter coat to grow. As a rule of thumb, the hotter the place you live, the more your golden retriever will shed as they need less fur to stay warm.

Golds shed moderately for the remainder of the year. In other words, you’ll find dog fur everywhere on your floors, sofa, and clothing. Shedding is normal and natural, dogs lose old or damaged fur by shedding, and it happens every day. It’s the same thing for us humans, too. We lose our hair every day.

When you have a Golden Retriever puppy, the first shed would be the heaviest. This is because they have shed their whole puppy coat about six months of age to make room for their adult coat.

Although heavy shedding is perfectly common for Golden Retrievers twice a year, other factors may cause an increase in your dog’s shedding.

Do Golden Retrievers Shed: Factors That Cause More Shedding

Do Golden Retrievers shed? Here are some of the main factors that cause your Golden Retrievers to shed more. 

A. Poor Diet

The old saying, “You’re what you’re eating,” rings true in so many ways, and it’s the same for your furry buddy. If you feed your dog with a bad diet that is not healthy or balanced, it will show up in his/her skin and hair. Your dog would have dry, itchy skin, damaged fur, and increased stress.

B. Allergies

If your dog has allergies, the skin would be irritated and itchy. Your dog would itch because all the scratching will loosen the hair follicles, and the hair will fall out quickly and easily, raising the shedding.

Allergies can be environmental (grass, pollen), caused by certain foods (chicken, meat, eggs, etc.), or by shampoo, cleaning products, laundry detergents, and even plastics.

C. Stress

Your dog will shed more when it’s stressed out. The causes of stress in your dog may be traveling, dying in the family, getting a new baby or puppy in the family, or being home alone for a long period. When a dog is nervous or anxious, more hair is lost. The same way humans lose more hair when they are stressed out.

D. Fleas, Ticks, And Several Other Parasites

If your dog has fleas, ticks, or other parasites on it, your dog would be more irritated and scratched. All the scratching hurts the skin of your dog, loosens the fur, and induces further shedding.

E. Certain Medications

Some drugs, such as corticosteroids, can cause your dog to shed more than normal. Shedding that happens as a result of taking medicine is mostly reversible until the medication has been stopped.

F. Hormones

Thyroid hormones help promote the development of hair follicles. If your dog has hypothyroidism (low thyroid levels), then the fur can become thin and brittle and fall out. Hormone imbalances such as testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone can also cause excessive shedding.

If your dog has recently been squandered or neutered, there will be a rise in shedding. Excessive shedding may continue for several months after your dog has been fixed and occurs more in neutered males due to changes in testosterone levels and other hormones responsible for keeping hair follicles healthy and shiny.

G. Pregnancy And Breastfeeding

Pregnancy and lactation will deplete your dog with the calcium and minerals required for a healthy coat, contributing to excessive shedding. It’s perfectly natural for a female dog to lose more hair during this period.

When Do Golden Retrievers Shed The Most?

When do dogs shed more? Find out here.

1. Winter Vs. Summer

The dog’s coat would naturally adapt to its surrounding temperatures and exposure to sunshine! In other words, if your dog spends much of its time outdoors, their coat will be thicker and colder for the winter and will shed more in the spring. Of course, this means that indoor dogs can shed less throughout spring and fall but more evenly across the year.

2. Losing The Puppy Hair

Puppies have an extra-thick, padded fur coat to keep them extra warm for the first 4-6 months of their life (do you ever note how extra cute and fluffy puppies are?). But they’re going to shed the coat entirely around the six-month mark to make way for their adult coat. So when they naturally shed their puppy coat to make way for their adult coat, you should expect a significant increase in shedding.

3. Neutered Or Spayed

Is your dog recently neutered or spayed? Adult dogs typically undergo heavy shedding for several months after they have been repaired. More so to the neutering males. This is due to increases in testosterone and other hormones responsible for keeping hair follicles thick and shiny.

4. Poor Diets = Bad Shedding

Diet is a significant contributor to your dog’s shedding. A dog with an inadequate diet and little exercise would have dry, itchy skin, weakened hair roots, and increased stress. Keep your gold well fed, take care of it and show your love with a lovely, safe coat.

Best dog food for Large breeds comes down to doing some research and figuring out what works best for your furry buddy based on age, height, and other contributing factors such as allergies and sensitivities.

Read the mark, avoid big-box grocery stores that offer generic brands, and shop in pet stores with unique knowledge about the food they sell. A portion of food rich in fatty acids and healthy proteins can promote a solid, healthy coat.

5. Allergies

Your dog can respond to allergy symptoms that cause your dog to scratch its hair. Many dogs have allergic reactions, most commonly with particular proteins in their dog food. Other signs include scratching eyes, ears, hands, armpits, and anus. You can also note a rise in the number of ear and eye infections.

Dog allergies can occur at any point in their lives, and they could respond to many different things. Your vet will be able to properly examine and treat your dog for allergies.

6. Fleas, Ticks, Parasites

Fleas and Ticks make your dog very itchy and unhappy, resulting in constant scratching and hair loss. Do a thorough inspection to see if your dog has fleas.

Fleas and Ticks can be handled with flea shampoos or insecticides from your pet or vet store. Animal bedding, whatever they’re sleeping on, needs to go through the laundry. You will need to do a very thorough cleaning of your house. Don’t take a dog with fleas to a dog groomer, as it can spread to other pets.

7. Stress

Is your Golden being stressed out? Have you moved to your new home? Are you going through family changes? Is there a lot of noise in your town, huh? Has the routine changed? These are all stressors and can cause emotional instability in your gold, even if it isn’t instantly obvious.

Of course, dogs can shed more during stressful times in their lives. Golden’s can be extremely sensitive and require a safe home and routine to live a happy and healthy life.

How To Avoid The Golden Shedding Excessively

When you boil it down, lowering the “normal amount of shedding in the Golden Retriever, and keeping their fur off your furniture, comes down to the following:

Brushing

Brushing is the easiest and most efficient way to reduce the shedding in your gold. There are two key explanations for this.

In the first instance, brushing removes the dead fur from the dog coat until it falls out and onto your furniture, floors, clothing, and everywhere else it lands.

Second, brushing spreads the oils of your Golden Coat uniformly over their skin. This helps to encourage a healthy overall coat and fight dryness in the skin and hair. And since dryness is the leading cause of dog shedding, it may make a difference.

What Kind Of Brush Are You Going To Use?

The best pin for the Golden Retriever is either a pin brush or a slicker brush for the outer coat and an undercoat rake for the undercoat. You may also use a de-watering tool that works well for most breeds, but some notice that they cut their coat and irritate their sensitive skin.

How Are You Going To Brush A Golden?

Start with a pin or a slicker brush, brushing the path of the coat. This will eliminate the bulk of loose hair and is when you should carefully work out any mattresses and tangles that have been created. And finish with the undercoat rake that will help you clear the dead undercoat hair. This move will become particularly important in the spring and autumn.

How Much Are You Expected To Brush?

Brushing once or twice a week is usually all you need to preserve your Golden Hair. It’s not a very high maintenance breed when it comes to grooming. However, during spring and fall, when they are shed more heavily, regular brushing is worthwhile and can greatly minimize the shedding. Or at least, how much of the fur ends up in your house.

Bathing

It’s a good idea to bathe your Golden regularly, like once a month or any other month. This helps keep his coat in good condition, removes the “doggy smell,” and can loosen the dead coat of fur before the brushing session.

However, it is necessary to allow the coat to dry before it is brushed. If you’re in a hurry, one way to do that is to bathe your Golden, then use a blower to dry the coat as well as blow the loose fur out of the coat as you brush it.

Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to swimming is the use of high-quality dog shampoo. Avoid cheap shampoos and human shampoos because they can cause dryness and discomfort, which can exacerbate the shedding and are just not good for them.

The same can be true for bathing. Constantly bathing your Golden Retriever is not acceptable and can dry out your skin, so this is something to keep in mind.

Do Golden Retrievers Shed: Tips For Managing The Shedding

Yes, Goldens shed. Here are some tips to help you!

1. Feed The Best Diet.

Make sure you give your dog a healthy balanced diet. Feeding your dog with a healthy diet can result in a happier dog and a healthier coat. A balanced diet that includes important vitamins and minerals, fatty acids, and digestible proteins can help minimize shedding.

Stop eating something that your dog may be allergic to, and avoid food of a poor quality packed with fillers and additives that you cannot pronounce. A high protein diet and Omega-3 can help boost your dog’s overall health and enhance your dog’s fur and keep the coat beautiful.

2. Provide A Lot Of New, Clean Water.

Always provide new, clean water for your dog to drink. Keeping your dog hydrated helps avoid unnecessary shedding. Dehydration can cause dry skin in your dog, which can cause scratching and discomfort, resulting in hair loss, causing your dog to shed more.

3. Brush It Daily.

Clean your dog regularly, and I highly recommend the occasional brushing of your Golden Retriever. All you need is 10-15 minutes a day to make your golden brush fine. This will help increase the flow of blood to the hair follicles and encourage a healthy coat.

Brushing outside is also recommended to prevent excess hair in the house. A good quality Pin Brush is what I use on my Golden Retriever every day. If you want to learn about the brushes that I recommend for the Golden Retriever, you can read my article by clicking here.

4. Bath Your Dog.

Bathing your gold can help to loosen and extract dead hair and avoid extra shedding. Just use shampoos that are designed for dogs. Human shampoos will affect the pH balance of your dog’s skin. Try to bathe your gold once a month. Bathing your dog too much will cause your skin to dry. Using a healthy oatmeal shampoo to help soothe and moisturize the skin of your dog.

Final Words

Owning a Golden Retriever is one of life’s greatest joys, and their shedding does not deter you from adopting this breed unless, of course, you have allergies. Through feeding your golden diet, brushing and grooming regularly, controlling allergies, and eliminating tension in your dog’s life, you can control the amount of shedding.

If you own a Golden Retriever, you will be showered with love and affection, and eventually, you will know that shedding is not that bad, and you will get used to it. By following the tips listed above, your gold will be happier, and your home will have fewer clumps of hair.