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Jake is almost two years old and over the past year or so we just can't get his coat to look nice. His mane, tail, and around his ears always look clumped together (not matted). We've tried bathing then brushing daily and it doesn't help. I see these pics of goldens with long flowing beautiful hair, and Jake has the coat for it, but it just seems dirty or something.

It's almost like it's oily or something and won't let all the hairs seperate and fluff up. Any help? Also, I noticed a post that said something about grooming. Do you groom your goldens? What exactly needs to be done when they're groomed?

Thanks for your help...just found this forum and hope you guys can help me figure this out. I'll see if I can attach a puppy pic of Jake...

>>Jake is almost two years old and over the past year or so we just can't get his coat to look nice. His mane, tail, and around his ears always look clumped together (not matted). We've tried bathing then brushing daily and it doesn't help. I see these pics of goldens with long flowing beautiful hair, and Jake has the coat for it, but it just seems dirty or something.
>>
>>It's almost like it's oily or something and won't let all the hairs seperate and fluff up. Any help? Also, I noticed a post that said something about grooming. Do you groom your goldens? What exactly needs to be done when they're groomed?
>>
>>Thanks for your help...just found this forum and hope you guys can help me figure this out. I'll see if I can attach a puppy pic of Jake...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It's possible he just hasn't grown into his full adult coat yet, but Goldens are also prone to hypothyroidism and to other types of skin problems. If there seems to be anything uncomfortable or odd going on with his skin, you might have a veterinary dermatology specialist check him out. And between ages 2 and 3, if not before, have your vet send blood for thyroid testing to one of the OFA-approved laboratories (they are listed at www.offa.org). Other laboratories frequently get inaccurate results on thyroid, so it's really important to use one of these. Michigan State and Cornell are both on the list. The values that need to be checked are Total T4, Free T4 by Equilibrium Dialysis, and TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). If the dog is not neutered, the TgAA value should also be checked.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

>>Jake is almost two years old and over the past year or so we just can't get his coat to look nice. His mane, tail, and around his ears always look clumped together (not matted). We've tried bathing then brushing daily and it doesn't help. I see these pics of goldens with long flowing beautiful hair, and Jake has the coat for it, but it just seems dirty or something.
>>
>>It's almost like it's oily or something and won't let all the hairs seperate and fluff up. Any help? Also, I noticed a post that said something about grooming. Do you groom your goldens? What exactly needs to be done when they're groomed?
>>
>>Thanks for your help...just found this forum and hope you guys can help me figure this out. I'll see if I can attach a puppy pic of Jake...
>>>>>>>>>.....

One other suggestion would be to give him sponge baths whenever he's just a bit smelly and not actually dirty. Use a bucket or sink of warm water, a washcloth, and a towel. Wet the washcloth and rub him a section at a time, drying with the towel. This is a quickie bath that freshens up the dog with less impact on the health of skin and coat that can happen from giving a lot of baths with shampoo. Goldens tend to get smelly because they have a water-repellent skin oil for their work of retrieving in water. If you bathe with soap too often, thus stripping away natural oil, the body will sometimes produce even more!

I comb my three Belgian Tervuren with a Greyhound comb to remove all the tangles. Combing parts of the coat against the grain "trains the hair" to stand out better. I comb daily, which is great for their skin and hair. Most other combs don't penetrate well to the skin to remove all the dead hair, and brushes don't seem to detangle a coat as efficiently as a comb. If your dog is not combed often, though, you'll probably need to brush first, or use a rake (a comb-like tool with wide teeth) before you can get the comb through the fur.
-----
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

Wow! Okay, seems I'm very behind on this stuff. I live in a small town in Texas where dogs are just....well...dogs. "Grooming" consists of giving the dog a bath and a quick brushing. The brush we use looks like a big pad with a handle on it. It has a bunch of dense little wire cactus prickle things that stick out then turn back. This seems to get the dead hair out well, which is why we got it. I also have a metal comb but have never seen the use in using it, but I guess that's because I've always gone with the grain of the hair?

After a brushing with that dense prickle type brush, his hair seems very oily and "mashed down" to his skin. His hair has never been light and fluffy like I'd like it to be.