I have a 4yr old golden retriever, golden lab mix. She is a rescue dog and have had her for about 2 years. I have always been able to brush her and vacuum 2x daily( it literally could use it more). I am now 6 1/2 months pregnant. With a baby on the way and a full time job I just cannot keep up with her hair. It comes out in handfuls. I never realized that this kind of dog shed so much. Or any dog for that matter. And this is with daily brushing. I know that once baby arrives it will only get worse and harder to maintain. I want to make her more of an outside dog but the fact that she has always been part of the family inside is making that very hard on me emotionally. We also live in Az so it gets rather warm herein the summers. But it is cold now outside. My husband isn't particularly attached and would just get rid of her. Should I shave her to keep her inside and part of my family. Keep her hair and leave her outside or find her a new home. Please help! !!
to shave or not to shave? help!
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Please do not shave her! Well done for re-homing her 
I however can't help but think she may have benefitted more going go a home that wasn't thinking of getting rid of her I don't mean to ask too personal of a question but did you plan to have your baby knowing you also have a dog you might not be able to take care of?
I however can't help but think she may have benefitted more going go a home that wasn't thinking of getting rid of her I don't mean to ask too personal of a question but did you plan to have your baby knowing you also have a dog you might not be able to take care of?
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Have you talked to your vet? Honestly, dogs should not shed as much as you are describing; she may need fish oils or a better grade or food or something.
I have 3 goldens. They are combed once or twice a week (when not shedding season when it is daily), and I can go days without vacuuming if I get busy.
I have 3 goldens. They are combed once or twice a week (when not shedding season when it is daily), and I can go days without vacuuming if I get busy.
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Talk to your vet and also consider a thyroid panel.
If you are planning on putting her outside when the baby comes, please call a rescue:
Welcome to Arizona Golden Retriever Connection. It sounds like the dog is too overwhelming for you with all these changes and perhaps it might be better to rehome her. Golden retrievers depend on human interaction and contact for their well being and putting her outside will not be in her best interests.
If you are planning on putting her outside when the baby comes, please call a rescue:
Welcome to Arizona Golden Retriever Connection. It sounds like the dog is too overwhelming for you with all these changes and perhaps it might be better to rehome her. Golden retrievers depend on human interaction and contact for their well being and putting her outside will not be in her best interests.
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I honestly think rehoming might be the best option for her at this point. And I don't see it as the dog "losing." Dogs, especially Goldens and Labs, are very resilient. A new, loving home can be a great gift to give a dog. I would recommend working with a rescue, as they will keep her until a great home can be found and are experienced at vetting prospective new owners. I would NOT take her to a shelter even a no-kill one.
I agree that the shedding sounds excessive, and it might be worth having the vet check her out. However, some Goldens can shed a lot! My girl Trouble is like that-she sheds even when the rest of the gang has stopped. Combining the Lab and Golden coat may contribute to that as well.
The important thing is to do what is best for your girl. Putting her outside is not best for a Golden, especially when you will be confined a lot to the house with a baby.
I agree that the shedding sounds excessive, and it might be worth having the vet check her out. However, some Goldens can shed a lot! My girl Trouble is like that-she sheds even when the rest of the gang has stopped. Combining the Lab and Golden coat may contribute to that as well.
The important thing is to do what is best for your girl. Putting her outside is not best for a Golden, especially when you will be confined a lot to the house with a baby.
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Point taken Linda...You are right ... most dogs adjust and adapt to rehoming
Certainly people with major illnesses and people that lose jobs & homes etc... have to rehome dogs - and the dogs do adjust.
But this isnt the case with this poster and her dog.....the dog sheds...
Its just hard to read over and over that it is the dogs that need to adjust and adapt - not the people.
Certainly people with major illnesses and people that lose jobs & homes etc... have to rehome dogs - and the dogs do adjust.
But this isnt the case with this poster and her dog.....the dog sheds...
Its just hard to read over and over that it is the dogs that need to adjust and adapt - not the people.
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I would also consider rehoming her rather than making her an outside dog just because she sheds.
The pulling out in handfulls... I think it probably can go either way here. You may have a health issue with the dog, or the dog has normal shedding for a golden/lab mix (both breeds are shedders, and I understand that labs may shed more than goldens) and you are simply noticing it more because you are pregnant and it seems worse than ever. Vacuuming twice a day sounds like it might be a bit of the second one. And I'm just saying this because you sound a lot like my sister (normally a neat freak about her house) who went a bit anal when she was preggers both times. Fortunately at the time she didn't have either of her pets yet, because as I remembered she didn't want the dogs near her because of the fur getting on her clothes. She still doesn't like fur on her clothes or on her carpets, but it was at a fever pitch back then.
Shaving her - I don't really get the correlation between that and shedding. The shaved dogs I've met still shed + they are more oily and prone to skin issues than dogs who have a normal coat.
About normal shedding for a golden <- They all are different.
Our first golden rarely to never shed until he got sick. Then it started coming out in clumps, especially on his belly. In his case, he lost his undercoat and it never came back.
Our second golden - I swear he never shed a day in his life. His coat was faulty though for a golden. It was silky.
Our third golden he had an overabundance of coat and definitely it came out in huge clumps all the time. From all the shedding, you would think he would have been BALD, but he always had double the coat of any other golden. We had him checked many times for diabetes and thyroid and kidney issues and anything else we could think of that would be causing the ridiculous shedding and other symptoms. There was nothing wrong with him other than possibly certain allergies. He was a heavy shedder his entire life. <- And 2.5 years after we lost him, I STILL am finding clumps of his fur around the house.
My current guy has a coat very much like our first golden, with minimal shedding. But he HAS had a lot of shedding this winter. It's not coming off in clumps, but he leaves a light layer of fur on my pillow every day that I have to clean off.
^^^ I'm just saying a lot of this is what you deal with and discuss with your vet. If the level of shedding and maintenance is something that you can't physically deal with and there isn't anyone else who is going to love and care for that dog, the best thing for him is to go to a good home where he doesn't have to live outside alone.
The pulling out in handfulls... I think it probably can go either way here. You may have a health issue with the dog, or the dog has normal shedding for a golden/lab mix (both breeds are shedders, and I understand that labs may shed more than goldens) and you are simply noticing it more because you are pregnant and it seems worse than ever. Vacuuming twice a day sounds like it might be a bit of the second one. And I'm just saying this because you sound a lot like my sister (normally a neat freak about her house) who went a bit anal when she was preggers both times. Fortunately at the time she didn't have either of her pets yet, because as I remembered she didn't want the dogs near her because of the fur getting on her clothes. She still doesn't like fur on her clothes or on her carpets, but it was at a fever pitch back then.
Shaving her - I don't really get the correlation between that and shedding. The shaved dogs I've met still shed + they are more oily and prone to skin issues than dogs who have a normal coat.
About normal shedding for a golden <- They all are different.
Our first golden rarely to never shed until he got sick. Then it started coming out in clumps, especially on his belly. In his case, he lost his undercoat and it never came back.
Our second golden - I swear he never shed a day in his life. His coat was faulty though for a golden. It was silky.
Our third golden he had an overabundance of coat and definitely it came out in huge clumps all the time. From all the shedding, you would think he would have been BALD, but he always had double the coat of any other golden. We had him checked many times for diabetes and thyroid and kidney issues and anything else we could think of that would be causing the ridiculous shedding and other symptoms. There was nothing wrong with him other than possibly certain allergies. He was a heavy shedder his entire life. <- And 2.5 years after we lost him, I STILL am finding clumps of his fur around the house.
My current guy has a coat very much like our first golden, with minimal shedding. But he HAS had a lot of shedding this winter. It's not coming off in clumps, but he leaves a light layer of fur on my pillow every day that I have to clean off.
^^^ I'm just saying a lot of this is what you deal with and discuss with your vet. If the level of shedding and maintenance is something that you can't physically deal with and there isn't anyone else who is going to love and care for that dog, the best thing for him is to go to a good home where he doesn't have to live outside alone.
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I am sorry... I just don't understand.
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Shaving her will not stop the shedding, putting her outside is banishing a family member to isolation and loneliness.
I think you are right, finding her a new home is the best choice. Please DO NOT take her to a dog pound or shelter, that will only put her at risk of being killed (euthanized). Most shelters can, and will, walk an owner surrendered dog to the back the minute you leave and put them down.
Call around and find a rescue group that will take her.
I think you are right, finding her a new home is the best choice. Please DO NOT take her to a dog pound or shelter, that will only put her at risk of being killed (euthanized). Most shelters can, and will, walk an owner surrendered dog to the back the minute you leave and put them down.
Call around and find a rescue group that will take her.
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Call a rescue. As mylissyk says, please don't drop her at the pound or shelter, as her chances would be quite poor. An owner surrender can be seen as a dog who's not adoptable. However, through a rescue, 4 year old adult with good manners may be relatively easy to place. If you were closer to me, I could probably place her myself, as people frequently ask about trained adult dogs.
The shedding could be a health issue or could be related to the fact that when you cross two breeds, you sometimes get a lot of variation in things like coat that aren't correct for either of the breeds.
Shaving the dog, by the way, will simply make the shedded hair shorter and harder to vacuum. It won't change the amount of shedding even a teeny bit.
Our solution to the shedding problem was to buy a nicer vacuum and to have beige carpet installed when we replaced the old wall-to-wall. We still get the occasional dog bunny in the hardwood parts of the house, but it seems like a rather small price to pay for the companionship of a loving dog. Not everybody seems to value dogs the way we do, so maybe that's not OK for you guys.
The shedding could be a health issue or could be related to the fact that when you cross two breeds, you sometimes get a lot of variation in things like coat that aren't correct for either of the breeds.
Shaving the dog, by the way, will simply make the shedded hair shorter and harder to vacuum. It won't change the amount of shedding even a teeny bit.
Our solution to the shedding problem was to buy a nicer vacuum and to have beige carpet installed when we replaced the old wall-to-wall. We still get the occasional dog bunny in the hardwood parts of the house, but it seems like a rather small price to pay for the companionship of a loving dog. Not everybody seems to value dogs the way we do, so maybe that's not OK for you guys.
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Shaving has nothing to do with shedding. They shed from the inside where the follicle is . Shaving is dangerous for goldens.. they lose their undercoat which is there for a reason.
Please rehome through a Golden Retriever Rescue. This story is so sad for the dog that breaks my heart. Goldens are so loyal and loving, they deserve OUR love and loyalty.
Please rehome through a Golden Retriever Rescue. This story is so sad for the dog that breaks my heart. Goldens are so loyal and loving, they deserve OUR love and loyalty.
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If you can't find a golden retriever rescue that will take her please contact a lab rescue.
Some of our members have babies and young children with goldens. Look around and you'll see great pic and videos of them together.
Search your heart. If you really love your dog you can make it work. A little extra time brushing her will help keep the hair away. If that doesn't work for you I hope you will help her find a loving home.
Some of our members have babies and young children with goldens. Look around and you'll see great pic and videos of them together.
Search your heart. If you really love your dog you can make it work. A little extra time brushing her will help keep the hair away. If that doesn't work for you I hope you will help her find a loving home.
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I am in Arizona and Can Help you with Re-homing the dog...
Hi,
I am in Arizona myself in the Mesa/AJ area.
I can help you IF you Need to re-home the dog as I
am with a Rescue...
Please, Please contact me @ [email protected]
As for Shaving the dog here in AZ. this time of year it is ok to do that but
Make Sure they do NOT shave it all the way to the skin, with our Bright Sun, it will get sunburn...
As for it becoming an outside dog. Well, you know all about our summers here and inside dogs whom have been inside dogs do Not adjust too well to all of a sudden becoming an outside dog...
As far as it adjusting IF you re-home it, they DO adapt quickly to new owners, so need to worry about that!
Hi,
I am in Arizona myself in the Mesa/AJ area.
I can help you IF you Need to re-home the dog as I
am with a Rescue...
Please, Please contact me @ [email protected]
As for Shaving the dog here in AZ. this time of year it is ok to do that but
Make Sure they do NOT shave it all the way to the skin, with our Bright Sun, it will get sunburn...
As for it becoming an outside dog. Well, you know all about our summers here and inside dogs whom have been inside dogs do Not adjust too well to all of a sudden becoming an outside dog...
As far as it adjusting IF you re-home it, they DO adapt quickly to new owners, so need to worry about that!
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I agree with this. If you can't put up with a bit of dog hair, then she needs to go to a home that can. I think you're panicking a bit but the dog will be better off being loved unconditionally. Please don't throw her away in the back yard. Call a rescue.
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