Our golden retriever has a short, stiff coat. How do we make it long and soft? Are we doing something wrong?

Question

We have an AKC female Golden, who is a beloved family pet. However, instead of the long, soft, beautiful coat that Goldens are famous for, hers is short and stiff. We feed her Nutro dog food, and give her a Vit E capsule every day (our vet recommended it). Is there anything else we should be doing? My husband says that female dogs are just not as pretty as the males, but I've seen several females and they all seem to have the longer coat. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

It is not unusual for a A Golden to have coarse fur! Some have the nice long feathering and softer fur and some don't. Depends what's in their genetic make up.



Females usually don't have the long flowing feathering like males do. Some never get it, again it all depends on what they inherited from their lines. I've had some females that some have the full feathering and some who dont. some had the nice soft fur and some had coarser. Either is just fine and neither is better then the other. Just different.

It would not matter what your feed her if she didn't get the genes for long soft flowing feathering she will not get it. Plain and simple. This doesn't make her any less a pure bred Golden.

also if she is still under 2 Years old she has not fully developed yet either. Golden's mature slowly and some do go through the uglies until they have fully matured. some have their beautiful coats right from the get go. Again depends on their lines and what they have inherited.

Another determing factor is if you had her fixed at a very young age. What most people dont know is that with Golden's no matter what the sex early spay or neutering will not produce the coat that they are famous for. It cuts their hormones off too soon that help produce the full feathered coat.



Nutro is not the best dog food going. Plus the company that used to own Nutro has been sold and the one that makes it now has not been given very high grades. Nutro has been recalled several times. I'd change it just because there are much better dog food on the market now at just about the same price.



Hope this has helped!

Answer 2

Golden Retrievers only have long hair. But the one in the first picture looks either like a young golden or a golden mix with yellow lab. The mix looks really similar to the golden retriever. Golden's have a long coat and I hope your willing to take it to the groomer every 6 weeks or be brushing it at least 3 times a week. Good luck

Answer 3

First of all how old is the female, if it's a puppy then it's normal to have a short coat.

Secondly, were did you bought the female, are you sure it's a golden retriever, maybe it's a labrador retriever or a mixed breed.

All the goldens i saw have a long and soft coat.

Answer 4

First off: the AKC registration does not mean anything in terms of "quality". Was she purchased from a reputable breeder, or was she purchased from a pet store or backyard breeder? If it's the latter, the short coat could be a product of poor breeding.



If she is from a good breeder, you should probably be contact with them and let them know your concerns. Though, something tells me you already would have... or you would at least already know enough about the dog that her coat would be this way. Did you meet the parents before purchasing? How were their coats?



Without seeing a picture it is hard to tell, but from what you describe, it almost sounds like she's not a Golden!

Answer 5

In addition to what the other answers already said, has she had her thyroid tested? Hypothyroidism is more common in some breeds than others, Golden Retrievers among them. One of the signs is often poor coat quality.

Answer 6

short curly hair and long hair are tied with everyone else. their is no better than other

Answer 7

Regular old vegtable oil. Give her half a cup in food. You can also mix alittle with water and brush her with it. My Golden is the same age. However if your golden is more on the red side, she probably will have a shorter curlier coat.

Answer 8

I dont understand what to say but, long tresses is cute but you keep moving your hair up so you can see, short hair is cool and also you dont have to flick your own hair up at all

Answer 9

We would have to see a photo - and you never mentioned her age or where you got her from. It could be anything from poor breeding/genetics to something else entirely like age.