If you are a proud owner of a Golden Retriever, you will already know that their coat needs regular attention. What’s more, it’s safe to say that if you share your life with a Goldie, you will need to invest a fair amount of time in grooming to keep them looking and feeling their best.
Golden Retrievers have a thick, water-resistant double coat. The top layer is medium to long and varies in texture and appearance. The golden’s coat can range from silky to fluffy and can be straight or wavy. In contrast, the undercoat is soft and dense. This combination presents certain challenges because, along with the fur feathers on the back of their legs, chest, and tails, it is prone to matting knots and tangles.
So what’s the best dog brush for Golden Retriever? Read on to find out more.
Why do you need to brush your dog?
Not only does regular brushing reduce the amount of hair, dirt, and dander in your home, but it also helps to keep the skin and coat of your golden retriever healthy.
Brushing stimulates natural oils in your dog’s skin that help move dirt and debris along the hair shaft and away from your dog. Additionally, it also helps minimize the doggy odor that golden retrievers are prone to. Also, regular brushing can remove any mats and tangles, which, if left, can develop into uncomfortable knots.
Since Golden Retrievers are working dogs, they are not shy of water, mud, or running through dense undergrowth. So if you want a dog with minimal maintenance, the Golden is not for you. Golden retrievers shed a lot of fur. Not only will they lose some fur all year round, but they are especially productive in spring and autumn when the soft and downy undercoat comes out.
Regularly brushing your golden retriever also allows you to check your dog’s skin, ears, and paws for any potential issues. The earlier in life you can get your dog comfortable with being brushed, the better.
How often should I brush my dog?
To keep the long and distinctive coat of the Golden Retriever looking its best, you need to groom them daily. But it can be confusing as to the best brush to use.
Since golden retrievers have two types of coat, a long and wavy topcoat, and a dense and soft undercoat, it’s perhaps not as straightforward as it is for some other breeds. With two distinct coat types, it’s not surprising to find that the minimum amount of grooming tools you can get away with is two different kinds of dog brushes -a slicker brush and undercoat rake.
However, if you want to do the job properly, you may also want to consider thinning shears and a detangling comb.
How to choose the best dog brush for Golden Retriever
So what type of brushes are available? There are several different types of brushes on the market, and they all perform different jobs. To pick the right brushes for golden retrievers, you need to understand what each type of brush does. So here is a quick run-down of the most common brush types and what they are designed to do.
Slicker brushes
A slicker brush’s primary purpose is to remove loose hair, debris, mats, and tangles. And it’s handy for dogs with thick or curly coats like the Golden retriever.
Slicker brushes typically have fine, tightly packed wire bristles that are angled to prevent damage to your dog’s skin. They are perfect for keeping a golden retriever in good condition as the tightly fitted bristles stimulate your dog’s skin and coat and distribute the oil through your dog’s fur.
Bristle brushes
Bristle brushes are great and are suitable for most coat types. With different densities and lengths of bristles, they are suitable for most dogs.
For a golden retriever with a longer coat, look for a brush that has longer bristles more widely spaced apart. Whereas for wiry or more coarse coats, opt for a brush that has shorter, stiffer bristles more closely spaced. These brushes are for the topcoat only. They will remove dirt and loose hair and keep the fur looking shiny by stimulating the skin and natural oils, but they won’t penetrate the dense undercoat.
Wire-pin brushes
The best brushes for a golden retriever with medium to long hair or woolly coats are wire-pin brushes available with or without rubber-tipped ends.
Although they look a little like slicker brushes, the pins are much longer and wider-spaced apart. The pins can either be bare or have rubber tips to make them more comfortable for your dog. They are designed to groom your dog’s topcoat and are good at removing dirt and debris. Wire-pin brushes allow you to groom your golden retriever without damaging their fur. However, they are not the most useful brushes for removing loose hair.
Undercoat rake
An undercoat rake is an essential piece of kit for a golden retriever’s coat. Designed specifically for double coats, it removes loose hair and tangles and mats from the undercoat while leaving the topcoat alone. They come in different lengths of wide-spaced metal teeth, so choose longer teeth for a longer coat.
Regularly grooming your golden with an undercoat rake reduces shedding, removes loose hair, and is an essential brush for golden retrievers.
Is the FURminator good for Golden retrievers?
A deshedding tool like the FURminator divides people’s opinions. Some people love deshedders while others hate them.
Despite the mixed reviews, they are very popular because if you have a lot of undercoat to remove, they are effective and fast. However, deshedding tools use a very fine blade to remove the soft, dense under-layer, so if you want to protect your Golden Retriever’s outer coat, it’s better to use a simple undercoat rake.
Best dog brush for Golden Retriever? – Choices
As a minimum, you will need two different types of brush. Firstly, an undercoat rake to take care of the dense and soft undercoat and secondly, a slicker brush to look after the long and sometimes wavy topcoat.
We’ve focused our reviews on these two types of brush, but if your Goldie has particularly curly fur, you may also like to invest in a pin brush as well to help with detangling.
Slicker Brushes
There are a couple of things to consider when buying a slicker brush, but the most important one is the size. Even though it may seem logical to get a large brush for a large dog, as your Golden Retriever has fur feathers on their legs, chest, and tail, they can be difficult to treat with a big brush.
The other thing you may want to consider is how thick is your dog’s coat. Because slicker brushes come in both soft and firm options choosing the best to get through your dog’s coat is another consideration.
So let’s take a quick look at our favourite choices,
- RESTORES BALANCE AND SHINE — The Groomist Slicker Dog Brush restores hair balance and shine, for a slicker dog brush that maintains healthy fur; keep fur tangle-free and smooth with the pet brush
- ERGONOMIC SOFT GRIP HANDLE — The dog brush fur and lint remover features an easy to use ergonomic soft grip handle to ensure comfort while grooming your dog, giving you comfortable and simple dog...
- SELF CLEANING BRUSH — Clean your dog brush in one easy step. Press the button on the back to release hair from the bristles, so you can have dog brushes for grooming that are efficient and...
- ★ 【FIVE APPLICATIONS】：1.Comb and remove the loose hair; 2. Eliminate tangles, knots, dander, and trapped dirt and reduce the hair on the floor, the sofa; 3. Get rid of mats without hurting...
- ★ 【EASY TO CLEAN】: The round, green button on the handle of the pet neat slicker brush operates a very simple and yet ingenious mechanism for releasing all the dead fur and debris that the brush...
- ★ 【STAINLESS STEEL TEETH & ERGONOMIC HANDLE】: The stainless steel teeth are designed to penetrate the fur and comb/smooth the fur. The ergonomic handle makes everyday use comfortable by ensuring...
- SELF CLEANING - Dread cleaning your dog hair brush? With our clever self-cleaning cat brush, simply push the button, wipe, and your favorite dog accessories are fur free!
- TIME SAVING - Whether you're a puppy parent, kitty carer, groomer, or vet, this shedding brush for pets removes excess hair with very little time and effort.
- VERSATILE - 5 inch and 3/4 inch deshedding brush are ideal for both long or short haired fur babies - our cat and dog grooming brush removes mats, tangles, dirt, and loose fur from your pet’s coat.
- #1 Cat & Dog Brush - Voted best overall for 2022 by Spruce Pets; trusted by millions of pet owners
- Effective - Reduces shedding, detangles, removes dirt & debris, keeps coat looking shiny and healthy
- Versatile - Great for cats & dogs of all fur types
- Soft pad and angled flexible pins allows for effective grooming without irritating pet's skin
- Use this brush to finish the coat
- Effectively reaches the undercoat on double coated breeds
Our favorite is this self-cleaning slicker brush Pecute Slicker Brush the ergonomic handle and self cleaning feature makes it convenient and fuss-free.
Undercoat rakes
Now, what about the dense undercoat of your golden retriever? Despite slicker brushes getting rid of a lot of dead fur from both the top and undercoat. If you have a dog with a double coat, an undercoat rake will become your new best friend and is a must-have dog brush for golden retrievers, especially in spring and autumn.
Before we look at a quick comparison of undercoat rakes, just a word of clarification, we have not included de-shedding tools in this comparison.
Undercoat rakes are just that. They rake out dead hair from the dense under layer of your dog’s fur. Whereas de-shedders often have a tiny blade that will remove dead hair and thin the coat too. Although they are popular with many Golden Retriever owners, we’ve stuck with the basic undercoat rake in our comparison due to ongoing debate that de-shedders damage the outer coat over time.
- The JW GripSoft Undercoat Rake has a double row of round-tipped teeth that are designed to loosen lightly matted parts of the coat and to lift out dead and shedding hair from the undercoat.
- The non-slip ergonomically correct handle is designed to be more comfortable on the hand making grooming a more pleasurable experience for you.
- Through regular grooming, you'll ensure your pet can better regulate their body temperature and prevent matting, which can cause skin irritation. This double row undercoat rake brush is the perfect...
- ★ FREE STANDARD SHIPPING! – Do not need Prime Membership & no minimum order cost. Only apply to most States; please find out at check out.
- ★ Must Have Dog Undercoat Rake! – This grooming rake not only easily removes undercoats, loose fur, and dead hair, but also eliminates skin irritation and prevents matting. This undercoat rake’s...
- ★ TOP QUALITY! - Our single row stainless steel pins are designed to pull through the coat without harming your pet’s skin. These undercoat rakes are ergonomically designed and quality controlled...
- 13 Long teeth
- Ideal for small to medium dogs
- Removes dead hair from undercoat and topcoat
- Rotating metal teeth: the rotating metal teeth remove loose hair from undercoat and help prevent tangles and mats in dense fur.
- Best for thick fur: The grooming Rake is best for dogs and cats with thick fur or dense double coats.
- Convenient solution: convenient daily solution to undercoat care.
- A must-have tool for professional and amateur groomers alike
- Features hardened steel teeth that glide through the coat to remove undercoat and loose, dead hair with speed and efficiency
- Wide girth and contoured shape of the ergonomic handle allows the hand and wrist to remain in a more natural position
We love the Andis flexible dog rake it has rotating teeth that are spring mounted for your dog’s comfort. It effectively removes the undercoat while leaving a healthy the top coat.
Best brush for Golden Retrievers
Even if you’ve owned a Golden Retriever for some time, choosing the right grooming tools for your dog can be a challenge. But for first-time owners, it can be a confusing and expensive minefield.
Hopefully, we’ve given you a better idea of the types of suitable brushes for golden retrievers and when and why you would use them.
Grooming a Golden Retriever is a daily activity. However, it offers a fantastic bonding opportunity for you both, and it should be a pleasurable experience for you and your dog. Any dog with a double coat but, especially one that has long fur, needs patience.
Knots need to be worked out gently with the minimum of pulling. If you’ve ever tried to brush a tangle out of your own hair, you know that it can be painful. So groom your golden gently and slowly and never stay in one spot for too long, especially with the undercoat rake.
Regularly brushing your Golden Retriever will reduce shedding keep your dog’s coat looking fantastic, and it’s so much easier if you have the best dog brushes for the job.
Last update on 2023-05-11 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API