Golden Retrievers are noted for their gorgeous flowing coats, which should be maintained and groomed regularly to keep it in its pristine condition.
The same meticulous maintenance should be accorded to the Golden Retriever’s legs and paws. By keeping your dog’s legs and paws trimmed, you not only maintain the proper breed standard for show purposes, you can also prevent potential injuries or deformities from developing in your dog, which can greatly hamper its mobility.
Let us take a look at the procedure on how to trim Golden Retriever Paws.
Why Is It Necessary to Trim Golden Retriever Paws
When a Golden Retriever’s coat grows, it grows long and flowing like a silk waterfall. This same abundant growth can be observed in the Golden’s legs and paws.
When the fur on the Golden Retriever’s paws grows too long, they tend to look like “slippers” or “Grinch feet” (remember the popular Dr. Seuss character) with the hairs extending way beyond the toes. This can lead to huge deductions in points if your dog competes in show events.
However, there are bigger problems that can come from too long dog hairs in the paws. If the hairs grow long between the pads, matting can easily develop causing their toes to become splayed, leading to joint problems. In addition, if their paws become too furry along the foot pads, there is a tendency for them to lose traction on tile or wood floors when they walk or run. This may cause them to slip and suffer injuries.
Their fur is not your only consideration. You also need to trim their nails. Nails that are too long can cause discomfort as they walk, leading to problems in paw and joint alignment. Often forgotten is the dew claw situated above the paw. Long dew claws can end up digging into the dog’s skin, causing pain and infection.
How To Trim Golden Retriever Paws
While ideally you should get your Golden Retriever accustomed to paw trimming and other grooming procedures when it is still a puppy, you can still train them to do so when they are adults through positive reinforcement.
Let your dog get used to your touching their legs and paws as they lie or stand on a grooming table. You should also expose them to whatever grooming tools you will use, particularly scissors, hair trimmers, and nail clippers. While familiarizing them with the grooming tools, make it a point to switch on your hair trimmers so they won’t be afraid of the buzzing sounds and vibrations. Always reward them with treats if they remain calm and relaxed.
Now, let’s get down to the actual procedure on how to trim your Golden Retriever’s paws:
1) Make sure that you have all your grooming tools on hand and within easy reach. Always include styptic powder, corn starch, alum, or alternative medications ready for use when trimming your dog’s nails.
2) Start by letting your dog lie down on a grooming table.
3) Push the long hairs between your dog’s toes.
4) Using a pair of scissors, cut the hairs with your scissors positioned above the large foot pad in the middle and the point toward the toes. Make sure that the hairs are even with or a bit lower than the flesh of the foot and toe pads. Never squeeze your scissors between the toes and pads to cut the hairs as it may cause splaying and flattening of the foot.
5) Once done, push the remaining hairs out from between the dog’s toes. With a bristle brush, brush the hairs toward the toes.
6) Trim away the edges so that your dog’s paw is “tight and cat-like”.
7) Along the large pad, make sure that you only trim around 3/4 to 1 inch maximum of the fur’s length from the pastern to the base of the pad.
8) Trim your dog’s claws with clippers. Cut at the downward angle of the claw to avoid cutting through the quick. In case you do cut the quick, apply styptic powder to stop the bleeding.
9) Do the above steps for all four paws while the dog is still lying down.
10) Once you’re done with trimming the paws and clipping the claws, have your dog stand up. Using a pair of thinning shears, further trim the hairs on the paws but make sure that you don’t over-trim. Use a bristle brush to brush off clipped hairs and to check if the length of the hairs is still too long.
11) Last but not least, move on to the legs. Along the leg, brush the fur so that the fuzz fans out at the back. Trim vertically along the leg, making sure to keep some of the fuzz so that you are able to maintain the leg’s feathery appearance.
While many pet owners prefer their Golden Retrievers to be groomed by a professional groomer, because of the costs, there may be times when you would want to do the task yourself. Just follow the above procedure on how to trim your Golden Retriever paws. It will also serve as a great bonding experience between you and your dog.
