I have just been reading about owners having there retrievers shaved in the summer and wondered if anyone can tell me if this is a good idea or not.

In a word, NO!

Their coats are insulating - against the heat as well as the cold. Far better to make sure they're properly groomed by combing them through every couple of days (as you should anyway, to make sure they're not tangled) and make sure no dead undercoat is clogging up the coat.

Shaving also vastly increases the risk of sunburn (yes, dogs get sunburn too) and therefore skin cancer.

Put it this way, if anyone shaved one of my puppies I would be very annoyed.

Wot she said! In a normal, healthy dog with a properly groomed coat, shaving it off is the LAST thing you should do and will not benefit the dog at all.

In an old or ill dog or one with an incorrect coat, shaving MIGHT be beneficial but usually proper grooming and good diet will still suffice and if shaving is necessary, a 'cool' strip under the tummy is probably the best thing, NOT an all over baldy dog.

Pet hate of mine im afraid and i do struggle on forums where there are every summer, loads of pics entitled 'doesnt xyz look lovely in his new haircut' and what i see is a fat bald hot dog with poor skin and a horrendous shorn-sheep look!

If you shave a Golden retriever the coat will most likely grow back like straw-very thick and dry and will be much harder to groom afterwards-don't do it!

No no never - like others said, make sure the undercoat is combed out, but definitely no clipping off!

Again ditto - don't shave - coat insulates against heat and cold!!

I saw a shaved flat coat once - it was horrific. :-(

Thank god everyone said no to shaving my retriever i thought it was something new.  Ive been trying to imagine how she would look without her fur after having it for 14 years.

My two goldens have been suffering in the heat I have to admit I have got a "Furminator" brush and have been using it, it takes all the dead hair out in between brushes, also been filling up the tin bath with cool water and they have just been sitting in it under the tree....then at 10pm they come ALIVE  and its play time...!

Oh yes, Furminaters and Coat Kings are fine, also undercoat rakes for stripping dead hair etc - it's just clipping the coat that's a no no! :-)

Slicker brush and a Greyhound comb (Diamond edge) works a treat.

Ive never heard of a furminator where would i get one from and what does i one look like.  It sounds great.

Just thought I would mention when my dog became ill one night an emergency vet I saw from New Zealand told me in their country with the heat they shave the stomachs of hairy breeds but only so they can lie on the ground and get a cool tummy. He thought that was what was up with my dog? I know of a friend who went horse riding and shaved her border collie which made him look terrible. I never did do that to my dog but I paid £80 for that snippet of information back in 1997!

Ive seen it done, and if its reallllllly necessary then i have no objections - for most dogs its not (those young, correct weight, healthy, correct coats, properly groomed, exercised sensibly not in the heat of the day..).

Its worth remembering though that if clipping softens the coat, for many dogs (especially those with a low wheelbase), this is one of the worst places to have a more easily matted coat.

If it needs to be done though and coping with the softer coat afterwards isnt a problem, then its the least harmful way of helping a dog cool down.

I do HATE to see shaven dogs, looking poo and too hot anyway, done through ignorance and idleness. (and only marginally less than i hate seeing horribly matted dogs who smell revolting.).

Re shaving the stomach to cool them down can't see the point of this on a Golden ours doesn't have a lot of hair there anyway.

>I saw a shaved flat coat once - it was horrific. <

Only once????? I thought it was the fashion these days, as I see a lot in the show ring have definately got shaved necks which is not as required in our breed standard which says flatcoats should only have their feet and ear fringes tidied up.

A big NO No, by all means have him proffesionally trimmed on his chest, feet, and tail but on no accounts shave him. I saw a local one that had been butchered by a groomer, all the furnishings had gone, no tail feathering or leg, no trousers or chest and it looked awful, the coat never did look the same, he had to pay £55 for the pleasure also

When I say shaved - I mean the whole dog was shaved - no feathering at all.