In response to Bea

I have found lately that her flaking issues have been eliminated from going to a grain free diet. I believe corn is the main culprit in her skin issues. I have only recently invested in a comb to remove her undercoat. Her coat is so thick and long it is very hard to effectively remove the the undercoat. Last year I gave her a lab cut thinking it would help her stay cool. i believe the short coat actually made her hotter, so this year I did not cut her coat. koko is a large 100 ibs ( 45 kg) but because of her thick long coat people are constantly commenting on how big she is. I just tell them they should see her wet because she is really lean.

Being the owner of Golden''s what is your opinion on giving short cuts to your dogs. People infer that I'm abusive because she has such a long coat. Our typical summer high is 95 f (35 C), so the weather is higher than her bred is used to. When we are having our coldest weather is when she really comes alive. She would go swimming on a 32 degree f (0 degree) day. In the summer even in the air conditioned house she is either on a AC vent, or lying on cool tile floors. I really think though that she was cooler this year with her long hair.