Do Labradors or Golden Retrievers Shed More?

Golden Retrievers and Labradors are often compared because they share many traits. But how about shedding, do they shed the same amount of hair?

Do Labradors Shed More Than Golden Retrievers?

Labradors and Golden Retrievers shed the same amount of hair. They are both double-coated dogs which means that they will shed their undercoat during spring and fall. The hairs on Golden Retrievers are longer and may show more on furniture for that reason.

Here’s everything you should know about shedding in Labradors and Golden Retrievers.

Why Golden Retrievers (Seem To) Shed More Than Labradors

Golden retrievers have longer hairs than Labradors in general.

You have probably noticed the fine long golden hair and your Golden Retriever while the Labrador has shorter hairs on their coat. This also means that the amount of hair will take up more space when you pile it up.

So because the Golden Retrievers have longer hairs it seems like they will shed more than Labradors. But in reality, they shed around the same amount of hair.

So you will need to do more grooming with a Golden Retriever compared to a Labrador. This is just because the hairs are longer and the coat appears to be thicker.

It’s an important thing to consider before you choose whether you want a Labrador or a Golden Retriever as a pet. They are both exceptionally good family dogs but the amount of work needed differs a bit. You should expect to spend more time grooming your Golden Retrievers compared to your Labradors.

How Much Do Labradors & Golden Retrievers Shed?

Labradors and Golden Retrievers shed a lot. If you want a dog that doesn’t shed a lot of hair you shouldn’t go for one of these two breeds.

You should expect to de-shed a rather big pile of fur and hair every day especially when the seasons change from winter to spring or summer to fall. This is because the dog will fluff up the undercoat (more on that below) during the winter in order to keep warm in the cold.

Here you can see the amount of her hair we have shed from a golden retriever from a few minutes of using the brush:

Remember that this should be a daily task and if your dog lives indoors all year round you should expect it to shed all year round.

You need to be ready to brush and de-shed your dog daily whether you choose one of the other. The amount of hair can be overwhelming at times and this is something you need to be prepared for before you go out and get one. If you’re not up for a daily grooming session with your dog you should choose another breed.

They are both double-coated breeds

Both breeds are what we call double coated.

This basically means that they have an extra layer of hair below the hair you can see. This is very common among dogs with lots of hair and they use this undercoat to keep warm in the cold winter months.

Because they have an undercoat they will shed more during the changing of seasons.

When winter turns to spring they will shed parts of the undercoat which served the purpose of keeping them warm during the cold months. And in the same way, they would start shedding more when summer chance to fall.

The extra layer of coat first appears when the puppy sheds off its puppy coat (We’ll get back to that in a bit).

When Do Labradors And Golden Retrievers Shed The Most?

As mentioned above, all dog breeds will shed more when the main season changes. This is especially true for dogs that have plenty of access to fresh air and outdoor time.

This is especially true for Labradors and Golden Retrievers as they have the undercoat which will fluff up during the winter to create a warmer fur. When winter turns to spring they will also change the undercoat again in order to adapt to the warmer season.

During these changing times, you need to take your dog outside at least once every day in order to give it a good brush and de-shedding.

The brushing and de-shedding normally take around 15 to 20 minutes every day and it can be a great experience for you and your dog.

Rubber Gloves Work Great

Your dog will love these little bonding sessions with you and if you like to pet your dog you can use special rubber gloves with rubber spikes for the de-shedding process.

They work really great for the daily de-shedding during the spring and fall and they will help you get all the excess hair off your dog more easily.

They also were great during bath time because they protect your hands and help you groom the dog. You will get a much better feel for the dog and it will feel like a good back rub or a gentle massage for him/her.

You can find all our recommendations for brushes and de-shedding tools here.

Why Does My Dog Shed All-Year-Round?

If your dog lives most of its life indoors he/she will react more to the use of heating and air conditioning. This can make it a lot harder for the dog to detect when the season changes.  For that reason, the dog that stays inside most of the time will often start shedding all year round.

There can be lots of reasons why your dog is shedding all year round this is typically one of the main reasons.

Try first to simply take the dog outside more often and give him/her more access to natural sunshine as the increased amount of light will let him/her know that the seasons are about to change.

If you want your dog to align more with the changing seasons you should give him/her plenty of time outdoors and let him/her run and play outdoors during the day. This is great advice for all dog owners because dogs naturally like to be outside.

It’s a pity to keep dogs inside your apartment for most of the day. They need access to fresh air and open grass fields so they can run and have fun.

How To Get Rid Of The Dog Hair (in your house)

It can be frustrating at times to constantly remove hair and fur from your furniture and floors. It seems like an endless amount of work (because it is).

Even though you might be brushing your dog every day you will never get rid of all the hair. It’s simply impossible to remove all the hair and some of it will inevitably end up in your house.

It’s important to have the right tools to get rid of the hair and one of the best inventions is these specially designed vacuum cleaners.

These vacuum cleaners work a lot better than standard vacuum cleaners because the brush rolls are constructed differently.

The brush roll is self-cleaning so the hair doesn’t tangle up inside the roll. This is really important in order to keep your house clean during the shedding season especially if we are talking about a Goldie that lives indoors most of the time. It’s simply impossible to clean the floors with a normal vacuum cleaner.

With the normal vacuum cleaners, the hairs from our pets will quickly tangle up inside the brush roll and make it impossible for the vacuum cleaner to pick up anything.

But with these special vacuum cleaners, the brush roll is constructed differently so the hair doesn’t get stuck in the roll.

You can see the vacuumer we recommend here. It does an AMAZING job!

How Much Do The Puppies Shed?

In the beginning, puppies tend to shed a little less hair than grown-up dogs. This is simply because they are a lot smaller so the amount of hair they can pile up is also smaller.

When the puppy turns 4 to 6 months old he/she will shed off its puppy coat. During this time he should expect excessive shedding all over the place and you need to take it outside several times a day to get rid of the hair.

There’s an important detail we need to mention here when we are talking about Labradors and Golden Retrievers because these two breeds are double-coated, as we mentioned above.

The extra layer of hair doesn’t appear until the puppy sheds off its puppy coat. Puppies across all dog breeds always have one single layer of hair. This is how the puppy coat is constructed and this also means you need to be careful when you are grooming the little fella.

You should only use very gentle tools (like these great rubber-tools) on the little puppies because there’s no undercoat to take care of until the puppy changes his/her coat for an adult double-layered coat.

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