Golden Retriever grooming in Gloucester, MA

The AKC describes the golden's coat as thick, water-repellent and double, shed moderately all the time and heavily once or twice a year. Males run 65 to 75 pounds and females 55 to 65, so every adult golden sits in our 51-to-90-pound band. The undercoat is what comes out in handfuls during a heavy shed; the outer coat and the feathering are what you see, and what holds the dirt.

The feathering grows behind the ears, down the chest, along the backs of the legs and under the tail, and it is where a golden tangles. The soft hair behind the ears felts first, then the trousers on the back legs. The feet grow hair between the pads that the AKC says needs regular trimming, and it collects sand, ice and burrs. A golden that swam at Good Harbor in November carries salt in all of it.

Shed Release is a $10 add-on to the bath or full service: a de-shedding treatment and brush-out that takes the loose undercoat out in the studio instead of on your floors. Book it as each heavy shed begins, which for many goldens means spring and again in the fall, rather than at the end when most of the coat is already on the couch. Between sheds, the AKC notes that a golden needs only occasional baths to stay clean.

Beach months change that. At the time of writing, Gloucester's beaches take dogs from October 1 to April 30, with Good Harbor on even-numbered days until March 31 and Wingaersheek on odd-numbered days, and salt and sand sit in the feathering after every swim. Skip the rinse and the bath for a few weeks and the hair behind the ears and on the trousers packs into mats, which cost $15 per 20 minutes to work out on top of the groom.

The AKC's home routine for a golden is a slicker brush once or twice a week, daily during a heavy shed, with one rule that matters on the coast: the dog must be completely dry before brushing begins. A damp undercoat drags and tangles under the brush. Use a comb on the feathering behind the ears, the chest, the legs and the tail, and check the hair between the pads for sand and ice. Our how-to on drying a dog after the beach covers the routine for swim days.

After a winter swim, salt and sand are the enemy. Rinse the feathering and belly with fresh water before the salt dries in, squeeze and towel the coat, then dry it through with moving air rather than heat, which the AKC warns can burn the skin. From April to November, the same feathering hides ticks after Dogtown Common or Ravenswood, so let the brush double as a tick check. A golden that smells of low tide a day later is still damp underneath.