Excessive Shedding for Golden Retriever?

Our Golden Retriever was 2 years old in June of this year. When, or if, he shed last summer I could hardly tell. This summer, however, he has shed most of his hair, which was about 4" thick. There is still enough left to cover him nicely, and the skin is a nice pink, clear of any scaliness, etc. Is this normal for Goldens, and if not, what could be causing it? I know that low thyroid will make the hair fall out, but that also affects the skin and has a certain odor. This dog seems completely normal otherwise. Thank you for any thing you can tell me about this.

[ginnie5]

we have a golden mix and she sheds so much each spring that she looks ratty. Her tail goies from this nice thick thing to almost nothing. There are handfuls upon handfuls of hair in the yard.

[vicki in NW OH]

Our golden is shedding lots right now, too. My husband uses a dog grooming thing called a rake. He uses it every day and it seems to help.

[jillianjiggs]

It's pretty normal for goldens to shed like crazy. In fact, if the coat isn't shedding and gets a little greasy, you know they aren't healthy.

Thank you so much for answering. We are combing and brushing him almost every day. Just about everytime I comb him I get a 1-gallon ice cream container full of loose hair. He was terribly matted, not from neglect, but from it falling out so fast. We finally got that cut and combed out and are trying to keep him tangle free. What a nice, lovable dog he is! It's terrible, but dogs can fill an empty spot in the senior years......