any tips

[lilliegez]

hi my working cocker is 3 now and her coat is getting a bit crazy.  I have a coat king and sprats comb which help a bit but not much fur comes out.  I trim her paws but have never used thinning scissors as I am unsure how to use them correctly.  her top knot is now looking like an 80s rock band singer. can anyone give me some advice on where to start, I am a novice with grooming thanks

[sweetpj]

Hi I personally wouldn't attempt to trim Smudge his fur is just too thick so I have him cut by a groomer every six to eight weeks. She is lovely by the way 

[lilliegez]

thanks.  my problem with groomers is I don't think she will tolerate a stranger grooming her.  she had allergies from a young age and in the past really sore ears which after visits to the vets caused her pain and she now if fearful of strangers attempting any examination/grooming.  I wish I could take her but if she thinks its anything like the vets will freak out, she isn't aggressive but panics to get away in that situation.  she will let me bath her, brush, trim her feet etc and enjoys it.

[sweetpj]

Ah right ok have you tried u tube maybe you can get info. from there 

[KeresleyKate]

Hi did you see the U tube video on the forum. I learned a lot from it. You don't have to follow it but its good to learn from, although his dog is amazingly patient!

[Holly Berry]

Is she spayed? This will make a big difference as to how you groom her.

Ebony my solid black, I originally hand stripped until she was spayed and then moved onto thinning scissors. Unfortunately I now have to clip her as she just gets too woolly. The coat King doesn't remove much of her hair now.

If you don't want to take her to a groomers have a look around your area to see if any of the colleges who teach dog grooming offer one off days when pet owners can take their dog and learn how to groom.

To be honest when I first started to groom my OH would only take them out in the dark 

Two things to remember, take things slowly and take a little off at a time and secondly it will grow back.

To do her head, brush the top knot forward and against the lie of her hair make a cut and the using a slicker brush, brush the hair to remove the cut hair. Keep repeating until you have the desired cut.