Clipper question

[Colin]

The fluff on Jimmy's sides is becoming really difficult to make any impact on with the thinners - his ribcage area between his back and his body feathering ( the flanks ?  ). It seems to grow out in wooly tufts at 90degrees to his skin. If I was to use clippers there would I get better results, or would it start to grow back even worse  ( and curly) ? Also what clippers would people recommend and which blade size ? His thighs are getting increasingly messy too - probably through inexpert thinner use, as on the insides where I haven't used them much, the fur is less coarse and still grows down straight  - rather than curling up at the ends like it does on the outsides. I know that as he's neutered I'm fighting a bit of a losing battle to get him looking really smart but I'm sure there must be a way to make these difficult bits a bit neater. Any tips would be appreciated. 

[Kim]

Colin, IMO opinion to handstrip all this out would give you the best & longest lasting results.
Please try to persevere esp with this colour! 

[Colin]

Kim, he's neutered so unfortunately it's only possible to handstrip his head now. I've managed to trim him with coat king and thinners since his coat changed but it's getting really difficult to keep the areas I mentioned looking tidy - the coat king just bounces off and the thinners just don't seem to cut the fur very well as it's just too woolly. I am wary of using clippers as they do seem to have a particularly harsh effect on golds -  I was just wondering if I restricted their use to these few areas if I could get away with it without damaging the coat even more, or would it be best to keep hacking away with the thinners ?

[spanielcrazy]

It's been my experience that continued use of thinning shears make the coat get more cottony and difficult to deal with

I use an 8 1/2 clipper blade, it's the only thing I'll touch a spaniel with (cockers or springers) It is short but it is very natural looking and doesn't seem to alter the coat with continued use.

You can "skim" in down the sides of his legs to get that side stuff off , then lighten up your touch with the clippers when you get to where you want to leave the feathering in, and use a light touch on the clippers to blend.


Yikes!!! Just googled coat king!    Oh, no!  If you want to hand strip I would use a McClellan or Mars stripping knife along with hand plucking.

How old is he? Do you have pics?

[Jane S]

Colin, I doubt you will ever get the smooth effect you really want with Jimmy's coat now. Clippering will certainly be easier on you and on Jimmy but it will fade his coat after a while. I do clip a few neutered goldens as their coats have become too thick to do with thinners and use either a 7F or 8.5 blade lightly - they look neat and tidy which is all their owners want but inevitably their coats don't have the beauty of a hand-stripped gold. It's a compromise really

[Gilly]

I've got a pair of Andis AGC 2 speed which take most of the clip type blades. I would recommend them because they are quiet 

[Cob-Web]

Yikes!!! Just googled coat king!    Oh, no!  If you want to hand strip I would use a McClellan or Mars stripping knife along with hand plucking.

I thought a coat king was preferable to a stripping knife on a cockers coat?? I don't show, but prefer him not to be clipped and have always avoided a stripping knife 

[Jane S]

I thought a coat king was preferable to a stripping knife on a cockers coat?? I don't show, but prefer him not to be clipped and have always avoided a stripping knife 

Coat Kings and stripping knives are both capable of cutting the coat. I personally won't use stripping knives on Cocker coats, specially not on show coats, but I know they are widely used in other countries (I think spanielcrazy is in the US?)

[Mary]

I was at a grooming seminar today and watched an American cocker being groomed.  The owner was using a stripping knife on the back and when questioned he said he uses a partially blunt one as it doesn't cut the coat (this was a show coat)

I'm happy with my coat king

[spanielcrazy]

I thought a coat king was preferable to a stripping knife on a cockers coat?? I don't show, but prefer him not to be clipped and have always avoided a stripping knife 

Coat Kings and stripping knives are both capable of cutting the coat. I personally won't use stripping knives on Cocker coats, specially not on show coats, but I know they are widely used in other countries (I think spanielcrazy is in the US?)

Yes, I am in the US. Most of the people I know use a stripping knife on show coats, (except on reds and goldens, they are hand plucked) It's more a matter of technique, which I'm not good at explaining    Of course for a show dog you have to kind of alternate stripping knives and hand plucking. The knife does eventually give the roans a more coarse coat if overused.

The coat king just looks to me like it would aggravate a "wooly coat" situation, which I think would be doubly so in the solids. I've never used one, I just said "Eeek!" when I saw the picture of it!

[Colin]

Jane - yep I'm probably expecting too much.  The bits I've mentioned have already faded from red to blonde anyway so clippers might not make the coat any worse in that sense.

Gilly - those clippers look really good but are really expensive. Not sure I can justify spending £115. Are there any cheaper alternatives you can recommend ?

Spanielcrazy - the coat king does look like a torture instrument but it isn't really.  It does a really good job of getting the fluff off Jimmy's back and he loves it - he lies down all relaxed and contented when I use it on him. It's no substitute for handstripping ( and no good for a show dog ) but a good tool for us pet owners. It doesn't seem to aggravate Jimmy's woolly coat to the extent that the thinners have ( probably my pooor technique there ) - the bits I use it on Jimmy are the bits that will still lie flat and look quite neat. It's the places where it has no impact that I'm struggling with.

[*-Nikki-*]

I was at a grooming seminar today and watched an American cocker being groomed.  The owner was using a stripping knife on the back and when questioned he said he uses a partially blunt one as it doesn't cut the coat (this was a show coat)

I'm happy with my coat king

...yes I know of a few exhibitors who use a stripping knife on their Americans, which they show! We have a coat king, just for our Chloe (who is golden). When she was shown she hated being stripped and still does, hence why we purchased one...for her use only. Her coat has gone a little wooly, but she's 8 now. Only use the clippers on her throat and thinners to keep her tidy and that’s about it .

[CraftySam]

Colin, how long is it since Jimmy was castrated? How long did it take after him being done before his coat started to become wooly? Just asking because Barney was done last month, and I have to say I'm kind of dreading his coat change. I was hoping to cope with it using the coat king and thinners, but you've shattered my illusions with that now! 

I was at a grooming seminar today and watched an American cocker being groomed.  The owner was using a stripping knife on the back and when questioned he said he uses a partially blunt one as it doesn't cut the coat (this was a show coat)

I'm happy with my coat king

...yes I know of a few exhibitors who use a stripping knife on their Americans, which they show! We have a coat king, just for our Chloe (who is golden). When she was shown she hated being stripped and still does, hence why we purchased one...for her use only. Her coat has gone a little wooly, but she's 8 now. Only use the clippers on her throat and thinners to keep her tidy and that’s about it .

My friend shows americans and she uses a stripping knife.

[spanielcrazy]

LOL, I meant it more as looking like the coat would go all cotton wool using a coat king. Like I say, I've never used one, so I don't really know what I'm talking about here

Not sure how you are using your thinning shears here, but you can also try (and as always requires practice and patience ) using a regular straight scissors to do what the thinning shears are doing. One thing about them, they don't alter the texture

[Colin]

Colin, how long is it since Jimmy was castrated? How long did it take after him being done before his coat started to become wooly? Just asking because Barney was done last month, and I have to say I'm kind of dreading his coat change. I was hoping to cope with it using the coat king and thinners, but you've shattered my illusions with that now! 

Sorry about that.  It does differ from dog to dog ( although sadly the golds seem to come off the worst ) so maybe Barney will be luckier than Jimmy. Jimmy was neutered at 2 1/2, he's now almost 5. I'd say it was around about a year after he was done that it got a lot woolier, for a while he actually looked better than he did before - the red had faded a bit but he'd grown body feathering which he'd never really had before. His coat was previously non-trim in that it didn't need handstripping on the back, front of legs or thighs - suddenly it exploded everywhere.  It was only really once I started to trim the new thick fur with the thinners that it deteriorated and started to grow back wooly and curl up at the ends - the coat king just stopped having any impact at all apart from on the very top of his back.