which Show cut?

[CockersIndie]

Hi everyone,

i was at the windsor gundog society show today at Kempton raceground and i noticed there was lots of different cuts on the dogs. I am going to try and show Indie but i don't know what sort of cut i should give (or rather my groomer). I do have some thinning scissors and a stripping knife to keep her neat but compared to them she looked like a scruffbag today! Are there favourable cuts to give? Any pics to follow?

[Jane S]

Hi everyone,

i was at the windsor gundog society show today at Kempton raceground and i noticed there was lots of different cuts on the dogs. I am going to try and show Indie but i don't know what sort of cut i should give (or rather my groomer). I do have some thinning scissors and a stripping knife to keep her neat but compared to them she looked like a scruffbag today! Are there favourable cuts to give? Any pics to follow?

Were you looking at puppies? They will often be in different stages of being stripped out in the puppy classes at shows - some will be fully stripped out and others will still have puppy fluff (owners will be waiting for the coat to be ready to strip them out). Show cockers should be hand stripped ie the dead/excess top coat is stripped out by finger and thumb and/or with the help of a Spaniel comb or fine toothed comb with elastic band threaded between the teeth. Stripping knives and other cutting tools shouldn't really be used on the top coat of a show dog if you want the best, most natural finish Do you have a copy of the grooming DVD mentioned in the sticky thread on grooming equipment? It covers hand stripping so you might find it useful. I would recommend learning how to trim yourself as very few "high street" groomers will know how to do a proper show trim (unless you are lucky enough to have a groomer who also shows)

PS You can find lots of pics of dogs in show trim on the Show Photos board here: http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?board=114.0

[CockersIndie]

yeah, she's 8 months- she still has puppy fluff on her sides- is this normal? The puppies in the show this morning all looked so much older than indie  i don't have the the dvd no, i take it it's worthwhile? i shall abandon the stripping knife then. it's such a minefield, i probably need to find a demonstration! She's been professionally groomed before, although we didn't do any 'show shaping' as it was her first cut. she's coming again in a few weeks so i'll see if she is able to do a show cut on her if that's feasible!