Aww that's too bad, sorry to hear that. I struggled for more than a year after my girl was spayed before eventually caving and having her clipped. Did the fish oil supplements, furminator, brushing daily, leave-in conditioner, different brushes. Allthough I miss her shiny, natural coat I am glad I started clipping her. Her coat is dull and fluffy and gets tangled easily no matter what I do, so having it short just makes everyday life so much better for us both. Not really advise I suppose, but maybe some comfort?
I find that keeping the fur long on the outside of the ears and on the tail and the feathers on the backside of the legs helps maintain the cocker- look even if the rest is short. So I never use the clippers on the outside of the earflap or on the tail. Now that I clip her myself I don't clip the back either. I shave her underside short-short and use a longer blade for the sides and use thinning scissors/furminator to even out the transition. I'm not good enough to get it completely smooth, but she looks OK and is still recognisable as a cocker.