working cocker ears!!

[lyn]

how is the best way to trim them.paddy is half show and he has longer ears i think than full workers.the ends of his ears are looking a bit straggly no matter how often i brush them they revert to rats tails in minutes.
do i just cut in a straight line or do i shape them.

[happydog]

I couldn't bring myself to trim anything off Ferns ears, (which are a little longer than a lot of working cockers too). I wash/shampoo them regularly by dipping them in a pudding basin of water and towelling them off.

  Sorry that's not the sort of answer you wanted was it? 

[MaxG]

Hiya Lyn,

Not sure if we're doing the right thing or not but we trim/shape Max's ears when they get too long & straggly (&whiffy from dragging in all sorts - despite regular dipping in bowls of warm shampooey water!)

Max is half worker & half show too & his ears always look quite smart when we've trimmed them - I think it's just personal preference but we carefully go round the shape of the ear with the straight scissors & then 'feather' the finish with the thinning scissors so that it doesn't look too deliberate!

I'm sure Paddy will look gorgeous no matter what you do - he's lovely!! 

[Nicola]

I haven't trimmed Alfie's ears but if I did then I think I'd probably go round the shape of his ear rather than cutting straight, might give a more natural finish.

MaxG - I didn't know Max was half worker half show! 

[Penel]

Can you "pull" the hair out rather than cut it - that's how I do Hattie's ears - hers are rather hopeless examples of cocker ears though !

[flozac]

Zac has big ears with loads of  curly hair on them they are a bit like rugs.I use a coat king on them and just trim them straight acoss. In the summer I usually clip  them right down and let them  grow all over again. Floss has ears  like Hattie (above) and one has longer hair on it than the other so really I should trim it to the same length as the other, but I just comb or brush them through. Little Scout just  has little puppy curly ears so I just play with them!!

[Annette]

Buddy's ears are a bit long. I have tried  the coat king on them but he just yelps, and none seems to come out at all when I try by hand (but I can't get it out of his head either. Is it likely that I just don't have the knack, or do they sometimes have "resistant hair"?

So far I have just trimmed them around the shape of the ears. But I felt they then looked too short (about an inch longer than his leathers, if that's the right term.

[MaxG]

MaxG - I didn't know Max was half worker half show! 

Well I THINK he is - his dad is a worker & his mum is a show so I just assumed that meant he was a 50:50 boy!! 

[DennyK]

I trimmed Paddy's ears (show cocker) straight across (because I'm a moron).

He looked suspiciously like Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra when she's got that very crisp long bob.  More than a little disconcerting.

[happydog]

I trimmed Paddy's ears (show cocker) straight across (because I'm a moron).

He looked suspiciously like Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra when she's got that very crisp long bob.  More than a little disconcerting.

    Wot no piccies?   

[Neville]

I trimmed Paddy's ears (show cocker) straight across (because I'm a moron).

He looked suspiciously like Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra when she's got that very crisp long bob.  More than a little disconcerting.

 

[DennyK]

I trimmed Paddy's ears (show cocker) straight across (because I'm a moron).

He looked suspiciously like Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra when she's got that very crisp long bob.  More than a little disconcerting.

    Wot no piccies?   

Happily - no.  They've since grown and been trimmed to follow the contours of his lugs - looks nice. 

Which goes some way to make up for the "plucked chicken" look he's sporting since I had to adopt the "slash and burn" policy on trimming his legs (i.e. "quick, he's still, just bloody cut the hair off - oh dear, perhaps not THAT much hair.  Too late.  Give us the other leg to butcher, mate...." policy).

Denise

[lyn]

thanks guys,i will carefully trim and shape.i am always dipping his ears in a jug of water but that has no effect.
penel,paddy is a wuss and will not tolerate stripping.glad i waited for my internet connection to be fixed now.i was just gonna lob a load off straight across the bottom.jim would never forgive me if he ended up looking like elizabeth taylor

[DennyK]

.jim would never forgive me if he ended up looking like elizabeth taylor

Would Jim mind if Paddy was a girl and if it was young, slim Elizabeth Taylor (s)he looked like??

[CAG]

use thining scissors at the top, just go up into the coat and cut , better thinned than cut across like cleo patra.   better to use thining scissors  at the bottom as well