Author Topic: Help - coat management after castration  (Read 2573 times)

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Offline bizzylizzy

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Help - coat management after castration
« on: December 05, 2019, 07:29:27 AM »
Humphrey, 4, gold sable show cocker, castrated in April this year.  His coat was always wavy but  I‘ve always managed to keep him reasonable tidy using a coat king occasionally and comb and brush a couple of times a week and his coat used to shine, however  I‘m really finding it a bit of battle lately, it seems to be growing in all directions and at a faster right, and its become coarser and dull. We have no good groomers locally, - at least none that have any experience with cockers and I really don‘t want to resort to having him clipped. How have others coped with permanent „bad hair days“  >:(  Has anyone got any advice please? Many thanks!
P.s. He‘s raw fed and has a teaspoon of oil in his food most days. Any tips on what he might need as a supplement post castration?

Offline lescef

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Re: Help - coat management after castration
« Reply #1 on: December 05, 2019, 09:55:05 AM »
I only have my girls as experience but as they are spayed suppose the end result is the same! I used to coat king Bramble but found it just seemed to stop working and I couldn't get her coat smooth. I'm sure I read somewhere that eventually this happens  >:( after all you are still cutting the hair.
I did try just doing the top of her body but found blending it in very difficult. So I've had to resort to clipping. Being roans I hate the way the coat looks when it's first done. After about two weeks it looks ok (For a couple of weeks)
Be interested to hear any ideas!
Lesley
Lesley, Maddie and Bramble

Offline Mari

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Re: Help - coat management after castration
« Reply #2 on: December 05, 2019, 06:45:08 PM »
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.

Offline bizzylizzy

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Re: Help - coat management after castration
« Reply #3 on: December 05, 2019, 07:35:22 PM »
Thanks Mari. On the  photo you posted of Laurie some time ago, just after you‘d clipped her, she looked good and leaving the feathers and ears long sounds like a good idea. I suppose I was hoping for advice that would work a miracle,  I was warned that the coat might change but I sort of thought it couldn‘t make that much difference, (the forever optimist that I am  :lol2:)
I dont know if I‘ll have enough courage to clip him myself ( my son‘s still never forgiven me after 25 years after attempting to cut his hair!) But then, maybe the winter‘s a good time, I can always put his coat on until I‘ve mastered it!

Offline Mari

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Re: Help - coat management after castration
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2019, 08:06:54 PM »
Hope someone has the answer to the dilemma, would be nice if there was a way to rescue "castration coat"!
Haha luckily dogs will forgive you if you mess up. It grows out really quickly too. I find that Laurië looks pretty stupid when I've just clipped her, but then it sort of gets better after a week or two. But I don't think anyone would think she was clipped by a professional, so it would be better if I could keep her coat long. By the way, the original tangle teezer is surprisingly good on the crazy, fluffy fur. It pulls out a lot of loose hair and Laurië loves it so I can brush her every day just while cuddling in front of the tv in he evening. Could be my imagination but I feel like the coat on her back has gotten more shiny since I started using it.