totally clueless about grooming - help!

[lopey99]

cassie is almost 7 months now and she resembles a mini yetti, she is so fluffy all over with huuuuuge paws and has side burns, a beard and the start of a wig, not at all suitable for a little girl  so far the only grooming i've done is a brush with a slicker brush maybe every other day, she's not the best at standing to be groomed i normally stand her up on a bench and give her a few treats and try to get it done as quick as possible.

my question is what do i now do with her coat?? I dont know if it makes much of a difference but she's recently just been spayed, I've been asking around for a good groomer and plan on getting her booked in when i get back from hols in a few weeks but i have no idea what to ask for, i dont think i want her clipped i would prefer a bit of length but definitely want her paws ears and legs trimmed a good bit and tidy up her face. 

i've read lots about coat king on here and cassies breeder swears by them, is it time to invest in one? what kind of effect will it have on her coat? to be honest i dont think i could handstrip her, there is just so much fur and i dont think she would stand long enough to let me do it.

this grooming business has completely confused me 

[KellyS]

It depends on what you want her coat to look and feel like and what her coat is like, you have 3 Options...

1) Clip her - you can still have feathering and length to her coat - if you can find a good groomer that will clip her so she still resembles a cocker spaniel - easiest & cheapest option.

2) Coat King and scissor work i.e Coat king the back coat and thin the ears/legs etc -Coat kings I find do a good job initially but the hair will grow back coarse and thicker in the long run.

3) Hand strip & Scissor work i.e. handstrip and scissor the ears,throat etc - Unless your showing or have an easy handstrippable coat it would be expensive & very time consuming.

If you have had her spayed her coat may grow thick and curly and in which case you will find clipping may be your only option. Also from my own experience blacks can have very wooley coats, i clip off all of mine that i'm not showing as it's just too much hard work to keep on top of the coats.

You could always start off by having her hand-stripped or coat king'ed and then clip her if you don't get on with that.  Hope that helps

[little miss]

It depends on what you want her coat to look and feel like and what her coat is like, you have 3 Options...

1) Clip her - you can still have feathering and length to her coat - if you can find a good groomer that will clip her so she still resembles a cocker spaniel - easiest & cheapest option.

2) Coat King and scissor work i.e Coat king the back coat and thin the ears/legs etc -Coat kings I find do a good job initially but the hair will grow back coarse and thicker in the long run.

3) Hand strip & Scissor work i.e. handstrip and scissor the ears,throat etc - Unless your showing or have an easy handstrippable coat it would be expensive & very time consuming.

If you have had her spayed her coat may grow thick and curly and in which case you will find clipping may be your only option. Also from my own experience blacks can have very wooley coats, i clip off all of mine that i'm not showing as it's just too much hard work to keep on top of the coats.

You could always start off by having her hand-stripped or coat king'ed and then clip her if you don't get on with that.  Hope that helps

very informative reply and a great help to us also.  little Bronson is 7months and we are in the same situation, he is very fluffy and in need of a trim.  we are not going to be showing him and have opted for him to be clipped.  we have spoken to a groomer and she has cut spaniels before but we could use some help as to what he should look like, so we do not get a shock when picking him up.

we like his longer bits towards the bottom of his belly and would not just want him to be clipped all over.  do you have any pictures of your dogs which have been clipped, that you can post?  Thanks :-)

[KellyS]

Hi Katie

Here are a couple of photos of clipped cockers. These are quite short you can ask your groomer to leave longer or more feathering as you wish- HTH





And heres Ebony ...

[jann]

little miss !  If you look at this post by Michele it should answer your questions I think

http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=32160.0

[little miss]

thanks for the help, the pictures were great and look really pretty dogs.  We have had Bronson cut this weekend.  We had him clipped on his head and back and left what little feathering he has underneath.  We are delighted with how he looks .  It is funny coz he looks a little bit like sweep from sooty and sweep now all his curls have gone from his top knot.  He is a blue road and his markings have shown up so well.

He was also very good when being cut, which surprised us but i think he liked it appart from his whiskers being shaved and having to lift his head for his neck to be shaved.

thanks again for the pictures and advice.

Loopey99:  i hope you get sorted on what you are going to do with Cassie.  We will try and post a picture of Bronson for you to see as you may be able to compare the amount of feathering and how he looks.  We had the option of having him coat kinged but were told his coat would grow back thicker & quicker so for basic ease of maintenance, clipping was better.  Bronson is not going to be shown and likes to get wet and muddy on his walks, we bathed him yesterday and he dried so much easier too.

[lopey99]

thanks as usual for all your help! Cassis is booked in for the full works this evening and i have to say i'm really excited but a little nervous but after all the wet weather we've been having in Northern Ireland recently i've realised i cant cope any longer with a soggy dog 24/7.

So i'm gonna have to kiss goodbye to my fluffy little cuddle monster but i'm really excited about seeing a dog again and not just a puff of fur, i'm gonna have to take some before and after pictures although i dont think photos do any justice to how furry she actually is 

my only worry is how she is gonna behave at the groomers, she is fine getting brushed but absolutely hates the hairdryer and noise of the electric shaver OH uses, she bolts everytime i turn it on so i hope they will actually be able to do something with her. I still havent got straight in my mind what i want yet - OH told me what he wants but since he's away working and i'm paying he has no say!!

Kelly s love the photos they have been a great help and i cant wait to see a pic of Bronson!

[lopey99]

we finally decided to have cassie clipped and scissored, we had her done on tuesday night and she looks great (not that i'm biased) I've put some pics of the transformation on the puppy ohotos page under 'so there is a dog under all that fur'