Different Coat Types

[Harriet]

Ok I just wondered I've seen some breeders say that there is a difference in thickness of coats ie. the black one is harder to manage. Is this correct? Also whcih one is easier to maintain out of all of them?

Thanks 

[spanielcrazy]

Yes, it's very true, there are different coat types, we're talking show types here..(not working types)

here is my --strictly personal opinion! -- blacks and black and tans are the hardest, their coats can get very (very!) thick and wooly. Red/golden can be difficult, but have so much variation in the amount of coat they grow, the breeder can advise about how much coat their dogs grow.

As far as the partis go, the black and whites are the hardest, the more white on them the more difficult, as the white tends to get wooly and sometimes hard to keep white. (but again, sometimes the white can be more coarse than wooly so that makes it al lot easier)

Blue roans and orange/lemon/golden roans tend to be the easiest IMO, but again there is a wide variation.

Sorry, don't have enough experience with liver or liver roans to comment.

That said, I wouldn't make it the basis for my decision--if I fell in love with a thick coated black, then I just know I'm going to spend a lot of time grooming!

[Lynn]

IMO Some dogs have easier coats then others and this applys to what ever colour they are,We have blue roans most of them have been easy to manage but we also had one that was very hard to maintain,we also have a solid who has a very thick coat but we havent had a problem with it.
You would need to check with the breeder as to the type of coat their lines produce hope this is of some help to you

lynn

[Jane S]

I agree with Lynn - you can't generalise about any of the colours really. I handstrip several blacks who have wonderfully easy coats and are a pleasure to do whereas others I do are far more difficult (same goes for any colour). If you are wanting to show and learn how to trim then I do think solid blacks are perhaps the most forgiving colour as there's often more hair to play around with and little mistakes aren't so noticeable.

[Jan/Billy]

black and tans are the hardest, their coats can get very (very!) thick and wooly.

Billy has a thin coat My groomer says she only needs to see him every 12 weeks whereas my friend (who uses the same groomer) her golder cocken has to be in every 4-6 weeks 

[spanielcrazy]

Jan and Jane, you're very lucky with your blacks and black and tans!

Yes, I was making verrrrrry broad generalisations, I guess I didn't get that across well. I agree with both of you, there is a lot of variation in coat type, regardless of color.

**sigh** I guess I just fall in love with the blacks who end up looking like hedgehogs

(P.S. I'm from the States, here English Cockers are shown with too much coat!! But that's another rant!)

[Jan/Billy]

Jan and Jane, you're very lucky with your blacks and black and tans!

I know 

Have to say I love cockers that have a thick coat, think they can look stunning , but so glad I don't have to do all that grooming 

[CraftySam]

I agree with whats been said. AnnieM's Jade who is black has a really fine coat and Amber who is gold still has all her puppy coat and its like touching angel hair its so fine! Whereas Barney, who's gold, has a thick coat and had about three or four times the amount of puppy fluff than Jade had prior to us stripping them out on our course. So I think it really does differ from dog to dog.

[Luvly]

 

[AnnieM]

I agree with whats been said. AnnieM's Jade who is black has a really fine coat and Amber who is gold still has all her puppy coat and its like touching angel hair its so fine!

Yes and Amber's isn't getting any better in fact it is getting worse, it is sticking up all over the place, she looks like a scarecrow. 

[Pammy]

do love those orange coats though much eayier to groom 
do find that the orange coats dry 3 times faster then the blues . Ill often wash them all on a certain day let them dry naturaly I do the blues first Ill wash the oranges last and the last orange will always be dry way before the first blue . wonder why

See this is another example of where you cannot say that a colour determines how a coat is. My orange's coat is a nightmare - there's masses of it, in feathering terms, it's a pig to brush, matts as you look at it and soaks water and hangs onto it like a sponge. Whereas my Blue boys coat is like a big teddy bear but doesn't knot that easily but also dries slowly.

It's down to the genes as to what they get.

[Gilly]

My Liver Roan has a lovely silky coat and it doesn't knot too easily. Gracie's coat B&W is lovely and silky too but by god is her feathering like Candy Floss  it knots within 5 minutes of brushing it.

[sportsmonki]

Storm (blue roan) doesnt have much coat, but it is very fine (beautifully soft) but it does matt very quickly/easily...so she needs brushing twice a day.

Also...her black hair is fluffy and grows twice as quickly as her white hair.  Quite amusing if she hasnt been stripped out for a while as she has a black patch of very fluffy hair at the base of her tail and the surrounding roaning is still flat...  

[Cob-Web]

I agree that colour is no guide to coat type - Molo and Snoopy are both blue roans, with some shared ancestors  - but their coats couldn't be more different 

[Kim]

I own some blacks that have a VERY straight coat, so this is probably as unforgiving to trim as a particolour or golden, as every attempt at cheating will be noticed 

If you have a very heavy, slightly wavy black this is the easiest to take shortcuts with! JMHO