Very Poofy Puppy - First Time Cocker Owner - Help Please! :)

[LinneaLand]

hello everyone! i could really use some good advice about what to do with my little show-type, solid red pup, who is just about 5 1/2 months old now.

this is my first cocker, so i'm basically starting out with very limited experience and a pretty basic understanding about what needs to be done. he has become one giant little fluff ball. i've read through a lot of the grooming threads, including the sticky related to hand stripping, which is great, in addition to other things online, but i'm still a bit perplexed.

let's start with the head. i know that a mop top/toupee look is pretty typical in cocker puppies. his really started to come in last month, and now it's really long. i would like to keep the option of showing him one day, so i know that i don't want to cut his fur. my breeder's site suggests beginning grooming at about 6-7 months of age. since he's still younger than that, i've been wary about starting something he's not ready for. (i should say we've been practicing the grooming process on a regular basis to get him used to it just the same.) i tried hand stripping a little of it yesterday, and the fur does come out with a solid yank, but how can i be sure it's dead? i just don't want to hurt him. also, when it is time to hand strip his head, how will i know where to stop? it's kind of hard to tell with all of this fur. 

there is also a ton of extra fur i've never been able to find in a photo online. he grew lots and lots of thin sticky-out bits on his face, which i've hand stripped to clean him up a bit and to keep them from bothering his eyes. there's more where his whiskers are, but i don't know how to strip that fur without the risk of pulling out his whiskers, too.

and now we arrive at the silliest portion, which is like a big, very light blond beard that lines his cheeks on either side. some of this fur is up to an inch and a half/2 inches long (and then it gets progressively shorter), and it's in a row that's about 2 inches long on both sides of his face. i'm assuming that this has to get hand stripped too, but i'm afraid of tugging on it because it's attached to his cheeks, which means that the skin isn't taught like the skin on his head. again, i just don't want to hurt the poor thing.

now, onto the legs. i must say, they're very fluffy looking. i've been brushing him daily, also using a flat wire brush, but the brush really doesn't really take any fur out. i tried picking up a from tool my breeder has on her site (it's called a "slanatore" in italian, which would more or less translate to mean a wool remover), but it's still on back order, and as i think it cuts the fur i haven't wanted use it without proper information or a demonstration first.

basically, what should i be doing? is he too young to hand strip, or does the fact that some of his fur looks so substantial mean it's ready to come out? also, what else will need to be stripped either now or in the future? other than his age, do i have to wait for a season (i.e. warm weather) to do it, or does it get done just when he's old enough? also, when is the proper time to trim his feet?

okay, one last thing. my boyfriend is so worried that stripping is going to hurt him that he wants me to leave our pup just as he is. he says he likes the look. as a favor to my boyfriend, i'll ask his questions. would it be possible to just leave the hair on his head and cheeks? would it eventually come out on its own to reveal the beautiful puppy hiding underneath all that fur? personally, i would love to see my pup handsome, well groomed, and looking like a proper cocker. he's almost unrecognizable now.   

wow. i had a lot more questions than i realized. any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[skyesmum]

Hello!

If you tell us what area you live in, someone will usually pop up and recommend a really good groomer.

You're probably best to get it done professionally the first time - and stripping won't hurt coz they are just taking out the dead hair anyway.

I have a thinning comb which I bought from PAH and it's great for a kind of weekly maintenance...

Good luck with your fluffy honey monster..............can we see a pic, maybe a before and after?

Gill

[LinneaLand]

I live in Italy, so I'm not so sure that anyone here could recommend a local groomer. Also, I've seen some cockers handled by the local groomers in my area, and let's just say that they're not doing a show quality job.

The plan has been to take him for his first official grooming at 6-7 months because that's what our breeder's booklet recommends. I'm hoping that the breeder will do it, as she's incredibly good at it. At that point I'll ask if I can stay with her to learn the other elements of grooming. But if I were to take him to her looking like this, I think she'd frankly have a fit. Seriously. She doesn't live close by either.

Since I have the time and the inclination, I would really like to get the basics down myself. Also, if I'm taking care of the majority of the hand stripping, I can break it down to various sessions so he won't have to endure all of it at once.

I'm attaching a few pictures so you can see what i'm talking about. This is what he's looking like these days. The large cheek tufts are clearer in the second photo. Sometimes it's even more apparent. I think it makes him look crazy. lol He still had some sticky-out-bits on top of his muzzle when I took the third photo; they've since been stripped. Can you see what a woolly little bear he has become? Please help! 

[speedyjaney]

OMG he is so cute!

Sorry can't help with the grooming but his coat will pull out when its ready...just keep trying....a little and often!

[LinneaLand]

thanks janey. i know he's a very handsome pup...especially under all of that fur! he's also a real dream to be with, and i love him to bits. 

i'm adding another question to my list. i was going through another thread, and someone talked about damaging the coat if the hand stripping isn't done properly. what's that about? btw, when it came to the sticky-out-bits on the top of his muzzle, i tried just using my fingers, but i found it to be pretty tough. now i'm using a textured latex/rubber kitchen glove, which makes it much easier. i read that the hair should be pulled out in the direction it grows in, which is what i'm doing. is there more to it than that?

thanks again to anyone who can help. i really need it! 

[Coco]

I couldn't really get it to work properly  but a lot of people use a rubberband entwined in a wide tooth comb. It works in a similar way to handstripping by pulling out just the dead hair. You can get brushes to do the same too which can seem expensive but will save tons in grooming for a hairy cocker 

Welcome to COL. Your boy is lovely by the way. Just gorgeous 

[Jay06]

that's his handle bar moustache!!!  Bailey has one too!
OH is desperate to put some hair gel/wax on it and twirl it one day!!! 

[phoenix]

he's gorgeous like that, enjoy it!!
He'll start moulting within a couple of months and it will come out with a vengeance. I've still got a carrier bagfull of puppy fluff saved for posteriity (or a cushion) from just a couple of serious combing and coat king sessions. And it all grows back in a couple of months!!

[tracyd]

he is lovely, looks just like my bailey when he was a baby!!  cant help with the grooming though sorry - i always get him done by someone else!!   

[LinneaLand]

thanks to all of you for the lovely compliments. 
yes, i would say little Ulysses has a handlebar mustache. no one recognizes him as a cocker anymore! i swear he's in there, lol.

i'm really hoping that we can get some answers to these questions!

[spanielcrazy]

Your puppy doesn't look too bad for that age. I certainly wouldn't be embarrased about taking him to the breeder looking like that, as she knows you are a new owner. (And if she has dealt with red/golds for more than 5 minutes I'm sure she's seen much much worse  )

You shouldn't have to give a "solid yank" to the hair, it's more of a light plucking type action, and it should come easily. I take the hair and fan it out between my thumb and fore finger, sort of like holding a hand of cards in a card game. (That way you only have about an inch or so of hair in your fingers, so you work it a section at a time) You can see the dead ends of the hair or the dead hairs that way too, and you just pluck back to the line of the silkier hair.

 You have an extra guide with a red/gold as the hair that needs plucking is usually white, or much lighter than the guard hair (the stuff that stays) and often of a different texture. You don't necessarily have to pluck in the same direction as the hair growth, I often pull the hair straight up and fan it out and pluck it that way

At his age it may not all be ready to come out yet, so don't be discouraged. That may also be why you aren';t seeing any hair on the brush, provided you are using proper brushing technique. Once you see it done and get your technique down it's not really difficult. 

[sabrino]

Oooooh! My goodness! I have no advice but I just LOVE HIM! If all the hair becomes too much just package him off to me. 

[LinneaLand]

spanielcrazy, thanks for your help! i really appreciate it! his mustache is almost as white as snow now. i guess i was wondering if i'd have to wait until he's at least 6 months before pulling it. i think i can wait a couple of weeks to see what happens with his furry hat. it's really long though; maybe up to a couple of inches long in some places. i felt really badly about pulling the random tufts he had on top of his muzzle, but they were actually bothering his eyes and blocking his vision.

are there other places that will eventually need hand stripping, and if so, how, when and where (like legs, etc)?

also, should i be trimming his feet already?

and is there anything else i'm missing?

is there such a thing as damaging a coat by hand stripping? if so, what could cause it?

contrary to the breeder's pamphlets, i seem to think she wants me to be cleaning him up as the excess fur comes in. i just haven't had the heart to do anything yet that might hurt him. if she agrees to do the first grooming with me by her side, i don't want her to flip out that i haven't done everything that really needed doing already. plus, like i said, i would rather break up any necessary stripping sessions into small parts instead of subjecting him to a long, tough single process;

sabrino, thanks so much for your warm words! our little Ulysses Sugar *is* a gorgeous little pup, just as cute as can be! and even better, he has the charisma of john lennon and a total heart of gold. i'm crazy in love with him, and i feel so lucky we have him in our lives. it's impossible to wake up next to his happy face and not feel happy too!  he just has this magic that makes him completely addictive. i swear we spent almost 3 months where diverse random people in the city would ask to take pictures of him every single day. lol, they've stopped now that he's turned into a woolly mammoth. but as i wrote earlier, my bf loves his new look. he says it's natural. for me, i just want to know that i'm taking all of the necessary steps to keep him perfectly cared for, including doing all the things that keep him properly primped and polished.

lol, i think i've joined the cocker addicts' club..with good reason!! 

[spanielcrazy]

I don't know of any way that stripping by hand will damage the coat (other than terrier style stripping, which is basically stripping bald  I don't think you will be doing that  ) it's the use of coat kings, clippers, stripping knives etc. which can alter the coat

Scissoring with straight shears does not permanently alter or damage the coat, so yes, you can be doing feet, tidying up strays around bum and tail, on legs, etc. 

Places that sell office supplies often have "finger cots", rubber thingys that go on your fingers--look like rubber thimbles with nubs--these are a great help to stripping too. You can use them on thumb and forefinger to get a better grip on the hair (cornstarch on your fingers will also do this) and you can also use them to vigourously rub on the muzzle to get the dead hair from there.

When the time comes, when the hair is ready you will be stripping the back, sides, neck, the fronts and sides of the front legs (so the feathering is just coming off the back) the sides of the back legs on the large thigh muscle, and of course head and face.

If your breeder shows, and is wanting her dogs to do her proud in the ring, then she will have no hesitation about having you there to learn how to groom 

[LinneaLand]

spanielcrazy, thank you very much for your post. it was very helpful!! i will try going after that white moustache for now, and i will leave the head for later. our breeder is very big on showing, and i am in love with how she grooms her dogs. i do hope she will agree to groom our fur-baby! if she does, i'll try to pick up the hardest parts of the process in person with her by my side. i was hoping to find a video link or something similar online, but i haven't found one yet. again, many thanks.

if anyone else has more to add, i welcome the knowledge!