Cocker Specific Discussion > Grooming

DIY grooming!

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carol:
Well I did something today that I thought I wouldn't have to do, and that is buying all the implements that go with grooming your dog yourself.  The reason I thought I would get away with not having a go with the coat king was obviously that I thought I could trot Flynn (who is now 9 months) along to a professional groomers.  Unfortunately the ones that I liked the look of don't handstrip, and one told me he thought it was cruel and that spaniels hair wasn't supposed to be handstripped :o

Well, so after giving up on that route, I have one query for when my scissors, combs etc arrive.  Flynn has got some furry knots just under both his ears and one under his front leg.  I did think at first that he had some awful tumours come up, until I realised they were fur balls ;D.  I do brush him everyday, but they seemed to appear over night and Flynn doesn't like me trying to comb them out and tries to bite the comb and brush.  How should I tackle these fur balls?

Thanks for your help.

Carol                    

Gilly:
Hiya Carol,

Glad to hear your having a grow at grooming yourself :D
Personally i would just snip the knots of with a pair of scissors. These areas especially under the armpits are quite tender so i think pulling with a comb or a slicker would be quite sore. Don't worry tho, i groom Butty everyday too and i had to cut a couple of little knots out of her armpits. At least you know now where the knots tend to grow worse and can pay particular attention to these areas when grooming. O groom Butty on the top of her crate with a couple of old car mats on top, but for her armpits i usually lie her on the floor when she's nice and relaxed  ;)

Gilly                    

KellyP:
Hi Carol - I ditto what Gilly has said - Millie gets knotty pits too!!

I get Millie to lie down on the table I groom her on - gve her a nice crunchy treat to keep her busy a while and then have a go.
I also spray the area with leave in conditioner (she has l'oreal no more tears for kids at the moment ... well she's worth it  ;D  ;D  ;D  ;D)
Anyway if the knots are rally bad I do as Gilly does and gently snip them a little and then comb a little.
the last time I actually used the thinning scissors on the area to "try" prevent such big ones occuring next time - it seems to have worked, so far not such big tangles - not sure how orthadox this is in the pro grooming scene but seems to have worked for me   :)                    

Mary:
Me too.....I cut a very large knot from under one of Lotties armpits last night :(  I groom her regularly but these areas are often missed during daily grooming sessions :-[                    

carol:
Oh, that's good you two have reassured me ;) I couldn't find any previous threads that talked about big knotty bits so thought I was doing something wrong-phew!

I'm very impatient now to start on Flynn, and hope all the stuff arrives soon (only ordered them today though!) I also ordered the video, because it's hard to know where to start, he's very fluffy, but I'm sure it's ready to come out, I certainly find lots of hair bundles around the house.

I've got a camp table that I use for brushing him, that I'll use for grooming, he's a terror on the floor and just treats it like a big game, mind you, on the camp table he just lies down and tries to sleep when I brush him!  

I think I'll do as you say Kelly and trim a little bit of the knot and comb the rest, the armpit will be the worst as it'll be a devil of a job trying to roll him over, and as Gilly said it is a delicate area.

I'm most looking forward to getting all those tufty bits on his head out and him having a nice smooth head like all your cockers, I hope I can manage it!                    

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