coat king vs clipping

[whitby]

Hi,  just wondering if I should buy a coat king or clippers for my working spaniel.  I'm sure I read somewhere not to use clippers on them but may be wrong   he's liver and white if that makes a difference

Thanks Jon

[elaine.e]

You get different results, but it also depends on what the coat is like in the first place. It would help if you could post a photo of your boy and describe what his coat is like, for instance is it silky or coarse, is it wavy, does it matt easily etc.

[whitby]

I'll try and post some pics whena get chance. His coat is coarse and doesn't mat because I don't give it chance to.

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Also it will depend on what you'd like him to look like in future

[whitby]

He's a working dog so I just want him as practical as possible.

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

A coat king will thin the coat out but won't affect the length, the clippers would keep him nice and short, however, it depends if you'd want him to look clipped or to have feathering etc.

[Nicola]

Depending on how 'bad' the coat is I would try a coat king before you resort to clipping because once you start doing that you pretty much have to keep doing it. Clipping isn't the end of the world though, I have two entire red/gold dogs with beautiful fine, silky coats which require no grooming at all and then a spayed liver bitch with an awful, long, fuzzy coat who I have to clip or she looks like a yeti, stays wet and muddy for days and matts constantly. I've used a borrowed coat king on her a few times and it was really good for tidying her up but to really control her coat I have to clip it. She looks really nice when clipped though as I clip off her sides of face, throat, neck, shoulders, back and sides and tops and fronts of legs but keep and just thin out her ears, head, chest, tail, leg and belly feathering. It's far more practical and better for her as she doesn't have to keep being combed and having matts cut out which she hates. This is quite an old photo but shows her with a nice clip (i.e. not one I've done myself )


 

[Helen]

How old is he at the moment?  You may not have to do either as if this dog is a pup it could be their puppy coat blowing 

My SIL has a liver and white - her coat is fine and silky but she moults like anything  (like Nicola's shedding red/golds  )

My working cocker is liver and his coat is a fluffy nightmare.  I do resort to clipping his body (leaving spaniel feathering and ears) in the summer as the hair on his body is not long but is really fine and fluffy and I find the coat king doesn't grip it so well 

[whitby]

His coat isn't too bad really but I'm just thinking that with summer coming I would prefer him stripped right down with some feathering leaving in the usual places.  Think I'll have to give a coat king a try.

 Btw your liver girl in the picture looks absolutely stunning.  Another reminder why I love this breed. If I could get mine looking half as good as that I'd be very happy.

 

Depending on how 'bad' the coat is I would try a coat king before you resort to clipping because once you start doing that you pretty much have to keep doing it. Clipping isn't the end of the world though, I have two entire red/gold dogs with beautiful fine, silky coats which require no grooming at all and then a spayed liver bitch with an awful, long, fuzzy coat who I have to clip or she looks like a yeti, stays wet and muddy for days and matts constantly. I've used a borrowed coat king on her a few times and it was really good for tidying her up but to really control her coat I have to clip it. She looks really nice when clipped though as I clip off her sides of face, throat, neck, shoulders, back and sides and tops and fronts of legs but keep and just thin out her ears, head, chest, tail, leg and belly feathering. It's far more practical and better for her as she doesn't have to keep being combed and having matts cut out which she hates. This is quite an old photo but shows her with a nice clip (i.e. not one I've done myself )

[whitby]

He's nearly one. Been shedding like mad lately. I've been pulling most of it by hand or with really fine comb but he's starting to look a bit of a scruff even on the days he is clean.

How old is he at the moment?  You may not have to do either as if this dog is a pup it could be their puppy coat blowing 

My SIL has a liver and white - her coat is fine and silky but she moults like anything  (like Nicola's shedding red/golds  )

My working cocker is liver and his coat is a fluffy nightmare.  I do resort to clipping his body (leaving spaniel feathering and ears) in the summer as the hair on his body is not long but is really fine and fluffy and I find the coat king doesn't grip it so well 

[Helen]

I think that could be a combo of puppy fluff and winter fur coming out 

Does he have this colouring?



This is my dogs half sister, she's 6 in that photo so this is her full adult coat (and she's lost weight since then  ) the brown patches seem to have a different fur consistency then the silky long white bits   

I would go with coat king rather than clipping - and yes Fudge in the picture IS moulting like mad at the moment 

[Nicola]

Btw your liver girl in the picture looks absolutely stunning.  Another reminder why I love this breed. If I could get mine looking half as good as that I'd be very happy.

Thank you, she was 4 there and such a strong, fit girl I mostly used her for picking up and she loved it. She's 8 1/2 now and retired because she unfortunately has severe osteoarthritis but she's a great dog   With your boy being so young I'd definitely try hand stripping or rubber-band combing out the fluff and/or the coat king before resorting to clipping. Tilly's coat is so bad if she's not clipped every 6-8 weeks she looks like the love child of Tina Turner and a grizzly bear

[whitby]

Thanks for the advice.  So I tried a coat king and found it amazing how easy it is to use and just how much hair it removed. Had to stop because the dog was starting to get a little p'd off so gonna leave it a week to take a bit more.  Only used it once and I'm already a coat king fan.

I didn't get a before pic but this is marley after (if I can get the picture to work)

[Helen]

He looks fabulous     I would only use a coat king on that coat - clipping would ruin it and he doesn't need it 

[Nicola]

His coat looks really nice I definitely agree with Helen, I wouldn't touch him with clippers!