Please help...To clip or not to clip?

[Bertie]

I'm trying to decide whether or not to clip my little girl?

She is an 8 year old Blue Roan and is spayed. We already clip her head, fronts of legs, under her neck and under her ears but not been brave enough to do more of her, ie. her back and sides (leaving her feathers).

If we clip her back and sides and I don't like it, would we have ruined her coat forever and not be able to go back to the coat king, comb and scissors etc?

She has got so much coat at the moment i can't help wondering if its fairer (and cooler) for more of her to be clipped now that the warmer weather is here.

I have bought a 5FC blade for her back and sides hoping that it won't take her coat too short? We usually use a 7FC on her head, legs etc. 

Getting the grooming table out tonight but I'm stressing as I can't make a decision either way, any help/opinions gratefully received.
x

[henryjack1dogs]

Hi,

You may struggle getting a 5fc blade through the top and sides where the coat tends to be a little more dense.  I personally like cocker spaniels clipped, I love the markings the come through and the coat will grow back and you can go back back to coat king etc but it will take time.  Just follow the hair flow and I'm sure you will be pleased and she will love being cooler.

Good luck

[lozzyf]

CLIP!!!
She's hot as hell I suspect  in this weather . . And as she's spayed  her coat will be thick, my Jo ( rainbow bridge march  ) loved getting her coat clipped and bounced around like a spring lamb although she was 13. . I have another rescue (Bella) whom we've had since Easter and was spayed a few days before we had her has at the mo got a very silky coat but I suspect it will go wooly in a few months sadly and I will clip her too at that time .

[Misty Roan]

I can't advise on wether you can switch back to  just a coat king etc as I've always clipped Misty as she is a pet and not shown.  I was initially going to keep her coat long, but it is so much easier to keep her clean and mat free.  I find the 7  blade is short enough all over for us.  Being a dark blue roan I'm sure it's more comfortable for her, even in winter she dries much quicker and so far hasn't had any shivering even without a coat in the snow.

[minimoo]

CLIP!!!
She's hot as hell I suspect  in this weather . . And as she's spayed  her coat will be thick, my Jo ( rainbow bridge march  ) loved getting her coat clipped and bounced around like a spring lamb although she was 13. . I have another rescue (Bella) whom we've had since Easter and was spayed a few days before we had her has at the mo got a very silky coat but I suspect it will go wooly in a few months sadly and I will clip her too at that time .

totally agree, CLIP my 3 are clipped but I keep their feathers and skirt and tail , personally I don't think its fair to keep a dog in full heavy coat in this weather, mine feel the heat when they are out now I cant imagine what they would be like with a full coat

[Max X 2]

I kept putting off clipping Max but resorted to it last year when he was 8
Started with the No. 5 but have actually now gone onto No. 7
I keep the feathers & his fur grows so quick in 2 weeks he still looks hairier than most other cockers
Have to say (& never thought I would!) I wish I'd done it sooner

[henryjack1dogs]

Did you go for it? 

[6thSense]

CLIP!!!
She's hot as hell I suspect  in this weather . . And as she's spayed  her coat will be thick, my Jo ( rainbow bridge march  ) loved getting her coat clipped and bounced around like a spring lamb although she was 13. . I have another rescue (Bella) whom we've had since Easter and was spayed a few days before we had her has at the mo got a very silky coat but I suspect it will go wooly in a few months sadly and I will clip her too at that time .

totally agree, CLIP my 3 are clipped but I keep their feathers and skirt and tail , personally I don't think its fair to keep a dog in full heavy coat in this weather, mine feel the heat when they are out now I cant imagine what they would be like with a full coat

A healthy coat that is well looked after of an un-neutered dog works as it's own thermostate. I have entire show dogs that I handstrip in full coat and they are no hotter than the rest. If anything my clipped neutered pets get hotter when it grows as it's texture has changed and gone like wool, so does not work in the same now anymore.

I think only you can decide what is best for your girl Bertie, but if she is spayed and her coat has changed it may be best. Clipping changes the texture of the coat over time yes, but then so does spaying. Hope that helps.

[minimoo]

6thsense    I understand what you are saying but you do strip the coat so its not full in the sense that I meant, as in a full coat that's not striped or clipped which is often thick and matted (not saying the original posters is) my orange roan boy has fur that matts as quick as you get on knot out another appears and its kinder to keep him clipped though he has a lovely full tail and feathers

[its.sme]

I have a blue roan, I have her top clipped and keep her feathers, skirt tail and chest long.

When I first took her to the groomers and she asked what I wanted done, the first thing I said was I wanted to show off her colouring, she is a light roan and when her coat was long she looked like a black bear cub

I love them with there full feather but I have to say, if Bea was suffering in the heat I would get her clipped, thankfully her cooling jacket dose the trick

[amichell]

Sorry to butt in on your post but I'm having the same debate with Lucie and I'm pretty much decided that I will try and clip her at the weekend. When you talk about 5fc and 7fc, are you referring to the blade number in the clippers or the combs that clip over the blade? I have a No 10 blade in my clippers, but also a box of combs that are all numbered. 

[Joules]

Coco turned into a woolly sheep after she was spayed so she has always been clipped.  Much more practical and comfortable for her in the warm weather.    Her coat is very woolly and dense so, even in the winter, I keep it quite short - it takes her ages to dry otherwise and so she would be colder with a lot of coat than with it short.  Her coat is verrrrry thick though - in fact, it is almost impossible to see her skin!

I use a 5f blade for her body and a 10 for her face.  I clip the underside of her ears and her tummy with an 8.5.  I keep her feathers and skirt though so she does still look a bit "spaniely" 

[aljeana]

This is a good topic

I groom quite a few cockers taking them from puppies through to adults & very few remain un spade.

Once they have been spade or castrated the range of how their coats change is big!

On the whole I try to not clip the backs as has already been raised it does change the texture can become very woolly, I tend to do a combination of clipping, thinning & Coat King. This is generally fine for people but some feel that all off is better but what I have found where as the combination method will last around 9 weeks between grooms the clip all of customers are now wanting grooming ever 6to8 weeks.

A lot of that is the fact that all the hair growth happens at the same time & is thick & very often the comment is they are getting so hot now. I also find that they are more knotty than before as all hair grows back together.

My own cockers that are spade I don't clip their backs just legs & their tummy area & they don't seem to be bothered in the heat.

I have recovered one of bitches coat that I did clip off I thought it would help her in the heat & did not really help her I now coat king her back & she is fine, clipping helps if it helps maintain coat condition from becoming too knotty as we know our cockers love to roll & be water babies

[Xensgirl]

No one can tell you whether to clip or not, but if your dog has a lot of coat and is hot then maybe it would be best for her? they can look really nice clipped (the photos on here are brilliant telling you how to do it). It was only yesterday someone commented that they thought my two had been professionally done....I was quite proud of myself!

I have a spayed bitch and a castrated male, the change in the coat after they have been neutered is awful - they go woolly and end up a ball of fluff.  I do feed raw which helps as the food contains wild salmon oil and I also use Ice on Ice (how did I ever live without it!!)  I also find Starflower oil helps their coats.

I clip down the back and sides with an Oster 7F Blade/legs with a 5F - I tend to do their faces and inside ears with a 10 blade.  I leave the feathering underneath/front and back legs and ears long.  Together with the clippers I use a Coat King on their heads and ears plus thinning scissors to blend in towards their necks and also I go underneath the feathering at their sides with thinning scissors where the feathering meets the clipped sides - it blends it in better I find to thin it from under the hair rather than on top of it if you see what I mean LOL

If you do decide to clip and you don't like it then it will grow back after a while and you can go back to the way you did it before - I have tried a Coat King all over mine but it just didn't get enough coat out, so I had to go back to clippers/coat king and thinning scissors.
Let us know what you decided to do!! Good luck xx

[JennyBee]

Brodie has a nightmare of a coat so I have no choice but to clip. Once a year or so ago she had a severe ear infection and I had to delay her usual appointment at the groomers (she has to go every six weeks) for a couple of weeks and she was absolutely miserable. It wasn't even that hot at the time but she couldn't cope. As much as I'd love not to have clipped, with her I had no choice! Even the groomer is constantly amazed at how much coat she clips off .