I was at a dog show recently with Wilf and Ruby and they also had an experienced judge (who would do the companion shows that also do KC classess as well). I got into a huge argument with her. Ruby had to be clipped short the week before as her fur had been particularly woolly and it matts up really quickly and is generally difficult (as she's been neutered). My groomer does the best she can with what she has and normally does a lovely short clip so she looks like a cocker, but this time she couldn't (but to be honest Ruby loved it as she was more lively and active afterwards). Now while I don't have too much of a problem with this the judge did (she even suggested she'd never seen a cocker look like that before --- wonder where she's been hiding then) and I said that because she's neutered her coat does get quite woolly and sometimes the best thing is to resort to such a short clip (I find if it reaches a certain length then its a nightmare to maintain but have found a happy medium even if this wasn't it). She really wouldn't have it that their coats go like this (Wilf's is wiry so a lot better to deal with) and gave me the 'she know's best' arsy comments and I got really peeved as she was suggesting I didn't know what I was talking about, almost suggesting I was a bad owner and lying. My groomer (she's been doing it for 20 years and gets in lots of cockers) did say the same as me (plus she see how Ruby's coat is anyway).
