Yeti Feet

[Nicola]

I don't know if Alfie accidentally stood in a grow bag or if he's found OH's regaine or something in the bathroom ( ) and stood in that but the fur on his feet has gone out of control recently. He's got these huge tufts sprouting up between his toes, you can't see his claws unless you hack your way through the undergrowth first and they're like flipping sponges which soak up every drop of water and bit of muck from the ground  ... so my question is, should I take him to a groomer to get them trimmed or attempt to do it myself?? And if so, how do I do it?

The rest of his coat is fine, quite short and silky (except the mad tufty ears but we like those  ), it's just his feet have gone mad!

[Abby]

Know that feeling...especially since my OH hates the traditional cocker short foot hair so won't tolerate it. As a conesquence Clive looks like he's standing on huge fluffy saucers and is getting loads of knots in between his toes.

I have gone on a mission to sort it out myself, and am using thinning scissors to take out a lot of the thickness, and straight scissors (very sharp) to trim between the toes, under the pads and too take off length where it's just too much.

It's not easy as Clive hates his feet being done, especially between the toes so its a bit of a battle ground. As I've invested int eh kit its not really a chore - O bribe him heavily with treats at the end of each session,and am doing it in small bursts to keep within his tolerance limit. Hopefully by the end of the weekend he should be done (I also have to do work on areas other than his feet, which is why its taking so long).

[Helen]

i use little scissors with a round nose on them as a certain someone moves a fair bit and i don't want to amputate accidentally

think i got them from the recommended place that you get the coat king from (now how's that for vague!) which is listed on the grooming section on a pinned post.


...and by the way, it was probably the regaine!

[Nicola]

Thanks guys, I'm trying to pluck up the courage to do it myself but unfortunately the small hairy one is not overly keen on being groomed so I think I'll do a search for the round scissors as I have horrible visions of him yanking his foot away just at the wrong moment and then having to be rushed to the vet with his toe in a bag of frozen peas...  (rampant imagination, moi?!) 

[Abby]

I was inspired by your thread to get on with Clive so we've just done a half hour and he's now lost a lot of hair 

he's rather uneven on his feathering, but then at 8 months he's still mostly puppy fluff on his legs. But I'm actually quite pleased with the paws. I had to tether him in the end because he kept stuffing his nose into my hand just as I was about to chop some fur off and frightening the life out of me! In the end, he just gave up and stared disdainfully over my shoulder while I got on with it 

He is starting to associate grooming with tuna bread though which is a BIG motivator for him 

[Nicola]

Sorry Clive   

[Helen]

I was inspired by your thread to get on with Clive so we've just done a half hour and he's now lost a lot of hair 

he's rather uneven on his feathering, but then at 8 months he's still mostly puppy fluff on his legs. But I'm actually quite pleased with the paws. I had to tether him in the end because he kept stuffing his nose into my hand just as I was about to chop some fur off and frightening the life out of me! In the end, he just gave up and stared disdainfully over my shoulder while I got on with it 

He is starting to associate grooming with tuna bread though which is a BIG motivator for him 

errrrrrrr......where's the photographic evidence?

[Abby]

okay - just had a photo sesh with Clive to show his natty new paws (he is still a work in progress - the ears in particular are excessive to say the least).

Judge for yourselves!
























This is Clive sitting still while I show you his trimmed chest and front legs. Oh and me having the camera on the wrong setting 





This is Clive giving you a closeup of his paws.





From this you can actually tell just how hairy and fluffy he is - I took off SO much hair and he's still a fluff ball!





This is where I stopped - even I can take a hint...


What can you do? 

[Helen]

aww abby - you just gotta love your woolly boy...he's an absolute honey and the feet look good!

[ClareB]

Loving the woolly mammoth look!     Milo also had yeti feet until today, but trimmed them up for the first time a bit earlier.  We're on holiday next week and he's staying with a friend so I'm trying to make him as low maintenance as a Cocker can be!     Took the bull by the horns, and I'm quite pleased with my first attempt...







OH will kill me when he gets home, he loves the big fluffy-slipper feet.     Very impractical though...

[Abby]

Wow - they look great! I did something similar to Clive before (though nothging like as neat as yours) and my OH went mad. Kept going on and on about how poncy Clive looked. I'd rather have the wet feet than all that moaning...