Comb & Rubber Band Question

[CraftySam]

Thanks Colin, thats fab.    Scarlet's photo's are a great reference for me. 

[AnnieM]

Sam, Ambers legs are exactly the same as Barneys.  That photo is fab Colin thanks, Amber is definitely still like the photo on the left, wonder how old she was there.  Very beautiful girl. 

[Abby]

I knwo this is daft, but what kind of comb are you using? Presumably a wider tooth than the Spratts 76 but how wide? We have been using the coat king but I'd like to try the other to see the difference.

[AnnieM]

Mine is just a standard Miki comb from pets at home, I would say medium toothed. 

[CraftySam]

I knwo this is daft, but what kind of comb are you using? Presumably a wider tooth than the Spratts 76 but how wide? We have been using the coat king but I'd like to try the other to see the difference.

The comb I use has teeth 1/2 cm apart and I rapped a thick rubberband through it.  I used a coat king last week for the first time, but was a bit worried about the damage it could cause, so after Michele gave me the this tip I decided to try it this week. I think the finish is alot better than the coat king and I think it brought out more that just the dead hair. The comb only brought out the dull wooly washed out hair that he had oodles of. I'm going to stick with that instead of the coat king.

Sam, Ambers legs are exactly the same as Barneys.  That photo is fab Colin thanks, Amber is definitely still like the photo on the left, wonder how old she was there.  Very beautiful girl. 

Annie, the photo on the left is like Barney too, though his skirt hasn't grown that long yet and I think Scarlet's legs have a heavier coat than Barneys at the moment. The colour is spot on though.    Its a great reference photo, I think I need to address his feathering on the back of his legs, but I'm going to hang on a bit and hope the grooming course will happen soon. Maybe you should come on it. 

[AnnieM]

Sam could you give me details, I looked at the petstop website, but couldn't find any reference to it at all, would love to do it if I can.  I have also ordered the dvd recommended on here, it hasn't come yet though.

[Joelf]

I've just had a good go at Domino with the comb & rubber band & got loads of dead hair out. I'd noticed that the fur on his back looked rather fluffy & not so sleek even though he's 2 years old.

What an excellent idea; I used a basic fairly wide comb-the sort you buy in PAH. I also used it a little bit on his ears; I don't like cutting them as we love his ears to be really long but this method just seems to thin the hair out rather than shortening it.

[Elisa]

My groomer was really impressed with the comb and rubber band method 
She asked me if I had been handstripping Bailey myself   

I got one of the combs with the rotating teeth (from PAH I think) and threaded a thick rubber band through it.  Works a treat 

[Jane S]

Sam could you give me details, I looked at the petstop website, but couldn't find any reference to it at all, would love to do it if I can.  I have also ordered the dvd recommended on here, it hasn't come yet though.

I don't know of any current grooming courses that will teach you how to hand strip and present a Cocker properly for the show ring. Grooming courses tend to be aimed at keeping pet dogs neat and tidy so you're unlikely to find one that covers hand stripping techniques -  just something to be aware of as I know you are interested in showing your girls

[AnnieM]

Thanks Jane, in all honesty I probably wouldn't be able to go anyway and Nicky (perrystell) is going to show me how to do them in time for their first show.   I have ordered the dvd but I am still waiting for it to come, hoping that will be informative as I haven't found a book yet that is really good at showing you how to groom for show.

Could someone tell me what is the chalk I need for handstripping and where do I get it from, the only chalk I seem to be able to find is whitening , is it the same stuff? 

[CraftySam]

Sam could you give me details, I looked at the petstop website, but couldn't find any reference to it at all, would love to do it if I can.  I have also ordered the dvd recommended on here, it hasn't come yet though.

I don't know of any current grooming courses that will teach you how to hand strip and present a Cocker properly for the show ring. Grooming courses tend to be aimed at keeping pet dogs neat and tidy so you're unlikely to find one that covers hand stripping techniques -  just something to be aware of as I know you are interested in showing your girls

The lady, Lynette, that does the cocker grooming workshop at MyPetStop shows cockers and will be showing us how to handstrip and groom for showing. Lynette is one of their groomers and she does workshops as and when they have people interested.
It is my trainer Jen, who also shows American Cockers, who has set us up with this groomer.  Jen says that she personally wouldn't show me what to do as doing American Cockers is different to English and she says its quite an art which is why she wants us to do a workshop with Lynette to be shown properly.

I haven't decided whether I want to show Barney yet. It wasn't something I intended to do when I got him, and I really don't know much about it. I've been urged to consider it, and told he won't win Crufts but he could do nicely. But of course I wouldn't have a clue if he's a good/reasonable example of the breed or not, as I don't have any experience. But I would like to learn to groom him to show standard, whatever I decide, for my own enjoyment too. 

[Jane S]

The lady, Lynette, that does the cocker grooming workshop at MyPetStop shows cockers and will be showing us how to handstrip and groom for showing. Lynette is one of their groomers and she does workshops as and when they have people interested.

If these workshops were publicised to novice show people, I'm sure there would be a lot of interest as it's rare indeed for practical tuition on show presentation to be available like this. There used to be courses run by a top Cocker exhibitor quite a few years ago which were very popular but since he died, there hasn't been anything similar.