your views on long coats or clipping

[piewwiew]

hello me again sorry - questions questions

i look through lovely pics of all the dogs and i love - just love the way the dogs look with long coats

do people clip because they are not showing their dog

or is it ease of grooming

i would love to have a long haired dog but i suppose you will all tell me off because i suppose it takes lots and lots of time to keep it none tangled

let me know what you think - i want the best for the dog obviously but do like that fluffy look 

teresa

[cdpops]

Hi
I think it is down to choice, I keep Charlie short cos he hates being fussed and groomed and he is always in and out of water,mud and other unsavory things, but the a long coat looks good too.

[JaspersMum]

Jaspers is long but with the hot weather coming I am wondering whether my personal preference for that bootiful coat might need to compromise somewhere.

It does take some work too, I was shocked that after not having a grooming session at the weekend, Jasper had some big tangles in his coat that needed the matt splitter to deal with so if you keep it long, be prepared to put the work in to keep them smart and knot free.

Personally I feel if I had wanted a short haired dog I should have had a different breed of dog.

[jann]

  Personally I prefer long coats, that's what cockers have !  and that's part of the deal imho.
If I wanted something easier to manage I'd choose another breed

[Cob-Web]

For the last three years, I have resisted clipping, and have kept Molo's coat tidy, but medium to long, using scissors and a coat king 

This year for the first time, I have had him clipped in a "pet clip" style, which is short to medium length.........I was worried about how the heat was effecting him while I was out day-hiking with him, and decided that my preferences come second to his comfort 

[piewwiew]

thats actually great news i dont want to have him trimmed but didnt know what was best - i had two persian cats ten years ago and if i didnt brush them every few days they matted, but i just do prefer the look of a long haired cocker

maybe though my dog will tell me whats best for him,  just like cdpop's charlie has told her and molo feeling too hot

 

[karenelli]

I love my Rosie as a fluffy teddy bear, OH keeps saying to get her clipped but it would mean D.I.V.O.R.C.E.

I groom her every day, which she loves (and needs) especially after her runs in the fields, dips in burns etc. I always finish off with a Spratts 76 comb to take out loose fluffy hair and thankfully so far I have had no matting to deal with yet!!

[*Jay*]

Two of mine are clipped and the other 3 are kept in show trim even though they aren't shown.  I personally prefer the long style coat but I had to have one clipped because he has been neutered and his coat altered dramatically, and the other has such a thick black coat and really struggles in the heat so he gets the bulk of his clipped off but still retains feathering.

[JaspersMum]

thats actually great news i dont want to have him trimmed but didnt know what was best - i had two persian cats ten years ago and if i didnt brush them every few days they matted, but i just do prefer the look of a long haired cocker

 

We had a persian, you only had to look at him and he matted - I spent hours cutting out matts, on reflection the pet style brushes we had were not good enough for the job and we've found with the dogs, you might need to invest in more professional style slickers and scissors because they do make the job easier...

[piewwiew]

yes been reading lots of threads about these professional grooming items - do you know if they are a lot of money

how does one begin to know which ones you choose

 

[silkstocking]

Personally I prefer long coats, that's what cockers have !  and that's part of the deal imho.
If I wanted something easier to manage I'd choose another breed

Snap!

[*Adele*]

I prefer the longer coat as well, it does take a lot of work but it's worth it for looks. I must say though I went a bit shorter yesterday with Chloe as she is black and the last of her puppy fur is still coming out so I was concerned she would be too hot!   Once I decided we weren't going to show her the stress of grooming went out of the window! I still keep her looking smart but don't stress over whether I've done it exactly right if that makes sense?

I splashed out on professional shampoo, conditioning spray, grooming table with noose, spratts comb, slicker brush, coat king, thinning scissors and ordinary scissors, rubber gloves for stripping and a grooming DVD, oh and I also got some of the grooming clogs which were recommended to me for their comfort!   I went a bit mad really and in total this came to over £300!   Don't tell OH though!   I'm glad I did invest in all this though and other than sharpening scissors or replacing them this lot should last me quite a while!  

[JaspersMum]

yes been reading lots of threads about these professional grooming items - do you know if they are a lot of money

how does one begin to know which ones you choose

 

There are quite a few threads on what you need and where to get, see the sticky topic at the top of this board http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=5949.0 Price - depends whether you think £20 - £30 is a lot for pair of scissors, I decided it was to start with and ended up trying lots of cheaper ones which probably cost me more than getting them at time, and if you are going to do it yourself, you would soon recoup what you would spend at groomers every 6 weeks 

[Cob-Web]

Personally I prefer long coats, that's what cockers have !  and that's part of the deal imho.
If I wanted something easier to manage I'd choose another breed

Snap!

Which short haired breeds have similar breed traits as cockers? 

I'm not sure Molo would be too happy about me trading him in for a short-haired breed anyway, tbh........I never intended to  hike miles with him when I chose a show cocker; maybe I should let his fur grow and stick to shorter walks with him, instead...........

[Jan/Billy]

Personally I prefer long coats, that's what cockers have !  and that's part of the deal imho.
If I wanted something easier to manage I'd choose another breed

mmmhhh Not sure i agree here 

I wouldn't not choose a breed of dog purely on their coat, there are far more important features IMO

I had the intention of keeping Billy long, but his coat is quite fine & doesn't really have the WOW factor that some cockers have. Plus I had no idea the amount of dust a long coat brings into the house.

Billy is a mud and water magnet, I have tried to keep him short as it makes it easier for me and Billy