Working Cocker - to Coat King or not Updated 26 Sept

[SJP]

In the great scheme of things its not that important BUT Lola's legs are very hairy and I just don't know whether to leave them, Coat King them (although I understand this might be difficult having read previous threads), send her to a groomer or what. 
If I leave them (which is what I would really like to do) will they ever return to their normal sleek legs with nice fevvers or not?
I would love to know what you all think....

[spanielcrazy]

The picture is very light so I'm not sure, but it looks like there is a line of short hair running down the front of the legs, and the stuff sticking out looks a bit cottony and corded. If that's the case, then yes, coat king, or it's a fairly easy handstrip 

[Helen]

Yayyy! A working cocker grooming thread  watch out Grooming pro's you may get lots and lots of questions here!

Find the front of Jarv's legs a nightmare to coat king, and although the hair looks really dead (it's gingery and dull) it seems quite difficult to hand strip out (with the aid of rubber thimbles - remember I'm a total amateur so any tips are soooo welcome!) ...and he hates me doing it too (cos I'm rubbish, clearly!)

I was going to resort to a stripping knife - or will I be excommunicated?

[SJP]

Livercake - Do Jarv's legs look like Lolas then? 

Its been suggested that I leave hers alone to do "their own thing" - they will sort themselves out eventually.

[Helen]

they're mostly ok on the front of the legs - up near his chest you can see they get a bit fluffy

*cough* brace yourself Groomers... the feet are criminal I know, they look fine for about 3 days and then when the fur grows back it comes back in chunks (and if I touch the tuft apparently that spells d.i.v.o.r.c.e  )

[Nicola]

Alfie's feet do that too and since he was castrated the fur on his body has stayed nice and sleek but the black hair on his legs has gone mental and is all weird and fluffy and tufty, I've tried to strip it but I have no idea what I'm doing so some hints in that direction would be great for me too.

[joanne_v]

I dont think you can ever get rid of every last bit of fluffy dead hair. I cant anyway! Krumble has started going a bit fluffier in parts. Coat kings works great over the back and sides and then I just pluck at the legs a bit. Its not very noticeable on him though with his loghter colouring. Tillys just been clipped and looks so much better without the entire body of fuzz! Alfie is in need of some stripping but I'm crap at handstripping so it'll be a job for Nicola to do next week. He's sprouting tufts everywhere at the mo! They are all definitely a million times easier to manage than Lily. I've given up keeping her tidy so she's going for the hippy wavy look all over for a while...  

Helen, Jarv looks great, Its nice to have some fluffy bits left  

[joanne_v]

Alfie's feet do that too and since he was castrated the fur on his body has stayed nice and sleek but the black hair on his legs has gone mental and is all weird and fluffy and tufty, I've tried to strip it but I have no idea what I'm doing so some hints in that direction would be great for me too.

ooh hello miss mcclure, good timing. Yup Alfie's legs are a mess  Its going in all directions! His little cute tufts on his head are now major big fountains of hair!

[Nicola]

Alfie's feet do that too and since he was castrated the fur on his body has stayed nice and sleek but the black hair on his legs has gone mental and is all weird and fluffy and tufty, I've tried to strip it but I have no idea what I'm doing so some hints in that direction would be great for me too.

ooh hello miss mcclure, good timing. Yup Alfie's legs are a mess  Its going in all directions! His little cute tufts on his head are now major big fountains of hair!

Oh dear... Chesney Hawkes eat your heart out 

[Helen]

Helen, Jarv looks great, Its nice to have some fluffy bits left 

awww fanks    i am going to secretly get rid of his 'Mcirricks' ( his long sideburns on his neck  )

[joanne_v]

Helen, Jarv looks great, Its nice to have some fluffy bits left 

awww fanks    i am going to secretly get rid of his 'Mcirricks' ( his long sideburns on his neck  )

I love those bits, they always tend to stay nice and sleek too. Very satisfying to clip off though for some reason...

[BettyBoo]

Helen, Jarv looks great, Its nice to have some fluffy bits left 

awww fanks    i am going to secretly get rid of his 'Mcirricks' ( his long sideburns on his neck  )

I love those bits, they always tend to stay nice and sleek too. Very satisfying to clip off though for some reason...

I love those bits too, Betty has them but they don't hang down noticeably. I took Betty to the groomer a month or so ago to be handstripped which they did in parts but then just cut the rest. She had lots of fluffy, lighter coloured hair along her sides and looked like she was wearing trousers as her feathering is really thick. They got rid of most of the fluffy stuff but it seems to be growing back in again and really I want her legs thinning out as well as cutting so not sure what to do now. I'll try and find before and photos and hopefully someone can tell me what I should do

[cazza]

Sally - Braan's front legs look exactly like lola's 

I just brush with a normal brush at the mo and they are getting less fluffy (he's now 14 months old )

[BettyBoo]

Can't find a decent before but this is Betty the day she was cut.

She looks ok but I was expecting her feathering to be much lighter and probably a bit shorter. could I do that with a Coat King?

[joanne_v]

You'd be better using thinning scissors on Bettys fluffy legs  It will make the feathers thinner and shorter. If she gets fluffy elsewhere the coat king would be useful