help with my cocker?

[Ticket2ride21]

i have a cocker spaniel. Yes...he's full blooded cocker..I know...everyone says "that's not a cocker" but trust me...it's a cocker spaniel.

Anyways. I bought a grooming brush and a grooming "mit" to brush him. His hair is just going WILD. so...

1. when i brush him every night (which he loves by the way) what direction do i brush his hair? obviously with the grain but down? down his back? and what do i do with his head? that hairs growin straight up...see....


2. If i get him groomed...how do i have him cut?

 

[IcyMist]

What a precious cutie. I too own a cocker spaniel and Penny will be 8 months old in 2 days and has only had 1 puppy cut. I have been afraid to take her and have her clipped. I don't know enough about the proper grooming of a cocker spaniel.

The only reason Penny lets me brush her coat every day is because she knows that after I have finished brushing she will get a treat. Otherwise she would be eating the brush and trying to play.

Will be keeping an eye on this thread to see what type of answers you get.

 

[FoxyWench]

if you take him to a groomer to get him cut, just tell them you want a cocker puppy cut (or a longer puppy cut) they will trim the "top notch" and around the face as well as down the back, a typical cocker cut keeps the head/face and back clean cut and then long on sides and legs.

right now hes still a cutie pie of a baby and baby cockers always look naturally fuzzy and messy, i think it just adds to their adrable faces.

as for grooming direction untill the adult coat starts comming in his hair will seem wild no matter how you brush...we always did ourcocker following the direction down her back, down on the sides and "fluff" on the legs, on the head we just brush it out and let it fall, my parents buff cocker has a mohawk if we leave him away from the groomer too long.
we now have him clipped into a "longer cocker cut" (its a cocker cut but we like it left a little longer on his head and back otherwise he looks too nakey to us lol) and we have him clipped every 8 weeks or so to keep him tidy...

very cute puppy!

keep on top of his nails though ive always found cockers nails to get long quickly!

and of course keep the ears clean...a groomer will do all this for you...just ask if there familiar with cockers...
hope this helps

 

[Brattina88]

I think Foxy pretty much covered everything. You can brush down on the legs and stuff now to get your puppy used to it, but it won't change the crazyness of the 'do' until he starts loosing his puppy hair. It's awesome that he loves to be brushed, that is really going to come in handy when he does get his adult coat!
Very Cute indeed! Is he red & white? What's his name?

 

[tessa_s212]

I recommend that you introduce grooming at a veyr young age. If you wait too long the dog will be harder to get used to the clippers on his face and body. I'd try to find a place that will let you stay to be with him adn give him plenty of treats and praise to make sure his first grooming is a positive experience.

 

[gaddylovesdogs]

Oh my goodness he is adorable!! Sooo cute!

 

[Snippets]

I agree with Tessa s212 - although you may not want your wee fluffy clipped at a young age it is a good idea to introduce him the a grooming studio environment.
I have had many cockers brought in for a first clip at 2 years old who at first don't like the sensation of the clippers or the feel of the dryers. Please think about a slicker brush......mitts don't get right down to the skin and you don't want his fur matting..........
Also there are many other parts of the grooming which he will need too-
claws cut, ears cleaned, hair in between the pads taken away (bad bad matts can form here to - think about putting a stone in your shoe and walking on it all day........... )

 

[Muddy4paws]

Definatly invest in one of these brushes, I find them so useful because they get right in on the coat, also a comb with 2 sides like this one :

Also dont forget!! ALWAY comb the dog through after you have brushed him because brushing doesnt always get the matts out

Dont forget to try and get into the bits that are hard to reach like the insides of the legs and ears and skirt if you want to keep them, Because if they get matted it will make the whole trip to the groomers stressful to the dog if the groomer needs to dematt the dog or shave matts close to the skin.

We had a puppy cocker in a few weeks back who was done in a tradition cocker clip and I thought she looked so cute! I guess its up to you if you have got the time and patience to sit and brush your pup then It would be worth keeping him nice and traditional but if you dont want that extra effort of dont plan or showing him or anything then a shave off might be a better option?

Some groomers wont touch his coat yet because hes still a puppy and they believe they will "break" the coat and damage it but he can just have a bath and tidy up until that time comes, It will still get him used to being at the groomers.

A traditional cocker clip means that the back and head of the dog is shaved to a size that you want, like shorter or longer hair with the feathers on the dogs front and back legs left on but scissored up nicely and with the skirt left on but also scissored up nicely, That also includes the front chest feathers and the ears and tail can be shaved or trimmed, That would be up to you

You could opt for a shave off which is just the same same lenght all over, with the ears shaved or scissored which would also be up to you.

Have you got a groomers in mind? You should go down there and ask to see some photos or get photos from the internet and print them off to show what style you want to achieve so there is no misunderstanding .

If you want any help with finding some pics of them styles then let me know and I'll go searching!

I'll expect to see lots of before and after photos!

Hope I helped!

 

[moondog]

Cocker groomng

I also have young cockers due for a grooming but I don't want to shave them down. I'd love to see pictures of different examples of cocker clips to show to the groomers if you could psot some pics or links.

 

[tessa_s212]

For any cocker owners that are interested, google "Jim Zim's Family Cocker Spaniel Forum" and you should find it. There was actually a thread back about a month ago which shared pictures of different cuts on cockers(because someone was getting their dog groomed and wanted to show the groomer a pic of what she wanted).

 

[izandjakey]

1. when i brush him every night (which he loves by the way) what direction do i brush his hair? obviously with the grain but down? down his back? and what do i do with his head? that hairs growin straight up...see....


2. If i get him groomed...how do i have him cut?

1. brush down his back and down his legs down the sides of his belly. Lift the legs and make sure to get the inside of the legs. Just brush the hair back from his eyes.

2. Any way you want. I prefere to give cocker cuts unless the dog is matted. That is a short back and longer legs and skirt. Hope this helps.

-Joy

 

[Trip]

any advice is welcome

My cocker won't let me brush her unless I tie her down... she is determined to eat, playwith, or destroy the brush... the one spot she really is determined to keep me from is her ears, which coincidentally is the place she really needs to be brushed, she's developing some mats just under the edges of the tops of her ears and don't know how to fix... is it possible to use anti-tangle human conditioner on a dog? any ideas or suggestions. these are my first dogs so not too sure what to do.''



and why can't I add a pic... feeling stupid now...

 

[Trip]

finally, here's a pic... why can't I get them smaller???