Archive for June 13th, 2006
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Next we will shave the hind leg area - you can use either the 1/4″ or 1/2″ comb, shave against the growth of hair, begin right above what would be his knee joint, and shave upward into the area you shaved the back coat off of. You only shave the outside flank of the rear legs, not the longer “feathers”. See red area outlined on picture.
Now, the front legs - shave from the foot upward, onto the shoulders, and into the back coat area using the same comb or blade you used on the back legs. You can use the soft scrunchy or snood on his ears at this point to hold them up from the area being groomed. Keep the scrunchy nice and loose - don’t hurt your dogs ears. Do not shave the back of the legs.
If your dog is getting antsy, take another break, let your clippers cool down, next we will start the head/ears.
June 13th, 2006
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OK, after all your tools are in place the first thing you must do before any grooming happens is bathe your dog in a good dog shampoo. Put a cotton ball in each ear to avoid water getting in there. Rinse him well, towel off excess moisture, and blow dry. Most people use some type of leave-in coat conditioner to avoid mats and tangles. Use your metal comb & pin brush during drying to separate the hair and speed up the process. Try not to groom your dog if he has not been bathed first - it will make your clippers and scissors dull.
Keep it lighthearted & fun - I usually give my dog treats at intervals during the bath - one treat when I first put them in the tub, then another one after I wet them down, then another after getting soaped up, then another one when they’re rinsed off. Keep praise low key & calm.
June 13th, 2006
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So now your dog is clean, dry & all brushed out - where do you start? Anywhere, really! Let’s begin with the back and work down. Place one of your combs on the end of your clipper - either the 1″ or the 1/2″, depending on how short you like your dogs coat on his back, or if you are using a 4-F blade instead, put it on now. With the comb, shave against the grain of the hair, starting at the tail and continuing to the neck & making sure the hair that is falling off does not tangle in with your dogs feathers (the long hair on his legs & sides).
If you are using the blade instead of the comb, you can shave with the direction of the hair to get a longer length if desired. I use the combs because the blade gets very hot during cutting, and with the comb on the hot blade never touches your dogs skin. Another plus to the combs is they are very lightweight, where the 4-F blade is heavier than the standard #10 blade. If you are having a problem controlling or gripping the clipper the extra weight of the 4-F blade can compound your difficulties.
Shave a small area, then put down your clippers & turn them off (let them cool). Brush out the area you have shaved, smooth it down with the horse hair brush, and see how you like it. If it is too short or too long then change your comb before proceeding. Clean the hair off your table as you go along to prevent it from tangling in with your dogs coat and causing a big mat. Give your dog a treat - good dog! Keep your voice calm and your tone down - nice calm praise.
Continue shaving the top coat. After you have finished this, let your dog run around a little - take a small potty break! Give him/her some treats - keep it fun.
June 13th, 2006
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Competition grooming is an art. Beauty salons for dogs are not in a position to groom for competition. There is virtually only the breeders or the professional handlers who know enough about it to give you satisfaction. If your breeder sold you a dog who will eventually be a show dog, it would be best that he is groomed by him since a show dog will not be groomed the same way a house pet.The bath
The drying
The clipping
1. The bath
After cutting the claws, put your dog it the bathtub. With a showerphone, wet your pet’s coat. Splash its coat with a good dog shampoo which has previously been diluted in about 10 times more water. Shampoo well without scrubbing too much not to mess up the coat. Repeat and rinse well. Mix the rinse solution : 1 part rinse for 20 part water and spread over the dog’s coat, let it penetrate for a few minutes. Rinse abundantly. Wring out your friend with a couple of towels.
2. The drying
Make yourself comfortable to dry your dog because it is a very long procedure. Start by drying the inside of the ears and then the outside, by brushing the coat the wrong way (against the growth of the hair). The skin of the ear is very long to dry.It is important that the dog is dry before getting to the next step.
3. The clipping
You will need a clipper with a #10 blade to do the ears, the top of the nose, under the eyes and the throat. A #8½ or #7 blade for the back, the top of the head, the neck, the cheeks and the lips.Set the dog standing on the table. Grab an ear and clip it against the grain starting at the bottom of the fold and going up. Do the same on the inside of the pavillion. Neatly clear the orifice of the ear. Be careful not to cut the fine skin inside the ear. Repeat on the other side.
Using the same #10 blade, clip from the nose to the forehead, making a V shape in between both eyes. With the #8½ blade, going against the grain, clip the top of the skull. With a view top of the head, stop clipping at the imaginary line in between the ears. Always leave the front hair on the forehead: it will be trimmed whith thinning shears to give it a squareness look.
Set the dog in a standing position with its nose toward you. Bring the ears to the nose to clear the neck and use blade #8½ from the base of the ears to the shoulder clearing the front.
A suitable grooming will give your dog the desired appearance for its race. Your dog will also feel more comfortable and you will be happy to admire him.
Afterwards, start by clipping the back with thinning shears or with a stripper. The tail must be cleared underneath with the clipper and blade # 10. The rest of the back is trimmed with the thinning shears. Brush the coat while thinning until the desired appearance. This is a precision trim and you will acquire success with time and practice. Practice makes perfect!
Afterwards, using your clipper and blade # 8½, clip the base of the skull toward the back to the tail. Do the same for the whole back but when you get to the sides go down slowly without making any demarcations. To avoid this, lift your blade slowly when you go down the sides.The last step is to clip the paws, nice big rounded paws. Set the dog in a standing position. With straight shears, carefully clear the cushions under the paws.
Always brush the hair during the trimming to make sure you give it the desired fullness. It requires a lot of time and practice to achieve this. Since the coat grows very fast, you will have a lot of leisure time to practice.
One thing to remember: A fine grooming must have a natural look without any apparent strokes from the scissors
June 13th, 2006
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The English Cocker Spaniel is an average shedder with a long coat. Regular and frequent grooming is essential to keeping the coat from matting or tangling. Daily brushing is best, and this should include the hair on the feet. In addition, hair on the feet and around the pads can also be trimmed.The ears need to be regularly cleaned of excessive wax, and baths or dry shampoos should be given only when needed.
June 13th, 2006
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Adult English Springers have beautiful, long, well feathered ears and profuse silky hair on their chest, legs and underbelly. All this needs to be regularly groomed and kept clean and free from knots.
Once your English Springer reaches about six months old its coat will start to become much thicker and you will have to start trimming the excess hair so your dog retains its natural shape and looks. For a pet trim, the areas you will need to work on are around the inside of the ears, the top of the head, the top of the outside of the ear, the chest & throat and, the feet and hocks.
If you were going to show your dog, then you would have to learn to trim in a more specialised manner and you should get further advice on this from your nearest Breed Club Secretary.
You can learn to do a basic trim yourself or you can take your dog to a grooming parlour. Words of warning here though - make sure the parlour knows how to trim an English Springer properly. - always ask for your dog to be hand stripped.
If you do choose to learn to trim your own dog, the easiest way is to be shown in a practical demonstration. If you have bought your puppy from a reputable breeder they will probably be only too willing to give you a demonstration. If this is not the case, once again, ask your nearest Breed Club secretary to put you in touch with someone who will. For trimming at home you will need some specialised grooming equipment in the form of:
a pair of straight edged scissors;
a pair of thinning scissors;
an ordinary toothed steel comb;
a close toothed steel comb (known as a spaniel comb);
a Soft bristle brush;
a Hard bristle brush;
a slicker brush ( with “L” shaped metal teeth);
two rubber thumbs (the kind cashiers use to count notes!) or a rubber glove; and
a trimming table or bench with a non-slip rubber mat on (It is much easier to groom a dog on a trimming table or workbench rather than at floor level. The dog soon associates the table with the grooming routine, and it is much better for your back).
To ensure your English Springer co-operates with you on the trimming table, remember to start your grooming routine early on in its life. Use brushes and combs early on in the routine, and pretend to trim using scissors at the same time so the pup gets used to the noise they make.
Below you will find some pictures demonstrating the various aspects of grooming.
Use the spaniel comb and slicker brush on the ear feathering
Use the combs and brushes to remove all dust, dirt, tangles and dead hair from the coat.
The close toothed spaniel comb and the slicker brush are particularly effective on the ear feathering. Don’t be rough with your dog when you are grooming it - remember there’s real live skin under the hair!
Carefully trim inside the ears with some thinning scissors..Inside of the ear around the entrance to the ear canal, the hair should be trimmed quite short to allow air to circulate freely into the ear..Inside of the ear around the entrance to the ear canal, the hair should be trimmed quite short to allow air to circulate freely into the ear.You should use the thinning scissors to do this. They can also be used to trim the hair on the outside of the earflap. The hair from the top of the ear to about a third of the way down should be thinned out. After thinning, use the spaniel comb to remove all loose hair from the ear.
.Inside of the ear around the entrance to the ear canal, the hair should be trimmed quite short to allow air to circulate freely into the ear.You should use the thinning scissors to do this. They can also be used to trim the hair on the outside of the earflap. The hair from the top of the ear to about a third of the way down should be thinned out. After thinning, use the spaniel comb to remove all loose hair from the ear.
Thin out the hair from the top of the ear to one third down.
Thin out the hair from the top of the ear to one third down.The hair from the top of the ear to about a third of the way down should be thinned out.After thinning, use the spaniel comb to remove all loose hair from the ear. 
Pluck any dead hair on top of the dog’s head, wearing a rubber glove or rubber thumbs. The hair on top of your dog’s head is likely to go a lighter shade and stick up when it is dead hair and therefore, needs to be trimmed out. All you need to do here is pluck the dead hair out using your thumb and forefinger. This is where the rubber thumbs or a rubber glove is useful as they give you a better grip on the hair. You can use this action to remove any dead hair from other parts of the dog’s coat.
any dead hair on top of the dog’s head, wearing a rubber glove or rubber thumbs. The hair on top of your dog’s head is likely to go a lighter shade and stick up when it is dead hair and therefore, needs to be trimmed out. All you need to do here is pluck the dead hair out using your thumb and forefinger. This is where the rubber thumbs or a rubber glove is useful as they give you a better grip on the hair. You can use this action to remove any dead hair from other parts of the dog’s coat.
any dead hair on top of the dog’s head, wearing a rubber glove or rubber thumbs. The hair on top of your dog’s head is likely to go a lighter shade and stick up when it is dead hair and therefore, needs to be trimmed out. All you need to do here is pluck the dead hair out using your thumb and forefinger. This is where the rubber thumbs or a rubber glove is useful as they give you a better grip on the hair. You can use this action to remove any dead hair from other parts of the dog’s coat.
any dead hair on top of the dog’s head, wearing a rubber glove or rubber thumbs. The hair on top of your dog’s head is likely to go a lighter shade and stick up when it is dead hair and therefore, needs to be trimmed out. All you need to do here is pluck the dead hair out using your thumb and forefinger. This is where the rubber thumbs or a rubber glove is useful as they give you a better grip on the hair. You can use this action to remove any dead hair from other parts of the dog’s coat.
Use a brush to remove dust and dirt from the coat.
Gently tease out any tangles and knots.
The hair on the chest and throat will, at some stage,need thinning out and you will once again do this with the thinning scissors and a comb.
Comb through the feathering on the chest carefully, teasing out any knots.
As with any aspect of trimming always work against the natural lie of the hair
Trim any hair growing between the toes and under the foot. The feet should be trimmed using a pair of straight edge scissors; the aim is to make the each foot look tight and rounded. This also means trimming flat any hair growing up between the toes, and any growing underneath the foot. The hair on the hocks should be trimmed close using the thinning scissors.
June 13th, 2006
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Good grooming habits begin with puppy care. All puppies should be taught to sit, stand, or lie down to have their bodies checked over and their hair combed.
Grooming provides bonding time. In the wild, wolves and other canines groom each other as part of the social interaction of the pack or family group. Dog incisors (the front teeth) are an effective comb; the little nibbles they etch on the bodies of pack mates stimulate the skin and have a calming effect. Puppy owners can also use grooming as pleasurable time with their new family member.
June 13th, 2006
Next we will shave the hind leg area - you can use either the 1/4″ or 1/2″ comb, shave against the growth of hair, begin right above what would be his knee joint, and shave upward into the area you shaved the back coat off of. You only shave the outside flank of the rear legs, not the longer “feathers”. See red area outlined on picture.
