Dog Grooming

[QAQA]

Are there any dog groomers on here who could help me please?

I currently have 3 springer spaniels who have fairly fine coats and 1 cocker spaniel with a rather long fluffy coat.
I have a soft slicker brush, which other brushes / combs should I get, and what for.
As you can tell I’m rather new to this all so any help gratefully appreciated.

I will also be looking to clip my cocker in the near future, it will be an all over clip minus his head & ears, I don’t want him clipped really short. I also don’t want to leave his coat really long as he works in the winter and trying avoid too many things sticking to him. Previously he was clipped with a 7f, just wondering what blade people would advise on for my requirements.

I'm not a groomer (sorry) but I do have a very hairy, fine haired springer.

I use a combination of:

• a pin-head brush to really get at any tangles; this is my go-to for most grooming
• a slicker brush to 'polish up' as it really makes the hair look finely brushed but won't get deep down to any inner tangles
• a mars coat king to help thin down some of the thicker and hairier parts (e.g. his chest hair is really dense so needs thinning out a bit)
• clippers and scissors to trim up his feet; keeping the hair between his toes short really helps cut down on how much mud he brings in

He also goes to a groomer every 8 weeks for a good trim. She layers his ears - as in keeps all the hairs about an inch long vs cutting them all at the same point at the bottom. This helps massively with reducing ear tangles and I think looks cuter. He's a show springer, though, and workers tend to have smaller and less hairy ears to begin with.

Every groomer, breeder I spoke to advised that clipping meant the coat because coarser so to avoid if possible. Of course, if you intend to keep clipping short this is not necessarily a problem.

hth!

You are supposed to hand strip cockers.
Shaving makes the coat wooly and difficult to comb and doesn't insulate the dog as well.
It also looks unbelievably ugly...

Dog groomer here. I totally agree with missbattenberg about the best brushes for you to use.

As far as clipping is concerned, Fucksandfloweres is correct to an extent (not the ugly bit tho!), clipping does make the coat wooly but as he has preivously been used to clipping then his coat will have changed anyway and be difficult to hand strip from now on.

Using a 7f blade is fine but if you want to leave a bit more length then you could go for a 4 or a 4f. Good luck with it!

Oh, and one more thing -don't be tempted to buy cheap clippers. Even if you are only clipping one dog it's worth investing in a professional tool, it will last you years and still save you money on the groomers fees.

To be honest the cockers coat had to be shaved when he was 4 months old due to surgery, and then after having his bits off the other year it changed and it’s been shot since then.
As he works I’m more concerned about keeping him comfortable than him looking show ready or correct as breed standard should be. I don’t want to hand strip him.

I just wanted to make sure I have the right brushes for the springers as they will not be clipped at all.

Missbattenburg
Thank you
Yes it does help

Tompuss
Thank you
I was looking at the 5f & 4f blades so thank you for the suggestion of the 4.
I understand what you are saying about clippers, if it was up to the other half he have got a cheap set from Argos, not for me!
I’ve bought the new Andis clippers, I think those are supposed to be good ones.

Hi again QAQA
Yes Andis all the way or alternatively Oster is great also.