Please someone tell me his hair will grow back. Think I’ve made a stupid mistake

[silkydog]

I’ve just taken our 2 year old working cocker for his first proper groom (usually just brush him). It’s been so hot i got him clipped all over as I thought I was doing the right thing. Now I’ve just read they shouldn’t be clipped, I don’t understand why the groomer didn’t tell me this and suggest what should have been done instead? Apparently it won’t grow back and will cause all sorts of problems including overheating which is what I wanted to protect him from, I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid, is there anything that can be done to help it grow back properly?

It'll grow back. He'll be fine. You don't need to do anything.

Of course it'll grow back, don't worry. I know they say the long coat is as much to keep heat out at heat in, but honestly I always think they are so much more comfortable in the heat without that thick coat. The most important thing to remember, regardless of coat, is not to exercise him in the heat.

Apparently, it is ok to clip cockers: www.groomers-online.com/cocker-spaniel-grooming-i231

It will grow back.

It'll be fine. My springer is fully clipped all over and it always grows back 100% normal!

Remember, if it didn't grow back properly you'd see an awful lot of dogs going round forever with odd looking squares over their cephalic veins, jugular veins, abdomens or any random place an injury or lump has been clipped for surgery. If they ever don't grow back I check em out for underactive thyroid or Cushings (uncommon and impossibly rare respectively at that age).

Thanks for your reassuring replies!

So have yours grown back without being fluffy and prone to matting?

It was this (among other articles) that worried me as his coat was so beautiful and silky before, I just thought he was too hot!

m.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=915706425178939&id=701117006637883

It will probably grow back okay but I wouldn’t ever do it again tbh.
All the cockers Ive known that have been clipped regularly have had horrible, extraordinarily smelly woolly coats.

I clip mine but he continues to be clipped because I think it is better for him and us.

In the winter when all the mud is hosed off he dries quicker, in summer I think it's cooler for him and he doesn't get much tangled up in his fur as he runs through the forest.

If it grows long then yes it becomes a bit fluffy but for me that doesn't matter because we keep it short in summer and only a tiny bit longer in winter and don't care that he doesn't have a 'show type' cut.

Thank you. So if it does come back fluffy, rather than keep clipping it, is there anything I can do to get the fluff back to long silky hair?

I’ve always had my cockers clipped in summer. The coat grows back completely fine, still silky! It’s only double coated dogs that you shouldn’t clip.

I was told by my springers breeder not to clip him as it would make his hair grow back curlier. But then I had him castrated and his hair went all tufty, curly, sticking out and he had amazing thick chest hair! So this year I cut it for the first time to prevent him getting covered in burrs and grass seeds.
It was growing back but then he got really sick had a 3 hour op, a week in a specialist centre and has had his whole abdomen and all his legs clipped. He’s on the mend now, he’s not a young dog but his hair is still growing back although he’s got a strangely bald back leg
If my old boy can grow his hair back after all that I’m sure your dogs coat will grow back with no problem!

All the cockers Ive known that have been clipped regularly have had horrible, extraordinarily smelly woolly coats

I was told by my springers breeder not to clip him as it would make his hair grow back curlier.

This make no sense. Cutting hair, which is dead, has absolutely no impact on what grows from the follicle. The growth is from the follicle not the snipped end of the hair. Just like human hair- cutting it doesn’t affect the growth in any way!

@Ostryga

I’ve always had my cockers clipped in summer. The coat grows back completely fine, still silky! It’s only double coated dogs that you shouldn’t clip.

I also thought cockers were double coated? Just Googled and it says they are?

This make no sense. Cutting hair, which is dead, has absolutely no impact on what grows from the follicle. The growth is from the follicle not the snipped end of the hair. Just like human hair- cutting it doesn’t affect the growth in any way!
Cockers I thought we’re double coated and usually handstripped..?

If you shave a double coated dog it can cause the undercoat to grow more quickly making the coat wooly and smelly.
Which has been the case for the regularly shaved cockers I’ve met.
Vile, super strong, musty dog smell and fluffy coat.

I clip my working cocker every summer....... and then let it grow back over the autumn/winter. He's got a gorgeous soft silky coat but he's also not neutered.

Our sprocker has a coat like a woolly mammoth and needs clipping all year round as it's horrendous, but she was spayed at 6 months.

A lot of coat issues are hormonal rather than to do with clipping. We also use an evening primrose coat spray that keeps their coats smooth and silky.

It will obviously grow back, but not the same. Clipped cockers have woolly, curly dull coats when compared to a non-clipped dog. I am surprised a WCS had enough coat to warrant a clip anyway. I trim feet and feathering on mine, with light handstripping to remove dead coat a few times a year.

I thought cockers were single coated?

I have a double coated terrier, who we strip.

If you clip double coated dogs, then the hairs don't come away from the follicles and it becomes harder/impossible over time for them to do so. The dog is both warmer in winter and cooler in summer if the coat is maintained by stripping (closer to what nature intended) and it's considerably less likely that the softer hairs will matt

We always had our working cocker clipped every year. To be fair I also didn’t realise that that’s what the groomer would do, I assumed she’d strip him but she clipped him instead. It did grow back but a bit thick and more coarse, not quite as smooth and silky as it had been. He was neutered quite late too which may have affected it.

I clippered my cocker spaniel all year round for 12 years. I can assure you, it most certainly grows back, or I wouldn’t have run through two sets of clippers and more blades than I care to think of

I kept him clipped all year round tbh - my view was that he dried more quickly in winter with less fur, and thus was warmer. He never needed a coat until he got very old. 🤷‍♀️

Thanks for your replies, it’s interesting that experiences are so varied but he’s not been neutered yet so I’m hoping that will help. I’m going to get some evening primrose oil spray (thanks for the recommendation!) and a Mars coat rake for when it grows back and if I ever take him to a groomer again I know to specifically ask for hand stripping. Thanks all.

Hand stripping is just pulling their hair out by hand. My cocker was not a fan at all and it distressed her. She was shaved her whole life. Her coat always came back silky and could have been grown out but it really wasn’t worth it. The wet and dirt or the heat meant a short, clippered coat felt might kinder on her and me!

I keep my show cocker clipped. My groomer said -

Handstripping is the “correct” grooming method for a cocker but if she’s just a pet and you want more control in the length of hair and type of style then clipping will be best and it’s what the majority of cocker owners have done. If you plan on having her spayed as well at some point you’ll have to have her clipped as neutering affects the coat so it is no longer possible to strip.

When I used a dog groomer for my springer spaniel I was told clipping would give him a woolly coat. I use scissors except under his neck and his underside, where I use clippers and have had no problems with woolliness. He is definitely cooler without his coat and I am only walking at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

My show cocker has a skin head all year round. He has a really thick and curly coat if allowed to grow and it can stay damp all day if he gets wet. My groomer said he’d be prone to fungal skin infections if we left it. Works well for us although he does have a jumper for when it’s really cold!