grooming my cocker spaniel

allanimallove · 02-12-2007, 04:21 PM

When I first got my cocker spaniel I took her to petsmart to get her haircut. this time i opted to buy my own clippers and do it myself to save some money not realizing that she would be so difficult. She is getting better about being brushed but it is very difficult for me to give her a haircut. She doesnt get angry or anything, she is just very antsy. I cant get her to hold still which obviously makes it hard for me to cut her hair. It took my about 4 hours to finish her haircut because I had to keep stopping to get her back. I had her in the bathroom so she couldnt really go anywhere but i need her to hold still. the other problem is she does get snappy when I try to clip the hair under her mouth. she has a little beard growing and she wont let me take scissors to it. She jerks her head and tries to bite the scissors. I am afraid that i will hurt her so i left it be for now.

What is the best way to get my cocker spaniel to hold still for a haircut and how do I get her to stop trying to bite the scissors when i clip her "beard"?

the one other thing is clipping her foot hair...im not sure how to get the nice round look on her feet..it doesnt help that she always pulls her paw away from me

Nagem · 02-12-2007, 06:53 PM

Grooming is not an easy job. I learned that too when I first tried to groom my parents' cocker spaniel. I was instructed that the best way to get a dog to stay still (or more still) is to elevate them by placing the dog on a table, or a work bench. I would recommend just letting her get used to the buzzing of the clippers. It will take some time for you both to get the hang of it.
As for around the feet, I always used scissors.

hisgirl · 02-12-2007, 07:59 PM

Good luck! I groomed for a little over 20 years, and cockers were my least favorite clients. How old is your dog? If she is still young, she may get used to it with time and a lot of patience. The reason why cockers were my least favorite is mainly all the things you already stated. Their hair is very thick, and if the owner didn't brush well between visits, it was difficult at best to get my clipper blade to run through their hair. And if they were matted.. it would take me all day, and I would need to have my blades sharpened after.

It takes forever to dry them, and their temperment was pretty much like you described. They either bit, or shook and piddled on my table. The key is to stay calm, but assertive with them. If you lose your cool, the battle is lost. Talk to her while you work on her, and try not to let it become a wrestling match. cockers are very sweet dogs, but a lot of them don't like the grooming process very much. Just form a routine that works for you, and keep trying. Hopefully she will settle down and accept what you are doing. If not, you may decide it's not worth the hassle and take her to a professional groomer. I wish I could be of more help, but time and patience is the key!

allanimallove · 02-13-2007, 05:20 PM

thanks for the adivise! yeah she is a handful. luckily she is still young (only 10 months) so i can hopefully get her adjusted to me doing it. It isnt so bad to buz her back or head but her ears, legs and especially her feet were hard! i tried using the scissors to clip around her feet, it took so long because she kept pulling away. I am going to clip her every 4-6 weeks and definitely brush her everyday so that she will learn how this works. I let her sniff the buzzers, brush, scissors, or whatever but after a few minutes she wants to sniff it again lol. i am working on it though and i really appreciate all you advise!

DivaDog · 07-19-2007, 12:32 PM

Firstly - dont expect your dog to behave for you like he behaves for the groomer - they nearly always behave better for us than for the owner - but they can learn to be good for mummy to

There are various dvds which show the correct way to clip/handstrip a cocker - but its one thing knowing in theory and a nother entirely in pracitce. I would suggest asking a local groomer (for a fee -but well spent when you think what you will save) to show you how to handle the clippers and your dog to prevent injury. They will also be able to give good advice on the right equipment. It isnt easy - or we would all be groomers, and some people just never have the knack for it - but you should with time and patience be able to manage a competent groom on your dog.

chucky · 07-19-2007, 01:19 PM

my wife took our brittany to a grooming salon just yesterday, they did an awesome job, trimed his coat, cleaned his ears, cliped the claws, even gave him an american flag bandana, all for $40. the groomer said, if every dog he worked on behaved like ours, his job would be the easyest in the world.

briteday · 07-19-2007, 04:40 PM

Our long gone cocker spaniel was my first grooming victim! It took me several tries to get the look I wanted. My advice is to set a time limit on keeping the dog on the table, let her down occasionally to run around (I found it helped me to see my faults while watching my dog play), use lots of treats, constant praise, and lots of patience. Many times I would work on her for a few hours, and then go back a few days later and clean up an area where I thought I could do better.

For me the grooming success came with time and a few more tools. I have quite a basket of brushes, rakes, and combs. I recently purchased a battery operated trimmer for the foot fur between the pads (PetEdge.com). But I think I still like scissors better. Maybe I just haven't worked with the trimmer long enough. In the case of clippers, you don't have to have the most expensive but ask a groomer to show you different kinds and why they like each one. Often if you go to a shop where there is more than one groomer you can get a lot of opinions to help you choose.

But as you can see it's a constantly evolving process of learning. I started out using clippers on nails and have moved on to a rotary tool. And although my cocker spaniel is long gone, I now have a papillon and a pomeranian to groom. I keep them in a puppy clip for summer since they run in the pasture daily, loaded with weeds and debris. So keeping them short reduces the mess in their fur.

ToysHaveMyHeart · 07-19-2007, 09:55 PM

If you clipper the body, make sure that you check the temperature of the blade every once in a while as they can get quite hot. Coolant spray is available for purchase at pet specialty stores and online.