Spaniels are a long-haired dog breed, which makes grooming their coat quite complicated and time-consuming. The dogs need to be combed and rid of unnecessary hair daily as they lose a lot of hair, which is particularly troublesome if the dog lives in a small flat. A special brush made of natural hair should be used for this purpose. Dogs of puppy age, (i.e. roughly up to the age of six months) should be combed with a soft bristle brush. Over time, you should switch to a hard bristle brush, otherwise, the coat will not be thoroughly picked up and combed out.
Every Cocker Spaniel owner should have several types of combs and brushes on hand. The short-toothed comb is perfect for combing out the hair on your pet’s head. The long-toothed comb is designed to comb out tangles and dead hair from the pet’s coat. A brush with bristles and wires is needed once all the hair has been combed out. With it, styling the hair will become a pleasure. All grooming of your dog should take place outside while walking. Daily grooming is therefore based on combing the coat and brushing away dead hair.
After all, grooming is done, we can spray the dog’s hair with shine products or rub oil into it.
Cocker spaniel puppies do not need trimming, but you should not forget to trim their coat regularly – especially around the fingertips, where large tufts of superfluous hair grow. Their growth can cause various infections and be extremely troublesome for the dog.
When a Cocker spaniel reaches its sixth month of life, we can go to a vet or a pet groomer and perform its first-ever trim. The dog should get used to this type of treatment from an early age, as it must be done regularly and throughout the four-legged dog’s life. The hair of spaniels is long and close to the trunk. Puppies are very often covered with medium-length hair, which resembles soft down. After a few months, owners should take steps to eliminate the abnormal hair (usually the soft hair is completely removed and space is given for the growth of the correct hair).
Another somewhat onerous task facing Cocker spaniel (Cocker spaniel) owners is to get rid of the curls and lint that grows most often on the head, but also around the hock, on the sides of the trunk and the paws. The hair is usually lighter than the actual coat, so we can easily identify it. If the dog is subjected to constant grooming in the form of trimming and combing out superfluous hair, a bath does not seem necessary. Puppies must not be bathed under any circumstances.
Bathing your dog should be done with suitable shampoos designed for long-haired dogs. In pet shops, we can find specialised preparations designed for breeds such as the Cocker spaniel or Yorkshire terrier. Under no circumstances must we use human preparations. Some owners mistakenly believe that the use of human preparations makes the coat shinier and allows for easier styling. Nothing could be further from the truth. Dogs are extremely susceptible to allergies and most of the ingredients in cosmetics can irritate their skin.
If the above advice is not followed, the dog can be expected to shed hair uncontrollably and thus cause a lot of confusion and mess in the owner’s home.
