Cocker Spaniel Grooming Question

spurscormac

Hi folks,

I know I've bleated on here before about the fact that I've never had my fella professionally groomed, and that all it takes is some combing every couple of days.
The problem I have is that the coat is getting longer & more difficult to keep, and seems to get matted more easily.
Specifically, the problem areas are at the joining of the front legs & body, and the hind quarters, this I presume is from sitting down.

So what I'm wondering, is if its possible to have the problem areas clipped, while still keeping the natural long-haired look.

What I want is a look like this...


But not this...



The last thing I want is to go to a groomer and request the clipping and get him back completely shaved.
Should a professional groomer be able to do this, and if so, can anyone advise of good groomers in Galway?

McNulty

I have two cockers and from my experience of groomers ('m based near Meath) a good groomer should be able to do whatever you want.

The first time we got them done they did it purely by scissors, comb etc and we kept the 'skirt' and 'feathers' on both of them.

The second time the groomers did a combination of the first time, and also some clippering

Subseqently (we have them groomed about every 3-4 months) we went for clippers for a bit of a crew cut.

Our main reason was time and environment - we're down the beach with them everyday and the sand and seawater tended to matt up the coat. Also after we'd had them for about a year our little girl arrived and number two is due shortly so time was at a premium.

Like I said, the groomers did everything exactly to our specification so it's probably finding a good groomer that is the main thing and talking it through with them.

My two are blue roan so when shaved down the colouring really comes out on them. The do look a bit like short haired pointers (with great big ears) the first couple of days they have been done, but they seem to love it and the ongoing maintenance is a bit easier

Cheers

Jim

spurscormac

Thanks for that.

I expected that a good professional groomer should be able to do as requested.
Suppose the next question is - can anyone recommend a good groomer in the Galway city area?