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Whether you are taking your cocker to be groomed for the first time, want a change or decided to venture in on this on your own there are several things you have to decide. Remember you can always change it next time and repeat after me ..."It will grow back". :-) Hopefully this page will help arm you with information, so you can communicate with your new groomer and avoid any surprises, if that's your case.
American Cocker Spaniel Show Cut
"On the head, short and fine; on the body, medium length, with enough undercoating to give protection. The ears, chest, abdomen and legs are well feathered, but not so excessively as to hide the Cocker Spaniel's true lines and movement or affect his appearance and function as a moderately coated sporting dog. The texture is most important. The coat is silky, flat or slightly wavy and of a texture which permits easy care. Excessive coat or curly or cottony textured coat shall be severely penalized. Use of electric clippers on the back coat is not desirable. Trimming to enhance the dog's true lines should be done to appear as natural as possible."
We won't be going in depth on show grooming on this webpage. Some people prefer this cut even if the dog does not show, but is quite time consuming to maintain and can get expensive buying grooming tools. There are several variation you can do based on this cut for your pet though.
If you plan on showing your cocker you can learn to do this yourself or hire a professional handler to do it for you. The best place to start is to ask your breeder or get in contact with your local kennel club.
American Cocker Spaniel Show Cut:
This is a perfect example of a Cocker Spaniel show cut. We did a Google Image search and found this one which is a really great shot of what a Show cut is.
"The Cocker Cut"
This cut is sometimes called different things by different groomers, but it's basically a short back or even shaved with a longer "skirt" on the bottom. This allows owners to deal with less hair but still give the appearance of that gorgeous long cocker coat. The skirt and legs can also be tapered back to a shorter length without actually shaving the dog. The shaved or shorter back also is cooler for the dog in hot weather.
"The Puppy Cut"
Also known by different names the puppy cut is more of an evenly trimmed coat. The whole coat is either shaved down or clipped down to a certain length with a clipper guard. Some people will do this cut in the summer time because it's cooler and do the "Cocker Cut" in the winter and fall. It gets this name because no matter the age of the dog they always look like a puppy again (maybe just bigger). :-) This requires the least amount of maintenance on your part.
Ears: Most people will keep the ears long no matter what cut style they go with. It's the cocker trademark of course! If you are taking your dog to a groomer you need to ask how they intend to cut the ears. They can be rounded off on the bottom, cut short, left alone entirely, or shaved.
Some other questions to consider asking your new groomer:
"Do you clip/file the nails?" (if not either you need to do it or take them to a vet to get it done. )
"Do you expel the anal glands?" (cockers have anal glands that can sometimes smell, leak or get infected if not drained, your vet can also do this if required or show you how to)
"What kind of shampoo do you use?" (does your cocker have sensitive skin or allergies?)
"Do you use sedatives?" (This is a huge controversy and you should ask. It's very dangerous if not administered by a vet. This has become quite a taboo, the majority them don't use sedatives, but it was worth mentioning here)
