Cocker Spaniel Hair Care: A Checklist for Dog Owners

Aside from their long floppy ears, one of the more recognisable aspects of a Cocker Spaniel is their beautiful coats.

With so many ways to styles to choose from and nearly two dozen colours, your dog's coat is a big part of its appearance. It's essential we take proper care of it.

And that is what we will be covering in this article. We will discuss everything you need to know and do to take care of your Cocker Spaniels hair.

How to Take Care of a Cocker Spaniels Hair at Home

When it comes to taking care of your Cocker Spaniels coat there are a few things you need to do. This includes brushing, bathing, and trimming your dog's coat as it grows.

Let's run through each of these in turn explaining everything you need to consider.

Brushing

Brushing a Cocker Spaniels coat will be part of your dog's daily grooming routine to prevent tangles, knots, matted fur, remove dead excess hair, and generally keep your dog's coat looking pretty.

Getting the dead hair out with a brush is far better than it turning up on your clothes and all over your house. Cocker Spaniels are known for being moderate shedders. The AKC rated them 3/5 for it. This means you will definitely want to keep up regular brushing.

You will need a brush specifically designed for a Cocker Spaniel. A thin metal bristle brush is what you are looking for.

Bathing

As much as they may protest your Cocker Spaniel will also need a bath now and again.

You won't want to do this too often as it can remove essential oils from their coat which in turn leads to dried-out skin that can become flaky and irritated. In some cases, this can also lead to skin conditions.

To avoid this you want to keep giving your Cocker a bath to every few months. We try to space it out to the middle of the time between grooming appointments since they will be washing your dog anyway.

Sometimes when out on an adventure your Cocker Spaniel may get a bit messy. It is pretty much guaranteed to happen at times and in these situations, it is okay to give your Spaniel a quick wash.

Just try not to make a habit of it.

If they have got a bit dirty on a walk and its only on their paws and a belly you could use dog paw wipes to clean them up, or even just fill your bath a bit with water to get all of the dirt out. You will be surprised how dirty the water is after!

You will need to use a dog shampoo for your Cocker Spaniel as human products will hard their skin. There are a wide range to choose from with specific shampoos for certain needs such as sensitive skin, hypoallergenic, flea and tick, or even waterless.

Just make sure you choose a high quality shampoo for your Cocker.

Trimming

From time to time you will also have to consider trimming your Cocker Spaniels coat. This will depend on the grooming style you have chosen as some do require less upkeep than others.

For example, if you opt for the puppy cut (shaved short all over) then its unlikely you will need to do much trimming, however if you went for something more glamorous like the Princess Cut then daily or weekly trims will be on the cards.

Sometimes you will want to give your Cocker's paws or ears a trim between the grooms.

Cutting your Cockers Hair

Aside from the above tasks you will also have to your Cocker Spaniel groomed.

There are two options here for taking care of your dogs hair, either having your dog professionally groomed, or giving it a bash at home yourself.

No matter which you choose your dog will need regular grooming every 10-12 weeks. The fancier the style you choose the more often it will be.

Cocker Spaniels who participate in dog shows will need more upkeep.

Let's run through each option.

Professional Dog Groomer

This is the simplest way of keeping your Cocker Spaniel's coat looking good. Though, it is the more expensive option.

It is really straight forward to find a groomer in your area. Just have a search online and you will find several close by. If you already have a Cocker Spaniel I'm sure you already have a go-to groomer.

Personally, I leave it to professional groomers as its pretty affordable and my Cocker Spaniel always comes out looking and smelling great. It's a nice chance to run a few errands while I'm in town too.

Cutting your Cockers Hair at Home

Grooming your Cocker Spaniel at home is another great option that many owners choose.

For most people who do this it will be a simple puppy cut, however, for those who are keen to learn a bit more about the more challenging cuts.

You will want to be a bit more careful around your Cocker's ears, tail, paws, and face. The rest you could just take a clippers straight over if you want a faster cut.

You will need to get yourself some dog grooming tools to get started but this upfront cost will work in your favour after the first two cuts. They are relatively inexpensive.

I keep considering this option but chicken out at the last minute and book my Cocker in to be groomed.

Conclusion

If you have made it this far then your officially an expert on looking after your Cocker Spaniels coat.

You know everything you have to do to keep your dog's coat looking beautiful. Keeping up with brushing, trimming, and bathing won't take long each day and its a great way to spend a little quality time with your dog too.

If your Cocker Spaniel is anything like mine you will not get any protesting from any of these activities, unless you stop brushing!

Start this routine at a young age to keep your dog in good habits and keep your dog comfortable with these activities.

If you are feeling particularly brave maybe you will give your cutting your Cocker Spaniel's coat yourself.

And I hope you have found this to be a very helpful article.

Good luck with grooming your Cocker Spaniel!