One of the most popular questions we get asked is how do I groom my dogs. Their grooming routines are totally different but I thought I’d talk you through Woody’s.
Woody is a Working Cocker Spaniel, so isn’t that fluffy compared to the hairier Show Cockers. His breed ideally should be short on the body, with a small skirt (a little bit of fluff hanging down from his stomach) and feathers (the fluff on his legs).
Some may naturally be extra fluffy, but for Woody I presume he was neutered before his adult coat had fully developed. Not a problem at all, except he then has an excessive amount of ‘ginger hair’.
Some people may like the ginger highlights, and I absolutely love them as features but not all over. On his body they look dry and untidy. His liver coat turns ginger when it is dead, so this is all dead hair that needs to come out as the dead hair is also what you find around the house.
Having worked in a groomers I do not see any reason to shave a double coated dog, I believe there is always another way. Obviously if the dog is not brushed and is extremely matted, for the dogs welfare shaving is the best option to remove them from discomfort. Spaniels can either be scissored or hand stripped. I do a combination of both across his body.
Once you’ve shaved a dog their coat will never go back to it’s original condition. So I always advise stripping before shaving. If you don’t like it after trying it you can always go to shave, doing it the other way round the stripping will be much harder on a shaved coat.
Another reason to strip out the dead hair is to help your dogs to regulate their own temperature. Removing that dead hair means that the air can flow through the coat, keeping them cool in summer and warm in winter. Shaving will restrict this air flow, meaning they can’t cool down as easily. A common mistake owners think is the shorter they shave the cooler their dog will be, meaning eventually the dog has none of that gorgeous fluff left.
On Woody’s body I use a Mars Coat king. I have a range of sizes because of all the different breeds I groom, but the best brush to start out with would be the 20 or 22 blade. All you do is brush in the direction of your dogs coat. Brush quite firmly as it won’t hurt your dog and they won’t feel any pain from the hair coming out. There are other products advertised to dog owners as taking out the dead hair, many of these also pull out the healthy fur and will damage your dogs coat. Groomers are very opinionated about these and advise against them.
The Mars coat king can be used all over the body. As a personal preference I leave the highlights on Woody’s top knot, ears and legs just because I love them but you can remove as much hair as you’d like. Brown is the perfect colour to demonstrate this with as the dead hairs are visible, but other colours will have just as much dead hair to remove, you just won’t be able to see it as well.
After a couple of strokes you remove the hair from your brush with your fingers. The first time you try this you will have SO much hair! At certain times of the year I fill up our bird feeder with dog hair so the birds make super cosy nests. The more frequently you brush them with the Mars coat king the less hair that comes out.
For the rest of his body I generally just comb through the fur to keep it matt free. However I always trim between his toes. To me this is more important than any other part of grooming, you must always check between their toes! I see so many spaniels with overgrown fluff on their feet. Not only does this mean that the fluff will matt and cause discomfort for them (It’s like you walking round with rocks between your toes) but it’s a heaven for grass seeds to get stuck and embed in your dog’s feet. For a video on how I trim their toe hair, view our instagram reel here.
I’m sure all dog owners will have heard of the nightmare of grass seeds, but many still have dogs with fluff between their toes. By trimming the fluff it reduces the chances of grass seeds getting stuck massively, grass seeds will go in between their toes but have nothing to get stuck on. So no pain for your dogs, and no expensive vet bills for you! All I do is brush the fluff up against the flow of the coat, then trim in the direction of the coat. You do have to be extremely careful here as if your dogs don’t stay still you can cause an accident with sharp scissors and a wriggling dog. To save the worry many groomers would be happy to do a quick foot trim for you.
I hope you have enjoyed reading about how I groom Woody. You can buy the Mars coat king easily on Amazon here.
These are all my personal opinion on how I like to groom my dogs, but your groomers would also be happy to help if you phone them up. If you want to take your dog to the groomer to have this done you need to ask them if they do ‘hand stripping’.
I have written a post about grooming Wilma if any doodle owners are interested click here. But it’s a lot harder than Spaniel grooming! I definitely do not recommend using the mars brush on doodles or other curly coated breeds, it is not for them!
Thanks for reading,
Megan, Woody & Wilma
The Cotswold Spaniels 
I’d love to hear how you groom Wilma too! I sometimes do Barnaby myself in between professional grooms. It’s getting a bit easier each time as I grow in confidence but I’m still learning. Any tips you can give would be appreciated!
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My cocker has gone from silky to hair sticking up all over! We are at the seaside for a while. She’s on a raw diet, and a little olive oil in her breakfast. I wash her with hibiscrub. She looks a little dry. Any advice please.
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Thanks for this, so useful! We have a show chocolate sable cocker spaniel called Lily, I just wondered how old should they be before you start to strip their coat?
Thanks
Joe
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I’d wait until she’s at least a year old and her coat is fully grown. After that you’re good to go!
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Thanks for your advice and the pictures – really helpful. I wasn’t keen on getting our cocker spaniel shaved so i will definitely won’t now. Our cocker spainel is 7 months old. I don’t want to get him neutered until he is a bit older (if we can hold out!) would you recommend we don’t do anything to his coat until then. He has a thick coat, we do brush him, but haven’t clipped his paws yet!
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His adult coat will come through at about 1. Once you think it’s completely changed then that’s the time to neuter him. I think Woody was neutered just a bit too early for him, even though he was 1 which made him excessively ginger! You’ll be able to use the coat king from now on, but you probably will the the best groom with it when he’s got his adult coat.
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Hi, thank you for your very informative article. I have my cocker clipped 2-3 times a year.
He is nearly 4 , we adopted him at nearly 2 years old and he had not been clipped before that I’m sure. He has since been clipped since coming to live with us.
I was not aware of the temperature regulation you explained about in your article. I am a bit worried now!
Will both hair layers grow back as normal if I discontinue the clipping and switch to the brush you recommended?
Thank you.
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It would change back eventually but you’d need to give it time to grow out
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So so helpful, thank you!!
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My dog has hairy front legs. I realise that I need to leave his feathers but I can’t seem to make the coat king work on the front of his hairy legs. Is there a special knack please
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It’s tricky because the legs are thin. I just use scissors on their legs to trim it shorter and less grass seeds can get stuck.
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That was very useful! Would you recommend the 20 blades for a much less intense fluff? Jazzy only grows it very slightly on her sides and one of her legs (the liver one!) so I wonder whether the same tool will work as not that much to grab on to?
Thank you!
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I use a 22 blade for the finer hairs on Woody
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Thank you 🙂
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thankyou so much fo your post,
Can you please explain how i can get a smooth head? like can I use a smaller coat king?
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Do you mean take the fluffy quiff bit off the top of their head? Just use the same mars brush and it will go
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Sent for the Mars after reading your blog and it has worked beautifully. Jack’s coat had gone ginger and he looked scruffy. Now it’s glossy brown. Thanks for the great advice
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Hello Sue, that’s brilliant news. So glad we could help 😊
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I ordered the Mars 22 after reading your blog. It is amazing. Lola’s hair was ginger and bitty and looked very untidy. She is now back to looking very glossy and brown. Thank you for the tip.
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So glad we could help you!
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Hi, we have a brown field spaniel, Hebe, who is v fluffy at 8 months we are just using a standard brush but I’m thinking we need to go up to the Mars. Is 8 months therefore too early to start to remove the excess hair? it has become an annoyance to her on account of collecting burrs and trying to pull them out herself on walks. Thanks! Gareth
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So as she is 8 months old this is her puppy coat growing out into her adult coat. You can strip it out with the mars just like you would later in life, but be careful not to do it too much because you could damage her new adult coat coming through.
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Can you still use this if your dog has previously been shaved?
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Yes you can. It all depends on the dog and how their coat has changed. If they’ve been shaved regularly for years it can probably never be turned back, however less than that it can sometimes be saved! If you’re on any social media send me a photo to our account of your dog when their hair is longer and I’ll let you know what I think would work.
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Thank you for creating this blog, its amazing and informative! I just got a 9 week old working cocker spaniel and had been wondering about how to groom him, the info you had given were clear enough, I now know what to do, I really hope my puppy will have a quiff as I think it is very cute. I also have 12.5 year old Jack Russell and they both got on well.
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Oh how exciting! Enjoy your journey together. You probably won’t need to do any of this until he’s 9 months – a year but I hope he grows a quiff for you as well! Enjoy x
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Thank you for your reply, yes, with the comments you had written to others, it’s best to wait until he’s old enough, I am currently gently using bristle brush on him so he can get used to being groomed & sitting. Although, he’s more interested in eating it!!!
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Otis had reached a year old! he had 2 grooms done by groomer purely due to very fluffy feet! he had grass seed removed at 5 months old! He had developed a beautiful shiny short hair black coat (still not neutered) with fluffy big ears, legs, chest and long haired tail, I have had brushed him with bristle brush almost daily but will get mars coat king now as he had started to get matted spots (armpits, down below etc) he got an amazing quiff and it’s brown if caught in the light! lol
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Would this be ok for my 5 year old show cocker, she has never been shaved, I have trimmed her coat myself, and brush her daily,
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Absolutely! I groom show Cockers using the 22 blade.
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My sprocker was clipped (not at my request) during a routine wash and brush up and nail trim. The lady clipped his butt feathers and tail . Which used to be quite epic. Now tufty and short . Not happy he had this done in January.
Is this going to grow back or ?
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Yes it should grow back and change back to normal over time
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Thank you so much for this post! Very helpful in guiding me towards the right way to groom. Woody looks just like my Meg so I’ll know what to expect!
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Oh gorgeous! She’ll get the lovely ear highlights too then
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Hi there, your site has been so informative, thank you. Our cocker Murphy is black and 9 mths old. His dad was a brown working cocker, like your guy😍. Murphys coat is definitely showing a lot of fluffy brown! though has the black between shoulders, tail, face. I’ve started to comb him with elastic band on comb and it does remove quite a bit of ‘fluff’ ….. I’ve considered getting the comb you mention but am unsure….. He will be neutered at the end of June.. Is this too soon, will neutering effect his adult coat?
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Woody was neutered at 1 and it absolutely changed his coat. I’d wait until at least 18 months if you can, just to let his hormones settle and his coat fully develop. But the mars coat king will definitely help.
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Hello! I’m just reading through your wonderful blog; Woody and Wilma are gorgeous.
We will hopefully be bringing a working cocker home ourselves soon. I notice that you’ve said Woody was neutered too early and that to wait until they’re 18 months. Does this apply to girls too? I’ve been reading a lot about neutering/spaying and it completely changing (and ruining in some cases!) their coats. I obviously want to try and avoid this as much as possible, thought I know it’s not a given either way, so any advice you can offer would be really appreciated!
Also, how do you trim between their toes and what tools do you use?
Thank you! x
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Everyone has their own opinion on neutering, but for our lifestyle it’s easiest. It’s best to wait as long as you can for both sexes 18 months – 2 years for boys to fully develop. Girls are different as they’ll develop at different speeds, ideally you want them to have at least one season for their hormones to develop, then spay 3 months after that. That’s what I did for Wilma but for my next girl ideally I’d like her to have 2 seasons then spay.
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Thankyou so much for your really informative site. I’m getting my fourth wc next week and fully endorse what you say about neutering too early. Jeeves is a ginger and his coat is terrible now. I’ll try the Mars as I normally have him clipped in the summer when he’s become really bleached and woolly. Interestingly after I had his mother spayed her coat changed too. She was black but it still went that horrid ,thick woolly texture. Clipping def doesn’t help.
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I have three working cockers, the black and golden are always smooth and shiny , but my chocolate bitch has a totally woolly coat. I hate it, but I’ve always been told that once I start clipping her coat would never be the same, so reading your blog was most helpful because I followed your recommendation to try the mars coat king and it’s game changing. Thank you!
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So glad I could help! And I hope she’s now a lovely dark brown again.
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Hi just read your grooming tips and they were a great help. Can I ask what you do about their ears, we get so many burrs etc and our dog hates having them removed, can you use the Mars on ears or would that be too harsh. Many thanks
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Yes you can use it lightly on the ears, but I wouldn’t do too much. I like the highlights in Woodys ears so don’t do it much. But regular combing of the ears with a metal comb will make it easier to take the burrs out.
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Thanks for your advice, will defininitely give the Mars a go.
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Hello, my wcs is 5 months but his glossy black coat has become very fluffy. I can see that there is a lot of dull fur. From reading the comments here, you think he is too young for the coat king, is that right? I’m dying to use it! What can I do to keep him glossy and to de-fuzz him until he is one? thanks.
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So at the minute you’re seeing his puppy coat coming out and changing to his adult coat. The dull fur is the dead hair and underneath will be a shiny healthy coat. This will come out just as the dead hair will later in life. However I’d wait until 9-12 months to have his first hand strip or using the mars brush as I wouldn’t want you to damage his coat before it comes through properly. He can go to the groomers for an introduction and they may groom out some of the fluff to keep it manageable, you just ask for a puppy groom so he can get used to the noises and table
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Thanks very helpful … our spayed bitch now looks so much better.
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Glad we could help!
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World of difference to our cocker’s coat. He is smoothly and silky and feels like a puppy! He really enjoys it too. Your page have me the confidence to keep going when so much fur came out!!!
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So glad we could help! Keep up the good work.
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I have 2 years old spaniel and got your special comb but still he has a fluffy hair and not silky. Wondering why is that? I do combing with Wood comb everyday and not much changing. Can you explain about it and tell me what can I do? Thanks. Awaiting to hear from you.
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You should use this mars coat king about every 3-4 weeks as every day will damage their coat. Diet is also a huge factor in a dogs coat. Woody is RAW fed which gives him that lovely healthy shine. There’s lots of raw feeding blog posts on here
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Our 6 year old spayed chocolate roan wc is super fluffy and can end up looking like a small bear! She has been shaved several times but having read your blog I bought the Mars and it really helps, however even though the ginger has gone she still seems pretty fluffy and not glossy. Is there anything else you’d recommend eg fish oil supplements? Any idea how long it might take a coat to fully grow back after being shaved? Thanks!
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Thank you for taking the time to provide such useful information. I have 3 American Cockers and prior to reading through your blog I was intending shaving off the 2 years old coat. I’ve never shaved her before, other than her face and chest and the rest scissors. The advice you have given has made me realise any knots need to be teased out, shaving is an easy option, but not good for her health and welfare. I wasn’t sure when to use the Mars comb either on my 7 month old AC, but again you’ve answered that question too. Absolutely great information blog.
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Hello, thank you for this post. We have a 14 month old sprocker. He is liver risen. He was neutered at 11 months and clearly impacted his coat as now his back is super fluffy. If I don’t buy the tool you recommend will it just grow/ brush out with time? I just asked my groomer to leave it as I didn’t want it cut down for fear of it becoming tight and woolly. Many thanks
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It won’t grow out like his puppy coat did. Now he is fully mature it will unfortunately stay that way after he is neutered. But if you use the brush it will remove all the ginger hair leaving him a nice dark brown. After a couple of months the ginger dead hair will return and you repeat the process
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Thank you for all this information. I have a one year old show type cocker started using coat king to remove puppy coat. This worked very well. My query is around amount 0f use. It takes me about 1 hour over two days to go over him properly. No matter how long I keep brushing hair still keeps coming out. I would really like to reduce hair around the house and car but am worried continued use might ruin his coat?
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Yes hair would continue to come out. I’d say do it once every 3-4 weeks so the coat doesn’t go too thin.
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Thank you. This is my first cocker so will just have to get used to the hair – he is lovely though!
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Hello,
Thanks for a really informative blog.
We have an 11 month old male working cocker with mainly white coat, a black and white ear and a black eye patch with more and more black flecks showing in his coat as he gets older. He does seem to loose quite a few short hairs and is now getting a bit tufty in between toes again, he had his toes only clipped a few months ago by the local pet shop groomers and behaved pretty well. He gets tats under his ears that are a menace to get out and he’s not at all keen on having toe fur trimmed by us, any advice would be gratefully received.
Many thanks David and Freddie
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I’d say keep taking him to the groomers to have his toes done. They’ll know how to ask him to stand still to safely trim his toes, I know how wriggly they can be and wouldn’t want you to have an accident with the scissors! I also have the fur underneath my spaniels ears cut right back. You can’t see it as it’s covered by the ears but it’s always the last bit to dry, rubs with collars or people stroking them and matts easily. So cutting it short helps prevent that!
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Thanks for the prompt and useful reply.
Much appreciated.
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Hello, thank you so much for your guidance on spaniels coats! We have a 9m old sable show Cocker spaniel with a really beautiful multi-tonal coat. The breeder advised we don’t cut him because he’d lose the colour change omg the length of each hair and be strawberry blonde all over! I have instead been raking him with the king comb from the start but now feeling guilty as I’ve read the comments saying it’s not for his puppy coat. What would you recommend instead and as an adjunct for areas that need combing but as more delicate like ears and underbelly? We are also getting dreadlocks behind the ears and at armpits? He really dislikes the rake grooming and will mouth us as we do it even though we’ve always interspersed with treats.
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Hi there, I recently discovered your site and I find it so honest and refreshing! Plus your dogs seem such personalities 🙂 We have an english cocker spaniel which was regrettably shaved 1-2 times around one year of age (to keep thorns away during hunting season).. I only recently found out about stripping, so I ordered the coat king for his body, but how do I approach his rather long haired muzzle and head in general? I tried hand stripping the area with a rubber glove, but the hair that comes out is minimal..the coat king hasn’t arrived, but I’m not sure it would work there. Is it ok if we continue to shave only around the muzzle? Any tips are welcome, thank you!
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This is a very helpful article, thank you. I see so many shaved Cockers, and so many professional groomers do it, I was losing confidence in keeping our WCS’s coat natural and grooming him myself. This has reassured me and the detailed advice is very helpful. Thank you. I bought the Mars Coat King and added it to his grooming kitbag and it certainly is brilliant, as everyone says! I was amazed how much more came out, compared to other tools. He is clearly much more comfortable now. Thank you.
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Thank you for this informative post!! I am getting my 6 month old working cocker spayed in a month and I have been nervous about making this decision since there are pros and cons to spaying before the first couple heat cycles. I love her silky coat so I’ve also been nervous about her getting fluffy, but I feel more equipped to treat it now if it happens! What kind of scissors do you use to trim in between toes?
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