Cocker Spaniels are a beautiful breed and they make amazing pets. Loving, cheerful and fun. They can, however, be quite challenging when it comes to grooming. Their soft and silky coat gets tangled and matted. You can always take them to the groomers and keep their fur short, the so called ‘puppy cut’, but in my opinion it would be a shame to do so.

English Cocker Spaniels need regular home grooming if you want to keep their coat tangle free and their skin healthy. In my experience with Alfred, our family Cocker Spaniel, after only a few skipped brushings the tangles and small mats start to appear. Luckily he loves to be groomed so this is easily fixable.

There are several special techniques that I use in addition to the usual home grooming procedures, that help me get a better result.

Brushing and Combing Tips

According to the vet your Cocker Spaniel should be brushed three to four times a week, in our house it's every day. In the evening for one hour, it's relaxing for us and for him. The two things that are essentials are a pin brush,  a wide toothed comb and a small pair of scissors.

Tip 1 - Start from the belly. Our dog usually just stretches on his back like when he wants to be petted. This is a great approach because you can more easily reach the parts under his legs where most of the entanglement is located. After you are done you can finish up while your dog is in the sitting position. We have to wake Alfred up for that one.

Tip 2 - The scissors. When you run into an entanglement or a matted area, first use the comb to try to untangle it. If this is not possible or it's too painful for your dog, just separate that part of the fur with a comb from the skin and cut it off. It is not maybe the most stylish option, but in my opinion the comfort of your dog is more important. Don’t forget, always separate the tangled part from the skin with a comb, their skin is sensitive and you might end up hurting your pet.

The Ears

Cocker Spaniels don't actually have big ears, most of it is just fur. That is why it is so important to pay special attention to them. Apart from brushing, cleaning of the wax is equally important.

Tip 1 - Be gentle. Cockers are very sensitive when it comes to their ears, so tread softly. They tend to shake their head a lot, so having another person petting and calming your pet is a great idea, and helps the process go much smoother.

Tip 2 - Use baby cotton swabs for wax removal. They are thicker and softer and there is no danger of damaging the ears. When it comes to ear cleaning solution, we always use the one our vet recommends. It is his personal mix and it works great.

These are some of the techniques that we use when grooming our English Cocker Spaniel. Some families opt for clippers in home grooming but we think that that is something a professional  groomer is much more comfortable with. Plus knowing Alfred, he would be in the other room the second we turned them on.