Alice White
Shiny, thick with a beautiful wave coat of American cockers attracts attention and makes you want to touch. How much effort it takes to make the dog look like this always, only the owner knows. In addition to the standard cleaning of wool from tangles and dirt at home, American cocker owners often have to take their pets to a professional groomer.
Grooming of the American Cocker Spaniel
According to the rules, you need to brush the coat of American cockers every day. Cosmetic cleaning is necessary after every street walk, as particles of dirt, dust, pollen, and small insects remaining on the hairs can provoke irritation and itching in the dog.
What Must Be Done Without Fail
A person who has decided on such a crucial step as the acquisition of an American Cocker dog needs to try to accustom him to hygienic procedures from the first days of his acquaintance with the puppy. If a mature dog cannot easily endure combing or a haircut, this will have a negative effect not only on his appearance but also on his health.
Standard pet care includes the following procedures:
Combing. For your daily routine, you need to use long-toothed combs, slicker brushes with metal teeth, soft brushes with natural bristles.
The washing up. You need to bathe your dog in warm water using special shampoos and balms. After bathing, the wool must be blotted with a towel and dried with a warm hairdryer.
Ear cleaning. The shape of the ears makes American cockers more vulnerable to various diseases such as otitis media and infectious inflammation. Regular cleaning and clipping of regrown hairs will significantly reduce the risk of hair growth.
Clipping the nails. The grown claws on the paws not only interfere with the clatter on the floor, they also cause the dog the strongest discomfort. Cut your nails as needed with scissors or guillotines.
Haircut. Regular haircuts and trimming for long-haired dogs are carried out mainly before exhibitions to shape the hair in salons.
Advice! For non-competitive pet owners, you can learn to trim their pets on their own, doing it as needed.
What Not to Do
If we talk about beauty procedures as part of education, then the owner should not in any way force the dog to cut or bathe. For all procedures of this kind, you need to accustom the puppy gradually, giving the tools to sniff.
Do not take your dog for a haircut to a groomer who does not like it. When washing, cutting, brushing teeth or ears, the dog will experience discomfort, which may even result in psychological trauma. It will be difficult to rectify the situation in the future.
When combing your pet at home, you need to carefully separate the resulting tangles and knots. Do not pull the wool with a comb (slicker), as this will only cause pain or even aggression in the animal.
You should not grab the scissors if the war with the tangled coat with the help of a comb has not been crowned with victory. Problem areas can be carefully cut out with scissors, masking the bald spot with the remaining hairs.
Important! Special oils and lotions, which professional groomers recommend use after bathing, will help to avoid tangling of the coat. It is impossible to use care products intended for people for these purposes.
Those who decide to cut the Cocker’s coat on their own ears should not be in a hurry. The fact is that there are small processes on the ears, which, unknowingly, can be cut off along with the regrown hairs.
To make the dog look as beautiful and well-groomed as possible, do not neglect visiting special grooming salons. In them, the dog will not only be given proper care but also have a haircut, which will certainly attract the interested glances of passers-by.
