Hi all

i've just returned from my hols and a friend has told me about a new grooming device called the "Coat King" that is supposed to be brilliant for stripping coats on dogs such as Cockers. Does anyone know anything about this product and if so where I might be able to look at it on-line?

Thanx

Pam n Jasper

sounds dreadful......what is wrong with old fashioned finger & thumb, or a mars stripping blade?
The old/traditional methods are always the best.

Why does everything seem to sound dreadful to you Sam? with the greatest respect, she's not asking us for our opinion on what this device sounds like to us, just simply where she can find one to take a look at.

with respect, its simply my opinion. I happen to think a lot of the things going on in the modern world are dreadful, and I am not afraid to express my opinions on them, people are always trying to "mend something that isn't broke" or turning us into a nanny state. Maybe if we all got a bit more dirt on our hands we wouldn't have allergies to this that & the other, if we fed a natural diet to our dogs we wouldn't be hearing about all the health problems that are so prevelant. You get your say on things Mair, so let other have theirs. It is afterall, only an opinion & if you don't like it, don't take any notice of it. Its a free world (Just!)

It's obviously a social difference we have, over which I suppose we must agree to disagree, but where I come from exercising ones right to say whatever they please is not as important as having consideration for other peoples feelings first.

Agree Mair :-)

who exacly am I meant to have upset the feeling of????????

After many years of being a puritan and stripping only with chalk, no knives or other help, I now have arthritis and in my thumb and first two fingers and carpal tunnel syndrome in my right wrist. I could not keep my dogs coats in order without a stripping knife now. Most of us who do strip KNOW the correct way to do it. I'm sick of your posts Sam, and it seems I am not alone, they are always discouraging and patronising. you may have spent many years "in dogs" but please remember you are NOT the only experienced owner/breeder/trainer/judge/photographer and general icon of information on this site.

I would like to know about that as well, as I can no longer hand strip my westies due to arthritis, and I also find it hard to hold a stripping knife. Did you not think of people who are disabled Sam !!!1

Hi Mair, Irene and Sam

Thanks for the comments. I just wanted to know what this device was to see if it was worth considering. I am interested in anything that makes grooming sessions better for the dogs - and if it's better for me - then that's a bonus. I have just spent the best part of four hours hand stripping my wee boy - and he's only half done he is such a wooly bear. He does not enjoy it at all.

I have since found a web site with the Coat King on and it descibes it as a de-matting tool and there are different ones - with different numbers of blades so I am now confused as to how it would help with stripping.

If anyone can explain how it would work for stripping pref before this Saturday that would be really great.

Thanx

If you'll share the website URL, I'll give it a go at explaining it.

Hi Sierra

The URL is

http://actinic-04.energise.net/hubint00/index.html

Use the Search facility for Coat King and it will give you the right page. It shows a picture of the rake.

Look forward to hearing back from you.

regards

Pam

Hello again, Pam:
I took a look at the Coat King detanglers. They are basically just in different tooth sizes and coarseness. As you probably know, detanglers have very sharp teeth, designed to split apart mats by cutting them apart and allowing the teeth then to separate the mats into parts that can be combed. It isn't really designed to strip coat.

I went to your website and saw Jasper -- cute puppy pics! I believe that what you are trying to do is to thin the coat on the top portion of his body, removing any excess bulk to allow for a sleeker profile, leaving the 'skirt' or lower fringes.

As you may know, we are grooming freaks in the States and normally the spaniel breeds are thinned with thinning shears, taking care to go *under* the top coat and thin the undercoat. The first thinning sessions can be very tedious since it's a 'little here/little there' system until the look that you desire is achieved. **winking** Shoulders, angulation, even the length of body, neck and depth of chest can all be optically cut into the dog. A good judge's hands are going to find the 'real' dog, of course, but the overall picture will be very pleasing to the eye and unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your dog) a pretty picture may be what the judge last sees and remembers.

The shedder blades are also good for helping remove the dead coat. Basically, unless you have a matting problem with Jasper, you probably won't find the Coat King to be really useful. I use a stripping knife to 'rake' loose coat from my GSP. Though, unlike the terriers which are truly stripped (meaning that the dead hair is all removed down to bare skin, unless the coat is one which can be rotated) periodically and then the new coat permitted to grow back until it achieves that tight, sleek terrier coat, spaniels are not really 'stripped', instead they have undercoating removed which may or may not be dead coat.

These are, of course, American grooming techniques and I am unsure as to the English manner of putting a spaniel into show coat. Dogs in the States are groomed and sculptured to a higher degree than here in the UK.

I apologize if I seemed to be 'preaching to the choir', but I didn't know how much grooming you've done on spaniels in the past and wanted to cover the bases.

If I can be of any help, please email me. Good luck with Jasper; he's a sweetie!

Hi Sierra

many thanks for your views - confirms what I felt, so think I'll give it a miss.

Pam

Hi Pam

Just got back from a week away to find my new Coat King has arrived - contrary to what has been suggested it does seem to strip out dead hair without cutting (this is on a Cocker using the version with extra fine blades) though I have not practised with it much yet - still experimenting really. It is marketed by the German company I bought my Coat king from as a "Stripping/Curry Comb" & I intend to use mine to help me strip out/trim my Cocker grooming clients - unfortunately it is not always possible to use the traditional finger & thumb method when you are presented with a big, woolly teddy-bear of a Cocker which the owner expects you to strip out in a couple of hours for as little money as possible :-) Many modern Cockers no longer have the fine, flat silky coats of years gone by - they do not produce the mass of feathering required by today's show judges, so instead you get the heavy coats which involve a lot more work (many, many hours) - if the Coat King helps me produce a natural effect without the blood, sweat & tears then it will be money well spent, IMO.
I always trim my show Cockers using the old finger & thumb method combined with a spaniel comb - some exhibitors do take short cuts & use thinning scissors, but their dogs never have the bloom of a hand-stripped dog - I think for a show dog it's worth making that extra effort.

Kind Regards

Jane

Hi Jane

Thanks for that. I saw Louise today and she had a look at it in Blackpool yesterday. I agree - hand stripping is best where you have the time etc - but if you are trimming for someone else - then you might need help:-) For me, I think that I'll stick to my thinners, comb, slicka and good old finger and thumb.

By the way - saw my new boy today - he's looking really nice. Can't wait to bring him home in four weeks.

Regards

Pam n Jasper

Hi Pam

Glad you like your new baby :-) he's coming along nicely.
And is learning fast not to let them women walk all over him lol
I have heard lots of positive comments and seen photos of
dogs trimmed using this coat king grooming tool and I too
am baffled at what it actually does. I think I might take
the plunge and give it a go for myself.
Even if it does cut the coat it must be better than the clippers
on the oldies.

Regards
Louise
www.lourisma.co.uk
lourisma@btinternet.com

Hi Louise

The Coat King seems to work more like a stripping comb, the teeth are not at all sharp in the way that dematting tools are - as far as I can tell, as you pull the Coat king through the coat, it just drags out any dead, fluffy hair - it's a lot easier on my hands than the old spaniel comb so it's got the thumps up from me! I don't think you'll be able to use it so well on oldies who have been clipped, specially if they have been neutered - I'm sticking to my clippers for those sort of coats.

Regards

Jane

I've been reading everyones posts on cocker spaniel stripping etc. with great interest, but to be honest I am getting a little worried! I am thinking of getting a cocker pup in the near future. As a family pet and companion, not for showing. I am worried that the coat care is very very time consuming and laborious what with stripping and thinning. Are these techniques only for if you plan to show dogs. Can you get cockers clipped shorter? I would be grateful for your help and advice. Could you also tell me what kind of grooming equipment I would require for a cocker spaniel. Cheers.

Cockers can be clipped if you have no intentions of showing. However, if you change your mind after clipping it does take a considerable amount of time to get the coat back into show condition. Also if you have your dog neutered then this can alter the coat texture where the only available course of action is to clip rather than strip. Stripping provides a much neater outline on the dog but if you're happy with clipping then stick with that!

Hi

As Bec says, you do not have to handstrip a pet Cocker but please don't forget this is a longhaired breed & so requires regular, thorough grooming as well as some professional trimming/clipping.If you want a dog with a short, easy maintenance coat, then perhaps a Cocker is not the breed for you? Not trying to put you off but as a Cocker breeder & groomer, I do see an awful lot of pet Cockers whose owners do not take the time to groom them & so they end up coming to me with unkempt, matted coats - not nice to look at & not very comfortable for the dog either! If you do decide to go for a Cocker, a good breeder should be able to give you all the information you need on grooming & also show you what basic tools you should buy to start with (eg wide-toothed comb, narrow-toothed comb, slicker brush). If you decide that you can cope with a Cocker's coat, try & find a good local groomer who will leave your dog looking like a Cocker, not a shorn sheep. It's possible to clip a Cocker's coat & leave sufficient feathering on so that the dog looks neat & tidy, but still recognisably a Cocker. Of course, handstripping does look far nicer & the coat will last longer between trims (clipped coats seem to grow very quickly!), but relatively few high street groomers are willing to handstrip Cockers (because it takes longer) & as has been said already, you cannot generally handstrip the coat of a neutered Cocker.

Good luck anyway!

Jane

Hi, just watch the Coat king I got mine, well two actually a medium 8 blade for matts and a fine 20 blade for stripping. But www.peticular-products.com have advised me to take it easy and try use only once a month or I will end up with tram lines!..

Anyway it saves me time and I never learnt to hand strip.

I will let you know if any spots if I am using the coat king/matt king.

Bye

Hi
I was recommended the use of a coat king from the breader when I got my first Cocker.  The website I use is Hub International. I purchased the 26 blade version it costs £29.95.  ref number 2450.  It is brilliant, no tram lines ever and a beautiful looking finish. Very easy to use.  They also sell great thining scissors I recommend Roseline  42 tooth one sided.  ref 82193. Good luck