Being new to the breed of Cocker Spaniels, I would like some advice on the use of the coat king on the Cocker Spaniel coat. Many breeders around the show ring have said that they use the coat king on their puppy coats, a have also seen spaniels that have had the coat king used on them at a very young age (3-4 months) they appear to have an adult coat (without the frills), I would be grateful for any advice on the use of the coat king, what age and stage of coat should it be used on, where on the body is it acceptable to use on etc.
Obviously I realise a cocker should be hand stripped (which is what I am doing) but would like some advice on the coat king

I have an extremely fluffy 6mth old black cocker bitch and it's been suggested that I could use a coat king on her.

I've got no idea where to use it or even where to get one but I do know that they're about £30.00.

Sorry I couldn't be any more help,

Fiona
x x x

I was going to get one for my cocker, but on talking to various breeders and alike i decided not to get one, some say it is excellant to use and others say it can cut the coat and leave lines if it is used incorrectly, so as i am new to the breed i just stuck to hand stripping and her coat looks lovely now minus the fluffy bits :)

Hi there

You can get the Coat King from either Dezigner dogs or Hub International they are around £25 each depending on how many teeth you want. Somebody I know from Ireland showed me how he used his and they start at the neck and lightly work the way down the back of the dog and basically just follow the flow of the coat. He did advise me that you could use it too much and end up with broken coat., but I should imagine to get the bulk of the fluff out it wouldn't do any harm.

Some people might be against a stripping aid and would prefer to hand strip., I think it's personal preference. I have see cockers stripped with a coat king, and couldn't see any difference (maybe I didn't look hard enough :D).

HTH.

Natasha :D

I went to a grooming seminar held by the parti colour Cocker Club near Loughborough which was hugely informative a month or two ago, and the thinking from the 'experts' there was NOT to use the Coat King. The general opinion seemed to be that there is no substitute for hand stripping. I would love to save myself (and my fingers) some time but apparently this device can cut the coat leaving lines - so it looks like more hours spent for that natural look:) Tough going with a black coat!

I looked at one for the first time at Blackpool Jackie and I must say it looked to be little different to a matt splitter, the sort made by Mikki say (except a lot, lot more expensive) I can't see how it can do anything but cut the hairs. I would imagine for a pet cocker it could produce a quite nice substitute for a show coat, if you see what I mean, but I think there is no escape from the hours of hand stripping for those that want to look good in the ring :)

You're right Jackie - there is no substitute for hand stripping if you want a Cocker with a gleaming, natural-looking coat. I do use Coat Kings on pet Cockers coming to me for trims & on my own older dogs but having experimented with them for quite a while now, I won't use one on our show Cockers. You will find plenty of show breeders who do use Coat Kings on their Cockers but sometimes the results aren't so good (more noticeably with particolours than solid blacks) You will also find some Cocker people using thinning scissors & even clippers on their show Cockers - they get away with it under some judges but it is frowned upon generally.

Jane