Cocker Spaniel Grooming

About the Cocker Spaniel

A Cocker Spaniel carries a silky medium coat with heavy feathering on the ears, chest, belly and legs, and a set of ears that are longer, heavier and lower set than almost any other breed of this size.

Those ears define the breed visually and they define the grooming too. A long, heavy, feathered ear that lies flat against the head seals the canal completely, and the Cocker has the reputation it has for ear disease for exactly that reason. More Cocker Spaniels end up at a veterinarian for their ears than for anything else.

The coat itself is manageable. The feathering is where the work is, and the ears are where the vigilance is.

What a full groom involves

A comb through the feathering first, dry. The body coat rarely needs it and the feathering always does.

Then a bath, usually two rounds, and a full blow dry with a brush working the feathering straight so it hangs rather than frizzes.

Then the clipper work, which on a pet Cocker takes the body down short and leaves the feathering long: the classic pet trim is a short back and sides with the skirt, legs and ears left. The head is clipped short with the ears blended, which is what gives the breed its clean outline.

Then the scissor finish on the feathering, the feet shaped, and the crucial part on this breed: the hair on the inside of the ear flap and around the canal opening taken short, and the underside of the ear thinned so air can move.

Ears cleaned, nails, pads, sanitary trim. Around two and a half hours.

The ears, and why this breed above all others

A Cocker ear is long, heavy, low set and covered in dense feathering, and it hangs flat against the side of the head like a lid. Air does not circulate through the canal. Add a dog bred to work through wet undergrowth, add ears that trail in food and water bowls, and you have the most infection prone ear structure in dogs.

The grooming half is straightforward and it genuinely helps: keep the hair on the inside of the flap and around the canal opening short, thin the underside, and dry the ears after every bath and every wet walk. Ask for this by name, because a general groomer who does not know the breed may leave the ear furnishings full.

The vigilance half is weekly and takes ten seconds. Lift the flap, look, and smell. Smell arrives before anything is visible.

Head shaking, scratching at one ear, a tilt, a dark discharge or a yeasty smell is a veterinary matter, not something to clean away, and cleaning an already inflamed ear makes it worse. Recurrent infections in this breed are very often an underlying allergy rather than a hygiene failure, and that is worth investigating properly rather than treating the same ear four times a year.

The coat problems a Cocker actually gets

The feathering mats and the body coat does not, which surprises people who expect the opposite. The feathering is longer, finer and softer, with far less guard hair, and soft hair mats where coarse hair does not.

The order is always the same: behind and under the ears first, where the fringe meets the head and the ear moves constantly. Then the armpits. Then the belly and groin, which on a low slung spaniel sweep through wet grass. Then the backs of the legs, then the feet.

The belly is the one owners never check and it is frequently the worst, because it is out of sight and it gets wet on every walk.

Ear fringes trailing in food and water bowls is the other constant. A narrower or deeper bowl that the ears clear is a small change that saves a lot of washing and keeps the ears drier.

Cockers also have a high rate of skin allergies, and greasy coat, a musty smell or recurrent ear and foot problems together usually point at one underlying cause rather than three separate ones.

What moves the price

Coat condition first, as ever. Matted feathering has to be worked out or cut off, and a Cocker that has been left three months usually loses its skirt.

Then the finish: a full pet trim with the feathering left long is scissor work, and a shorter all over trim is quicker, holds its shape longer and is a completely reasonable choice for a dog that swims or works.

Then the ear work, which a good groomer treats as a real part of the appointment rather than an afterthought.

Size is a modest factor. This is a small to medium dog that baths and dries in reasonable time, and it is priced above much larger short coated dogs because almost none of the appointment is bathing.

What to tell your groomer

Ask specifically for the ear hair to be kept short on the inside of the flap and around the canal, and for the underside to be thinned. It is the single most useful instruction on this breed and not every general salon does it by default.

Say whether you want the feathering kept long or a shorter all over trim. The short version is practical, low maintenance and increasingly common for pet Cockers, and it is not a lesser groom.

Mention any ear history at all, and any itching, foot licking or skin trouble, because in this breed those are usually the same problem.

Say whether the dog swims or works in cover, because both change what the feathering should be doing.

And check the belly yourself between appointments. It is the one place owners never look and it mats first on a dog this shape.

Keeping the coat between grooms

Common Questions About the Cocker Spaniel