Jump to content

Any Hope For A Clipped Coat?


 Share

Recommended Posts

Hello!!! I have a 3 year old English Cocker Spaniel called Bonnie. For her entire life, her coat has been clipped.

When I mean clipped I mean her head, back, underside and tail have been fully shaved. Her legs are normally left long, but they're now shaved.

I was wondering if someone was to start stripping her coat, would it go back to her original silky feathery fur??

But I'm worried that it's too late for her coat to grow back nicely. Her fur is usually quite thick, and really wavy. I don't think it's ever been silky like a show dogs coat.

Bon is not being shown or anything, but I was just wondering if her coat will ever repair itself from 3 years of harsh clipping.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would wait for it to grow out, and then fully change over before giving up on it. What you have now are hairs that have been cut off so have blunt ends. As her coat cycles and new hairs grow they should have a natural tapered end and a different feel.

Is she desexed or entire? That can change their coat texture as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Harsh clipping, any kind of clipping or haircut will not affect the way a coat grows back.

The hair follicle where the hair grows from are deep under the skin.

Clippers & scissors do not touch or alter the hair follicle in any way so growth when it occurs is normal. No repair is needed as it hasn't been damaged.

If it wasn't silky in the first place that's merely the way her coat is & nothing to do with clipping.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chances are very slim .

You would need to work on the coat weekly to give it any chance & that must be done no matter what.

If you don't wish to put the time in & buy the tools then it won't have a chance of happening BUT a good groomer should have explained this too you at first & then gave you the option to clip or hand strip.

You can tell by the coat whether its doable also.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it is possibly doable, provided you put the work into it. When I adopted my 8 year old black cocker from the pound, he was completely shaved off as he came in very matted.

His coat grew back very thick, wavy and wooly and very probe to matting. Of course the groomers I took him to only offered "pet clips" and seemed to have very little knowledge of the breed.

I then decided to do it myself, researched grooming from breeders and equipped myself - besides my slicker brush, pin brush and comb -with thinning scissors, straight ones, some clippers and a Mars Coat King.

I must say the latter tool was a like saver and allowed me to get rid of the undercoat better than anything else. Used weekly (with almost daily brushing and combing through of the feathering), Olaf was back in full coat within a year. A couple of breeders who met him commented that he had a very good coat!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It interests me that desexing can change coat texture. I've heard quite a few people say that about their Aussies coats once they've been desexed, that it goes dry and fluffy.

Cockers can certainly be one of the worst BUT if people work on the coat before hand & after it can certainly be saved ,

Biggest problem is owners not having it explained to them about working on coats from day 1 ,they hit 6 months start getting very fluffy,get spayed & the coat ends p crap.

A number of Cocker breeders do suggest waiting till 10/12 months to work on a good coat before spaying if you want a stripped coat problem is very few breeders show the new owners what to use & how to do it & it becomes all to hard & frustrating .

We hand strip Cockers & find it frustrating to when you get a 10 month over grown fuzzy wuzzy in that could have had a super coat early on & very manageable for the owners

Link to comment
Share on other sites

get a medium metal comb and wrap an elastic band through the teeth and use this on the body, the rubber will help grip the fluff and pull it out BUT make sure there are no knots in the coat first and make sure you keep the skin tight but holding it above where you are combing. Be gentle at first as it sounds like you have a lot of fluf to take out.

You can use a coat king, although this cuts the coat, it can be a handy short cut on pets to remove the bulk and then go with the comb and band.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would wait for it to grow out, and then fully change over before giving up on it. What you have now are hairs that have been cut off so have blunt ends. As her coat cycles and new hairs grow they should have a natural tapered end and a different feel.

Is she desexed or entire? That can change their coat texture as well.

Yes she is desexed. We got her desexed at around 8 months old, she still had puppy fur then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's amazing how many people believe that clipping will ruin a coat PERMANENTLY. Sure it does no favours to the current coat but in the natural course of time all hair falls out and replaces itself from follicle. Any change of texture and colour would have occurred anyway during this process as the coat matures.

Treat the coat correctly and in the natural course of time you will reap the benefits.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's amazing how many people believe that clipping will ruin a coat PERMANENTLY. Sure it does no favours to the current coat but in the natural course of time all hair falls out and replaces itself from follicle. Any change of texture and colour would have occurred anyway during this process as the coat matures.

Treat the coat correctly and in the natural course of time you will reap the benefits.

Because it does often ruin it permanently ,it is a rare occurance to get a good correct coat back after clipping multi times .

For some breeds they have a higher success rate but for many other breeds not so much & after 20 odd years as a groomer & having hand stripped breeds myself i can certainly tell you coats just don't bounce back & the ones that do require a massive amount of work by there owners .

It also comes to a point that it isn't fair on the dog to put it through the hrs of trying to get a coat back & a good groomer or breeder will tell someone when its feasable & when its not in either parties best interests .

If it was that simple it would be great but it isn't

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is she desexed?

Yes, she was desexed at around 8 months old. She still had her puppy fur back then

Hormones play a big part in coat maintenance, so you will have little hope of regaining its former glory if she is desexed as well as being clipped mulitple times. Some coats become worse than others, but the texture can change and go from silky, soft and flat, to thick, wooly and wavy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmmm...I guess when all is said and done do the best you can and see what happens. I've seen an American Cocker that was clipped repeatedly come back to it's full glory after leaving the coat to grow and hand stripping it when was ready to blow. The dog was an entire so that may have made a difference.

Also seen a number of rescues (various breeds) that required clipping come back to a lovely coat with time and care.

Once thing is certain, all coats will benefit from TLC. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...