Pjrt

Sounds like you're doing everything ok and you might be stuck with it. A picture might be worth a thousand words. If it's just a harsh jacket on the top I'd be tempted to try literally hand stripping out a small patch and see what grows back. Perhaps while the dog was quite young there was something happened during the development of the coat that caused it to grow funny. Pulling those hairs out and letting whole new hairs grow may prove fruitful... Actually now I think about it, that is likely what I would do myself. Spot strip a patch of just 30 or 40 hairs. Pull each one right out. Just the coarse hairs. See what grows back. If you get the same coarse hairs grow back, then you know it's something you can't fight, some sort of genetic throw back or such. If you get new hairs of the desired texture then slowly but surely hand strip the whole lot. Of course if the dog is not for showing then maybe just accept it and leave it. Or if intended for breeding knowing where that coat came from might be useful.

Yes what breed? Some of the white and red coats can have a sort of harsh yellowish jacket over them, particularly over the shoulders, back, rump. Has all the puppy coat dropped out and been groomed out thoroughly. If she has recently had a season they usually drop out all the undercoat like a bomb and that can leave you with stringy coarse feeling guard hairs left . Sun damage? Swimming in chlorine pool? Some double coats should have a rough feeling jacket over the top of the dog. The ROUGH collie for example! The best way to keep the coat healthy besides diet which sound fine, is to groom undercoat thoroughly regularly to get the junk out and allow space for nice new hairs. Don't brush a dry coat, use a conditioning spray to mist as you brush. Don't brush a really dirty coat. Maybe swap to something like a LesPoochs slicker as the pins are polished which minimises coat damage.

It can't hurt to email as many registered breeders in Vic as you can find, just a few lines stating how you acquired the dog and the date of birth. Any registered breeder worth anything will remember the dates of their litters. And should be interested if they think they might have bred the dog. Of course if the dog is from an unregistered byb it is unlikely you'll ever find out. They are a breed going through an upswing in popularity and a lot of byb are on the money making bandwagon. If you can't find them I'd suggest going along to a dog show and meeting some JS breeders and their dogs. See if any have similar traits and temperaments that you like.

Does your vet make house calls, or can someone recommend a mobile vet? A home visit might lessen the stress for both of you

I moved to a 30 acre snake pit in 2002. I moved off that block in early 2012 and lost 5 dogs to snakes in that time. A few members here visited that property during that time and will tell you the 1/2 acre house yard was impeccably kept, and the surrounding paddock slashed and clean. In all but one case I came home to dead dogs, and the one that was still with us, we'll, no vet in town, 1/2 hrs drive in either direction to Murray Bridge or Birdwood plus the time to get in the car and get going. I moved into my current home in the town in late 2012 and the river Murray is directly across the road. I have a very small yard. Since I moved in I have sighted 4 snakes around the yard. One walk over the road we had to dodge one on the grass reserve. My neighbour told me last week her dog was paddling over the road and one swam right by it. There is no getting away from them out here. You could spend all the money you have trying to "snake proof' but you'd be wasting your money. I knew of someone who spent thousands concreting there dog runs with colour bond set into the concrete, gaps you couldn't run a credit card through etc etc........then one day a snake got in there.......and couldn't bloody get out when the dogs bailed it up. Several dogs were bitten. So I figure you're just as safe with yards that snakes can easily move out of if they feel threatened. In the last two weeks I have sighted 2 snakes at the old place where I run the dog. A few weeks before that I dispatched one near the old house. Have killed a few others near the house over the years when I lived out there. All Browns out here. It's just a fact of life in this area. No amount of money or strategy will ensure you avoid them.

I'm going to enjoy watching this thread !

Hi. First thing I would do is have a thorough health check. Cocker spaniels are prone to a few eye health conditions that can rob them of their eyesight at an early age. Being a rehome I would suppose you don't have much in the way of breeder history. If by chance you know the dogs breeder, breeding, it would be worth finding out if they health test or breed clear. If not, off to the vet for a once over. If the dog has had onset of sight problems, changes to behaviour may be subtle at first. Hopefully it's all good though. Otherwise, I'd wonder if their has been an incident where the dog was outdoors toileting and took a fright of some sort. Dogs learn by association, whether negative or positive, will determine the forward behaviour pattern. If the dog has been outside toileting and there has been a sudden loud noise, unusual movement, or creature, from anywhere in the environment, it could be enough to set off a different behaviour pattern. Also, the doggy door may have got jammed or something and the dog smashed into it, or the flap hit the dog etc. Take a moment to think about exactly when the changes started. It could be as simple as the dog took a fright from a bsckfiring car, or a hot air balloon going over etc. that's the sort of thing that can freak some dogs. We used to get low flying helicopters literally hovering 20 meters above our yard checking the powerlines when I lived on property! If we weren't home at the time how would we know that is why the dogs were freaky when we got home, huh?!!! That would be enough for some dogs to never leave the house again. How are your neighbours? Is there any chance their behaviour has an influence on your dog?

Gruffy strips on the verandah! Loving it! Thanks for posting Thanks, you're welcome :)

Thank you :D

Gruffy strips on the verandah!

No I have no hands on show experience with Jacks. I have a life long passion for , and association with, hand stripping though and have been extraordinarily lucky to be coached by two of the best, IMHO! I have prepared Sealyham for show, and showed other coated (non stripped) terriers for a while so got to study many up close and personal. I am a strong believer that the first step is technique. Get that nice firm straight rhythmic action going , then look at the breed profile. I currently own a scruffy wire coat mutt that I strip. I'm doing him tomorrow actually! The more I strip, the less inclined I am to use tools. I love that I can groom an entire dog with nothing other than my fingers, a comb, and a keen eye for lines!

You would have to ask your supplier,but I have only seen chicken and turkey pet grade mince with bone included. I guess the bigger and harder the bones of the animal the harde it would be to mince the whole lot.

If you are concerned about the dog swallowing bones and not chewing them, you can still get the bone component by feeding pet grade mince that is the whole carcass including bones, just minced. I'm lucky that I can feed any bones to my dog. He gets bits of turkey, chicken, duck, goat, lamb, beef, roo as well as large whole fish heads. If I couldn't feed him the whole bones I would definitely use minced whole carcass for the bone nutrition.

Look who made Christmas still looking amazing! Christmas groom today. What a doll

Thank you :)

For a rough or broken Jack I would use my fingers, but I am a purist when it comes to hand stripping. Start with a dirty dog and take out the bulk of the long blowing coat with your fingers. Pull the hairs straight out in the dir cation that they grow. Use a nice straight action. Hold your hand steady and pull straight back without twisting or flicking your arm or wrist. This will help you with fatigue and the dog with comfort. Don't get frazzled. Make a plan of how you are going to move over the dog and off you go, a tiny bunch of hairs at a time. You are aiming to pull the longer scraggly outer coat down and maintain the short under hairs. It seems like a big job gut once you're in the zone, it's quite relaxing. Some people close fitting rubber gloves help with grip. Once you have the bulk of the coat off bath and dry the dog. That will assist with removing only the undercoat that is ready to fall out. Now you have a clean dry dog it should be obvious which hairs to pull that you missed pre bath. Tidy those out and then neaten with thinning shears around the feet, along the turn of the coat down the back of the front leg, around the knee area, and the turn of the coat around the throat. tidy the shape of the tail with the thinners. You're aiming for a neat all over sort of a 'trim' with no part of the coat looking particularly bushier than any other. A brand like Roseline would be adequate for your thinners. Single sided with a straight blade and a thinning blade. You can get them online from Petnetwork and the like. Remember they are a rugged little terrier so neat without being pedantic. I would avoid straight scissors.

Yes to proper cleaning, as above. My first line of attack would be a belly band. Not only do they catch and retain any accidents, but they do tend to discourage most boys from marking at all. Some you can wean off the belly band, others just get dressed before bed as part of their normal routine for a good clean night.

Ps..... Last week I got 3 packets of puppy 4legs for .20c each in the specials area at the supermarket, so he's been getting that for breakfast the last week or so. I also got a tub or goat yoghurt for .20c so that's been added to the bowl, with the water, so he's been having a goaty 4legs soupy delight for his breakfasts this week. I'm lucky he has a cast iron guts and I swap and change a lot within the raw diet and the occasional thing like the 4legs and never have any problems.

Gruf is raw fed with no kibble at all. For breakfast he gets a couple of table spoons of "the formula" which comes in several varieties, some chicken free. I add a cup of water to make a sort of meaty soup because he's a dope and won't drink enough for my liking. I often add egg, yoghurt, chopped organ meat, oily fish in rotation to his breakfast. He gets bone dinner, usually turkey neck, but once a week a lamb or roo bone, or a whole fish head. He gets other bits and bobs of raw food but no kibble. It's not that he won't eat kibble, he'd eat anything, I just don't believe it's necessary or terribly healthy

This!! ^^^ My drier is not heated. It generates heat by operating so is just warm enough for comfort and never hot.

Yes as long as the facility is air conditioned and you can be certain they don't use heated driers, or dog forbid, cage dry. I've been going strong in the heat no problem at all. I groom one at a time so each dog is bathed then blow dried with a drier that has no heater. It's actually been a bit chilly in the bathing room despite four days over 40! Every single client has turned up and not one single problem with the heat. If you postpone, especially at this time of year, you'll probably have a fair wait and then it may turn out just as hot on your rescheduled day. Personally I would not send my dog to a non air conditioned facility on extremely hot days, nor would I allow it to go out to a non airconditioned mobile trailer on a very hot day.

Gruf says fanks for the love My link

I can't do anything about the cowboy groomers out there. All I can do is lead by example and hope that not only other groomers might stop, think, make positive changes to their practices, but also owners might stop and look and think, and ask questions of the grooming services they might find themselves using Safety should always always always be the primary concern in the salon.

Eeek! My front counter is literally one step from my main grooming table. I run a completely open shop. Not only can I see what is going on anywhere in the salon at any time, but also can my clients.