English Springer Spaniel Coat - Please Help

[SpringerLass]

Hi everyone, I have a 2.5yo ESS girl and I am having a current issue with her coat. She has a very fine silky coat which is usually great to manage with regular brushing. But on the weekend she was swimming in the dam for 4 hours on Sat and another 4 hours on Sunday. Gotta love the gundogs urge to swim and chase birds. Anyway, when we got home I noticed that saras coat has matted up something chronic. The feathers on her belly and back legs are one big knot. No grass seeds thankfully. When I tried to brush them out with a comb and pin brush the poor girl was hurting.

So my questions are:

How do I get the knots out without having to clip her all over??

Would a Mars coat king be any good and what size??

Any other suggestions for keeping the coat matt free??

[Dogsfevr]

I would seek the advice of a good groomer.Some knots cannot be removed or shouldnt be due to the pain it causes the dog.

Long coats & water require work.After swimming they need to be brushed through

[Miranda]

Using the end of a medium sized comb (one or two teeth), dig the teeth into the matt and tease it apart and then use your fingers to pull it into sections. Comb through each section individually using one hand to hold the hair so that you're not actually pulling on the dog's skin, comb out the part of the matt which is closest to the skin last. Comb out each matt completely before you move on to the next one. It will be a big job, but if you do it methodically you will get there.

Pin brushes are mainly used on feathering, if you want to remove matts you must use a comb. Mars strippers are really only effective for removing excess topcoat.

Always ensure that your dog is 100% matt free before you allow her to swim, matts are far more difficult to remove if they've been allowed to get wet. If you find a matt, even a small one, tackle it immediately, don't leave it until the next day and as I said never under any circumstances bath a matted dog or allow it to get wet as it will make the process of removing the matts twice as hard, I cannot emphasise this enough. After bathing using a leave in conditioner like Laser Lites Drape or Protein Treatment will help to keep the hair from matting.

Buy yourself a grooming table, it is virtually impossible to efficiently groom a long coated dog on the ground, if you put the dog on a table it will save your back and be far more comfortable for you and you'll also find that the dog will be easier to handle.

[SpringerLass]

Thanks for the advise. It is interesting that part of her coat is like goose down (really soft) and it is very prone to matting. Usually happens between her front legs and is easy to comb out. But not this time as the matts seemed to develop as she went in and out of the water. I will start working on it, a bit at a time and will look into those products. I have thought about getting a grooming table, top of the washing machine isnt really the best.

[Dogsfevr]

The goose down coat is normally dead coat that matts & that is the coat that needs to be stripped/combed through regularly if not it will matt over night or in change of weather.

You can also use a soft slicker(cat ones are good) to also gently brush through then use the comb method.

I agree uy a table or make one .You may also need to buya soft muzzle(this is for extreme use) but be prepared that removing knots hurts & not all dogs tolerate it well & sometimes a muzzle gets an area done way quicker.

As said coat kings are great for top coats & can be use on the furnishings to remove dead coat when knot free,i wouldnt use thenmf or knot removeal .We use matt breakers if clients dogs are bad but the good old comb/slicker & patience work just aswell

[kamuzz]

Must admit we used to send our ESS to the groomer every so often. It was expensive but he always came back looking beautiful.