The coat of the English Springer Spaniel, although not difficult to manage, does require some attention from you. Alternatively, you will need to take your dog to a professional groomer about every 8 – 12 weeks, depending on the rate of coat growth.

On a daily basis you will need to comb through the feathering to remove any debris that has been collected during exercise, paying particular attention to the area between the foreleg and chest (armpit) and also under the ears and around the groin area as these places are prone to matting. It is also a good idea to go over the body coat with a slicker brush, this will help to remove dead coat and also will remove any grass seeds or other small items that may be in the coat.

Depending on the rate of coat growth, your dog will need to be trimmed every few weeks, and below are a few tips that may help you.

A word of caution: If your dog is not used to being trimmed, or is excitable - it would be wise to have an assistant to help you, moving dogs & scissors - don't mix !!

1 You will need some basic tools

astraight scissors

bthinning scissors

cslicker brush

dcomb

erubber thimbles, to help with grip when stripping out

  dead coat

fnail trimmers

gcoat king (optional)

hpet clippers (optional)

2 Starting with the head.

Using your rubber thimbles, strip out the dead coat that grows on top of the head, you will find that the dead coat should come out quite easily. Continue until the head is flat. (Dead coat is the wispy bits that usually go ginger in the sun).

The neck is next, and this is trimmed from the Adams apple to the breast bone, and then in a 'V' shape from the breast bone to beneath the ears, using the thinning scissors, but you must always trim in the same direction that the coat lies. If you are using clippers, then clip from the Adams apple to the breast bone and then use your thinning scissors to blend in from the breast bone up to beneath the ear, to form the 'V' shape.

Trimming the ears of an ESS is essential to avoid problems that can be associated with dogs that have long ears. Using either scissors or clippers, with a 3mm blade, trim the hair at the top of the outside of the ear to about one third of the way down, always going in the direction of the coat. Turn the ear flap over and trim away all the excess hair from the opening of the ear, to allow air to circulate. If the ears are dirty, use an approprate ear cleaner (available from pet shops) and with some cotton wool, wipe out the ear to remove excess wax. Under no circumstances should you push anything into your dogs ear.

Firstly using your slicker brush, brush through the coat to make sure there is no debris or matting anywhere, then with the rubber thimbles you can begin to strip out the dead coat. This can be a long and arduous task if it’s not done on a regular basis, so you may want to use the coat king. This is a useful tool that will take out the dead coat quickly and easily. Just gently take the coat king over the coat in the direction that the coat lies. Again, you can use the clippers on the body coat, but use a 5, 7 or 9mm blade, depending on the lengh that you require.

4 Feathering

Not all ESS have a lot of feathering, but if your dog has it will need attention as this can get matted quite quickly. Comb through the feather on the back of the legs, the tummy area and chest. Then tidy using straight or thinning scissors.

5 Feet

Your dogs feet will also need to be trimmed as the coat in this area can grow quite long and thick. When overgrown the hair on the feet and around the pads can collect all manor of things that can cause you pet pain when walking, so it is very important to keep the coat short.

Pull the hair up between the toes and trim until the coat on the top of the foot is short and you can see your dogs nails. Trim the hair on the pads so that it is level with the pad. Again you can use straight or thinning scissors for the feet, although straight scissors are best for the pads.

6 Nails

Using nail trimmers, trim the nail, taking just a tiny amount from the end of the nail. There is a vein that grows through the middle of the nail, it’s usually called the ‘quick’. When nails are long this vein can often be quite near the end of the nail, so you must be careful not to take too much off. If your dog has white nails you will be able to see the pink ‘quick’, but if they are black nails you will not be able to see it, so will have to take extra care. I trim my dogs nails once a week, this way they never get too long and you only need to take off the ends to keep them in good condition. Also, by doing this on a regular basis the dog becomes used to it and so will accept their nails being trimmed.

Well, as I said, just few points to help you keep your dogs coat in nice condition, I hope it helps, but if you need any further advice, please email me and I will help if I can.

An indeapth video made by Francis Jackson of the Mompesson kennel is available from The English Springer Spaniel Club's website www.englishspringer.org and your grooming equipment can either be obtained from your local pet shop or for the more specialised items, such as the Coat King, please visit the website of Diamond Edge, who stock all the items you will need and will supply by mail order www.diamondedgeltd.com3 The Body

Trim the top third of the ear

From the Adams Apple

To the brest bone

Trim from the brest bone to beneath the ear to form a 'V' shape