Long, Silky and Very
Glamorous - The American Cocker Spaniel (revised)
Flowing Coated Breeds
The lovely American Cocker
Spaniel with its flowing feathers and flashy movement is indeed
a site to behold in the show ring. A merry little dog and the
smallest of all the gundog breeds the American Cocker is truly
one of the die-hard groomer's passions. To prepare and American
Cocker you use almost all the grooming techniques available; clippering,
scissoring, hand stripping, bathing, and blow-drying and Plush
Puppy has the perfect range of products to have your yankie in
its most superb condition.
I won't go into all the
pre bathing preparation here, ie trimming, stripping etc but what
I will let you know you is how to prepare the coat for the show
and what to do to keep the coat in peak condition between shows.
The American Cocker standard declares that the texture of the
coat is most important. The coat should be silky, flat or slightly
wavy and of a texture, which permits easy care. No cottony, frizzy
coats - silky is the go!
For the coat that is a
little on the dry side or is fluffy or frizzy use the Plush Puppy Conditioning Shampoo with Evening Primrose.
This shampoo contains Evening Primrose Oil and will help moisturise
and settle the coat. For a coat that is in good condition and
does not need any extra help use the Plush Puppy All Purpose Shampoo with Henna.
This shampoo will not alter the texture but will add lots of shine.
Always shampoo your coat at least twice. Dilute the shampoo through
your hydrobath if you have one about 10:1 ie ten parts water to
one part shampoo and give it time to do its job on the coat. Personally
I use the shampoo directly onto the coat and work in well but
gently with my hands. You will find the second shampoo will really
lather up well and will rinse out nicely also. You can dilute
your shampoo up to 10:1. Use undiluted for the really dirty areas
such as the ears, under the tail area and under-carriage. The
Plush Puppy Deep Cleansing
Shampoo is wonderful for cleaning very heavily soiled
areas of the coat - Ideal for the oil build up you get on the
ears and it is a wonderful clarifier for the coat used once a
month to remove any product build up. Plush Puppy Body Building Shampoo with Wheatgerm
is great to use on areas of the coat that you want to appear fuller.
Great for the feet and also for thinly coated areas.
For your conditioning rinse
use the Plush Puppy
Silk Protein Conditioner. I do mine through the hydrobath
and I use about a quarter of a cup. Use more on a dryish or damaged
coat. If you don't have a hydrobath then apply the conditioner
with your hands doing one area at a time ie the chest then front
legs then undercarriage etc, working it through the coat gently.
You can rinse the conditioner out or leave it in depending on
your specific coat requiments. You will need to do some experimenting
to find just the right balance of conditioner to use. The PP Silk Protein Conditioneris a light conditioner so does not weigh the coat down. It
has natural active ingredients to help soften and rehydrate the
coat.If you are doing a maintenance bath then leave the conditioner
in. I never use conditioner on the saddle area. If you have groomed
your saddle area well it will be shiny and in great condition.
Conditioner will just increase the likelihood of dandruff and
can dull the saddle area.
Plush
Puppy Swishy Coathelps
the hair to fall gracefully back into place after moving just
like Ginger Roger's dress. It is designed to reduce the wave and
frizz in the coat. It will straighten and smooth the hair without
softening it and will make blow-drying easier. Mix a tablespoon
of Swishy Coat to
a small Plush Puppy Spray
Bottle, add an inch of warm water and really shake well
till the mixture goes a whitish, then you can top up the rest
of the bottle. Spray this lightly through the coat, including
the under layers after towel drying and before blow drying. You
are not trying to saturate, just distribute. When you blow dry
use a Plush Puppy Pin
Brush or Plush
Puppy Metro Anti Static Brush (I use both, the pin where
there are knots and the metro when there are no knots) and really
stretch and smooth the coat out as you go. Always dry in the direction
that you want the hair to lay. I put my dryer on the opposite
side of the table to do my dog. She lies down and I do all of
her outer coat with the dryer blowing towards me so the coat is
blowing in its natural lying position, show side first. This method
really makes a big difference. You can then bring the dryer around
and do the under carriage areas and the feet. The hair must be
bone dry - no moisture at all. When you go to do the other side
make sure you have a dry table so as not to undo all your hard
work. Even blow dry the table for a moment so that is is dry and
warm.
Plush Puppy Blow Dry Creamsoftens and flattens and will add weight to tame a boofy or
unruly coat. Mix and apply just as per the Swishy Coat. If you have a coat that needs
straightening and de-boofing you can mix Swishy Coat and Blow Dry Cream in the same bottle and mix
with water if you like. Use a tablespoon of Swishy Coat and a teaspoon of Blow Dry Cream. Increase the Blow Dry Cream ratio if required.
The Puffy Dog Firm Hold Stying Mousse is fantastic
for the hocks to give them a great full look and help them stand
out creating that lovely flow of coat from under the tail right
through to off the hock. I put this on after towel drying by getting
about a golf ball size dollop in my palm and scrunching it through
the hocks. This is the only area of the coat where I use a soft
slicker brush and brush against the natural lay of the coat, so
brush the hock up, still paying careful attention to get the coat
really straight and really dry.
Volumising
Cream is a superb grooming
to tool to use on a coat that is thin. Mix it in the same manner
as the Swishy coat, ie one tablespoon to a small Plush Puppy Spray
Bottle. You can apply it when the coat is damp or when the coat
is dry. It will coat each individual hair and give the appearance
of more coat. You can use it all over the coat or just in a specific
area. When you are trying to volumise the coat you can blow dry
the coat in a fluffing up kind of manner to help increas the volume.
Volumising Cream
cannot be felt in the coat.
With Swishy Coat, Blow
Dry Cream and Volumising
Cream it is not recommended to try to use these products
undiluted on the coat as it is too difficult to distribute them
evenly. Please do use the dilution method with the spray bottle.
The mixed up products will keep inthe bottle, just shake them
well each time you use them.
For maintenance baths I use the Plush
Puppy Seabreeze Oil. It contains natural extracts that
promote hair growth, repair of damaged hair and are very good
skin conditioners. It also dramatically reduces matting and knots.
Dirt does not stick to the coat as it is one of the finest oils
made and it easily washes out with any of our shampoos . I do
always shampoo at least twice as I said earlier. Seabreeze Oil can be applied directly from
the bottle undiluted as per a traditional Oil. It can also beused
in your conditioning rinse. Just put one tablespoon along with
a quarter cup of Silk Protein Conditioner into approximately a
half gallon or 4 litres of water. Rinse this well through the
coat and leave it all in. Blow dry as you normally would for a
maintenance bath.
Plush
Puppy Reviva Coat is
fantastic for in between baths and can be used at any time that
moisture is required. You do not have to blow dry it if you don't
want to. Just apply it by squirting a dollop into your hand and
scrunching into the coat as required and just leave it to dry
on its own. It contains UV filters as well. You can't overdose
on this product. It is very handy to help when you have to brush
out a knot as it makes the job much easier and you will loose
less coat. It is superb as a maintenance conditioner (in between
shows). I scrunch it in all over the coat quite liberally and
then blow dry leaving the coat not ready for the ring but simply
brimming with moisture and hydration.
Plush
Puppy Protein Coat Balm
is my favourite show ring product. It helps with static, flyaways
and drying out. The best attribute of this product is that it
will not undo all your blow drying hard work. The worst thing
you can do to your coat at a show is spray it with a water based
spray. Humidity is the enemy of a silky straight coat. Make every
effort that you can to keep your dog out of moist or humid situations
at shows. Keep your crate covered up if you have to. Protein Coat Balm is the perfect finishing
cream. Just squirt a few pumps into your palm, smear your hands
together, then smooth your hands over the coat. Then comb the
coat into place. Do this just before you go into the ring. There
is no point doing it an hour before hand. You can use Protein Coat Balm multiple times throughout
the day without altering the texture or look of the coat. It's
great stuff!
Plush
Puppy Pixie Dust will
give the coat a stunning shimmer in the sunlight and can be used
on any colour coat. The trick is to apply a little dust to a bristle
brush then wave the brush in the air a bit. Then brush over the
coat to give a light dusting of shimmer. The effect in the sunlight
is super!
Plush
Puppy Shine and Comb
is just super used lightly on the back coat. Mist it down over
the coat just before you go into the ring to give a classic natural
shine.
So there you have it! All
ready to flash around the ring and take everyone's breath away
with your glamorous American Cocker Spaniel with it lustrous,
silky feathers and long luxurious ears flying in the wind.
