Springer Spaniel Grooming Guide

English Springer Spaniels are bred as hunting dogs and working dogs, but they’re also great show dogs because of their gorgeous coat. Their coat is composed of two layers (outer and inner coat) that serve as protection from skin damage and changing weather. They have a medium-length coat that sheds all throughout the year and they tend to shed more when spring and fall seasons come. Springer Spaniel Grooming is rather specific. So, if you prefer to take care of your pup by yourself, you will need precise instructions.

Do Springer Spaniels Shed?

Once a Spaniel turns six months old, its coat will become thicker and you will need to start trimming extra hairs so your dog can still keep its natural looks and figure. You might notice that Spaniels’ outer coat is wavy or straight while their inner coat is soft and bulky. Since this breed develops a thick coat, shedding might be a problem when they’re not taken care of properly. They shed non-stop all year, that’s why  it’s really important to have a consistent hair-care routine in order to prevent knots and mats that can make it painful for them. Their fur in the ears, on chest, stomach, and legs is also much longer than the rest of the coat. Shedding is inevitable and already part of your life as a pet owner, and there are no dogs that don’t shed. 

Now, you have two options to choose how you will take care of your pet’s coat. You can take him to a grooming salon or you can choose to learn how to trim him on your own. You can select the easier way, but as a pet owner, it’s your responsibility to learn how to groom your pet at home.

Why to Groom a Spaniel at Home?

• It saves you money 
• It’s a special bonding between two of you
• it serves as an early training of discipline for your dog

Grooming Springer Spaniel

Types of Grooming

Grooming is actually divided into two processes: 

• Everyday Grooming. Do this everyday to prevent mats, tangles, to keep him neat and combed. This also helps to reduce shedding significantly. 
• Profound Grooming. This kind of grooming is usually done about four times a year. It is more complicated and includes not only brushing, but also hand-stripping, clipping and some scissors work. 

To give proper care, there are several tools that you need to maintain your English Springer’s beautiful, silky, and healthy coat. These tools are used for different stages of shedding and recommended by grooming experts.You can trim or clip the excess fur, however, when it comes to clipping there must be a limitation, do it just enough to make the coat tidy and keep the figure of your dog’s body. There are specific areas that clipping is only needed. 

Let’s focus on each of them and discuss the details.

Everyday Grooming

Proper everyday care is the foundation of keeping yor dog’s coat free from mats and tangles. Build a consistent habit for you and your dog to make it easier to handle him when the day of profound grooming comes. For daily care you will need several brushes for different areas of Spaniel’s body:

• Undercoat Rake
• Steel Comb
• Bristle Brush
• Slicker Brush

And here is our set of brushes each Spaniel parent should have for every day care.

For more options see: Best Brush for Springer Spaniel

Profound Grooming

Learning the proper grooming techniques will be easier if you ask a professional groomer to do this for you at least once. When you grasp and learn some knowledge about pet grooming, you can now do it on your own. 

For better understanding of the grooming process let us begin with a video, as this the best way to master the process if you have no possibility to see the real process at the groomer’s:

Springer Spaniel Grooming Field Cut

Springer Spaniel Grooming Tips

1. Clean away hair from both inside and outside the ear using thinning scissors. Do not use clippers!! Take time to reduce hair around the ear as the area is sensitive. When thinning the outside blend in with the longer hair about a third of a way down the ear. This longer sometimes dead hair can be finger pulled to reduce its quantity. Do not leave apparent sharp lines, always look to blend
2. Hand pull all hair from head down the top side of the neck to shoulders, then along back and down the side of ribs and loin. This can be done over a period of a week. Do not use scissors. To help pull the hair either use rubber thimbles, rubber gloves, a stripping block or a metal comb with a rubber band interweaved three or four times between the teeth
3. Ideally all hair around the thighs should be hand stripped, however some tidying up can be performed using thinners to help blend in hair removal from around the anus and further down the tail from the root.
4. Clean out neck from under side of jaw down to breast bone. If experienced use clippers to shave the area. If not too sure, use thinners over a period of time to reduce the amount of hair. Always blend hair using thinners into the natural coat 
5. Use thinning scissors to tidy up the top of your feet. You can use straight edged scissors to clean out the underside of the foot between the pads. The easiest method is to hold the foot and pull excess hair through between the toes. This will give you a control line in which to cut the hair. Once experienced hair removal can be more excessive if required. On front feet trim all the way up the back of the foot to the stopper pad and slightly beyond if necessary to reduce an overhang of feathering. Use fingers and thumb to reduce excessive hair along the back of the leg to keep the feathering tidy. 
6. Clean the rear pasterns up to the hock joint using thinning scissors. You may find you have to go slightly above the hock to thin out some of the feathering which projects passed the hock.

Springer Spaniel Grooming Tools

Trimming of ESS requires patience and a number of tools in addition to brushes. It is the process of cutting down all the long hairs on your dog’s coat, especially the undercoat. Here are the professional grooming materials that you need when you decide to trim at home.

• Deshedder or Slicker Brush
• Dematting tool
• Steel Comb
• Bristle brush (Soft and hard bristle brush 

and

• Rubber thumbs glove or stripping knife (for hand stripping)
• Clipper
• Thinning scissors
• Straight-edged scissors 

After brushing the Spaniel, we come to hand-stripping. Hand stripping is one way of removing the excess hair from the English Springer’s coat, most importantly the undercoat that is prone to knot. You can use rubber gloves to get a solid grip of the fur and take off any dead hair from your dog’s coat using your thumb and forefinger. Don’t forget to lift the undercoat since dead hairs are not attached to the skin anymore, this process won’t hurt your dog, it’s just a way to prevent any fur stick around you and your home. Another thing, hand stripping can get the whole hair, all the way from the roots.

Use an appropriate electric clipper to cut the hair over the body according to the scheme.

See also: Best Clippers for Spaniels Review

And finally – trim away hair in the ears and legs with scissors.

Grooming Shampoos and Sprays

Detangling Sprays are used to make daily combing hassle-free. It easily untangles tied hair and makes hair smooth as you brush. When bathing your dog, use a shampoo for coarse hair every three days and the rest of the body – every two weeks. You should wash the head, chest, ears, legs from the outer to the inner coat. After shampoo, apply conditioner to make it smoother, softer and eliminate mats. 

Things to Consider When Grooming your English Springer Spaniel 

It all starts with understanding the shedding process of every breed, general care for English Springers especially in grooming them all depends on your knowledge as an owner, that’s why we’re here to help you with choosing the perfect grooming tools and follow the right process. 

• Wash your English Springer’s overall coat including the head, chest, ears, legs, and face with shampoo regularly every 3 days. You can make the coat softer and lessen the knots by applying a conditioner. 

NOTE: Use special dog hair products, organic products are much better. Also, remember to wash off all the dust and dirt after each walk.

• This breed’s coat gets easily tangled up especially on his chest and undercoat. When knots appear, trim his hair more often without ruining his natural look and shape of the coat. Always trim extra hairs inside the ears to avoid infection. Regular combing using specific hair brushes can lessen breakage and knots and helps the coat grow healthy.
• Since English Springers have a soft and thick inner coat, loose strands of hair should be removed often. It will allow your dog to develop a great outer coat that will make him well-groomed all the time. 
• The best time to hand strip your furbaby every few months since they shed the whole year, it’s the best way rather than using clippers for grooming. 

To make sure that your English Springer participates in the grooming process, start making a daily grooming routine in his early stage. You can pretend to trim and brush his coat a few minutes every day so that your pup will get used to the sound it makes. You can do the brushing whenever it feels like he needs it.  By doing this consistently, your pup will eventually love the whole routine. Give him a reward after,  early training will not only make him look good but can also strengthen his patience and discipline. 

FAQ

Summary

Your English Springer has a beautiful and silky coat that makes him special. It needs to be well-groomed all the time to become comfortable. Make this as a routine: 

• Handstrip and clip him every few months, especially when Spring and Fall season as they tend to shed more
• Use appropriate trimming scissors after hand stripping to keep him neat
• Once a week use de-shedding tools
• Daily combing to avoid mats and knots

By doing this, your English Springer will have a healthy and beautiful coat throughout his life by yourself with the help of all the professional devices above.