GROOMING YOUR ENGLISH SPRINGER SPANIEL

Tools you will need

• Fine toothed metal comb
• Slicker brush
• Pin head brush
• Nail clippers
• Cotton Wool / Ear Wipes
• Thinning scissors
• Straight edged trimming scissors

Your pet Springer Spaniel should be checked every day to see what their grooming requirements are. Most days you can do the basics to keep them tidy, the further tasks can be done when needed.

Try and groom your dog somewhere that you can keep them still, To begin with it is probably easier to keep your dog on the lead however if you make this a nice experiance it will be something they enjoy doing.

Daily Grooming Tasks

Use your metal comb to comb through the ears, check in behind the ears as this is then most common site for knots and bits and piece they seem to get caught those sticky green balls seem to always get stuck on the ear hair and it is important you get rid of them before they enter the ear.

Check the ears while you are combing to make sure there is no dirt in them. If you see any signs of dirt then use either an ear wipe, or some ear cleaning solution which you pour into the ear, massage in and then use cotton wool to remove any debris. Never probe too far into the ears, using a proper ear cleaning solution will bring debris to the surface with a good massage, and do not use cotton buds to reach into the ears, you could damage your dogs inner ear.

Take the slicker or pin head brush (which ever your dog prefers) and groom out the body, making sure you pay extra attention to the feathers on the legs and belly as they can get matted and dirty. Also check the armpits for matts which can be caused by balled up hair. Make sure if your dog has quite a dense coat that you groom right though to the skin, matts will form in the undercoat and the dog will be very uncomfortable. If you come across any knots remove them gently with your fingers, try not to cut them out unless the dog is really uncomfortable, a bit of conditioner on the knot will help comb it out, though make sure you hold the skin tight so as not to hurt your dog.

This routine should only take a few minutes and if done daily will keep your Springer’s coat tidy and knot free. It will also give you time to check your dog over everyday, check for cuts, ticks or abnormalities.

Springer Spaniel Feet

The feet should be trimmed using the straight edged scissors, lift the paw up and trim the hair between the pads so that it is level with the pads, trim excess hair between the toes and shape the hair around the foot so that it is level with the pads. Make sure when trimming feet you trim down rather than across, if trimming between the toes lift the hair up and trim downwards with the lie of the hair. Check the feet and make sure grass seeds or bits of gravel and sand have not got trapped in the skin, if a grass seed travels into the paw it will make a dog lame and need to be removed by a vet so early detection is vital.

The tufts that stick up between the toes also need trimmed and checked - they can develop small mud lumps or matts between the toes and these can cause pain to your dog. The easiest way to do this is with single sided thinning scissors, pull the tufts up between the toes and cut down from the leg, cutting until the hair is flush with the top of the toes.

If your dog is exercised on rough ground or roads the nails will keep short and smooth, but if you exercise your dog in the fields then make sure the nails don’t get too long. White nails are simple to trim because the nerve ending or “quick” is visible, therefore use the guillotine clippers to trim below the quick and you can smooth them off with a metal nail file. Black nails are more tricky, if you are worried ask your vet or groomer to do them for you. If you are trimming them yourself make sure you have a styptic pen (available from the chemist) to stop the blood flow or styptic powder which can be purchased from pet shops. If you are concerned ask somebody to show you first as one bad experience can make your dog difficult to handle in future. After a successful trim I would offer a treat to show this is a good experiance.

Springer Spaniel Teeth

There are many teeth cleaning products on the market but if your dog is fed a good diet that consists of a complete dry food or natural diet with bones their teeth should stay pretty clean on their own. Chews and biscuits can also help keep teeth clean as do toys such as Kongs. If you feed your dog tinned food, or another moist diet then keep an eye on their teeth and if needs be use a dog toothbrush and toothpaste available from the pet shop.

Springer Spaniel Bathing

Just because your Springer Spaniel gets muddy all the time does not mean they have to have a bath everytime the walk through apuddle. Most of the time the best thing is to leave your Springer to dry off, ideally in a utility room or kitchen, and then brush out any dirt using a pin head brush and then a slicker or grooming glove to get the dust out. If you Springer is really bad then you may decide to bath your dog, don’t just set a hose on your dog, the water may be very cold and you may spook your dog. If you want to bath your dog outside use a baby bath or a bucket and sponge. When I bath my dog I use the bath upstairs and use the shower attachment I set the temperature to a luke warm setting to take the chill off I try to make the experiance as nice as possible I am lucky that my springer loves bath time and it is fairly easy, I try to leave the head until last,it seems to stop her shakeing as much. Make sure you have pleanty of towels to dry off with, mine loves to get as close to me as possible after a bath so you will probably want to change clothes after. And keep the door shut their is nothing worse than a wet springer running round the house

Remeber to use a proper dog shampoo a human shampoo may cause irritations.

Got a question? Don't forget to visit the Springer Spaniel Forum.