Grooming a Welsh Springer by Selina
The Welsh Springer does need regular grooming although most of it can be done very quickly at home and you should only need to take your Welshie to a groomer occasionally.
A Welsh coat should not mat easily if it is looked after on a regular basis, the softer undercoat and feathering can develop mats and tangles if not brushed regularly. I try to brush Rufus about twice a week to maintain his coat in good condition, this also gives me the chance to make sure that he has no minor cuts or wounds that need seeing to. Although if he has been on a particularly muddy walk I will brush the dry dirt out as often as it needs doing.
You can tell when he generally needs to go to the groomers because he will develop hairy feet commonly referred to as 'slippers' which needs to be trimmed back, if trimmed back regularly it prevents less mud being brought back into your house and if you have smooth floors it makes it less likely that the dog will slip, of course if you have the dog from a pup you can train him to sit patiently and trim this back yourself at home with the use of short grooming shears or blunt ended scissors, you should trim the hair around the sides of the feet to the edge of the foot and also trim the hair that protrudes on the bottom of the feet level with the pads, NEVER between the pads up between the toes or you will end up with your dog suffering with flat feet, as Ruf is a rescue dog it is far easier for me to get this done when being trimmed at the dog groomers. When grooming at home you need to trim your pets ears as well, particularly on the underside of the ear leather, clippers or scissors should be used to remove all excess hair from the underside of the ear flap, which gives a costant flow of air to the ear canal, this along with occasional ear cleaning should eliminate nearly all ear problems, which spaniels are prone to with their long ears.
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Rufus our model demonstrates a Welsh Springer's ear is groomed differently to an English Springer. |
Word of warning, a lot of dog groomers will treat your Welsh Springer the same as an English Springer, you must make sure this does not happen, there are some important differences between the two when grooming and it is up to you to make sure your groomer is aware of this before letting them get to work on your dog.
Most importantly, never have your Welshies body coat clipped (shaved back to a grade), this is because they have a silkier, oilier coat than the ESS and if they were to be clipped you would destroy the self cleaning property and attractive nature of the coat leaving it dull looking and much harder to maintain. Your welshies coat should be stripped of all dead hair and the feathering of the tail, legs and under body trimmed with scissors. The hair on his/her ear should be trimmed back following the shape of the ear leather, this is most important for show dogs in the ring as these will not be accepted with long hair like the English Springer Spaniel.
For the show ring somewhat more grooming will be needed than for the pet Welshie. Apart from the ears, tail, feet and tummy the show dog will have his whiskers and head and neck trimmed as well. The head is groomed to remove any fuzzy hair often using a stripping knife. The head should not be shaved with the exception of the ears which may be thinned using thinning shears. The whiskers can be trimmed to neaten the muzzle but this is not required. The ears are trimmed with the clippers or thinning shears to blend the top of the ear into the skull, as well as to remove excess hair under the ears so that the ear hangs loosely against the head. The hair is then trimmed to just below the ear leather to follow the shape of the ear. The neck is usually thinned to create a smoothness above the breast bone, with the ruff of hair beginning there. The feathering on the legs is trimmed with scissors. The feet and tail are groomed to remove excess hair and finally the dog is brushed until its glossy red and white coat shines. The final product should be a dog who looks neat and catches the eye but your dog should still look like he could withstand a days hunting or swimming.
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Rufus again, showing a neatly trimmed Welshie paw |