Long, Silky & Very Glamorous

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! How do we achieve this?

Firstly bath in Plush Puppy Conditioning Shampoo with Evening Primrose. For the perfect finish a repeat shampoo does wonders. Dilute the shampoo through your hydrosurge about 10:1 ie ten parts water to one part shampoo and give it time to do its job on the coat. The Plush Puppy Conditioning Shampoo doesn't just gently cleanse the coat of all dirt, it has active ingredients that condition and help repair damaged coat, so make sure to give it a few minutes to do it's job for the optimum effect. Rinse the shampoo thoroughly to prepare for the conditioning rinse.

For your conditioning rinse use the Plush Puppy Silk Protein Conditioner. I do mine through the hydrosurge and I am not sparing with it. I use about three quarters of a cup. I do not wash out the conditioner. Now every dog is slightly different in its coat and you will need to do some experimenting to find just the right balance of conditioner to use. The Plush Puppy Silk Protein Conditioner is a light feeling conditioner so does not weigh the coat down. Along with the Plush Puppy Conditioning Shampoo it too has natural active ingredients included specifically to help soften and rehydrate the coat.

Other products to use at bath and blow dry time are Plush Puppy Volumising Cream, Blow Dry Cream, Swishy Coat and Reviva Coat. Now I add about a quarter cup of Plush Puppy Reviva Coat, a table spoon of Plush Puppy Blow Dry Cream and a table spoon of Plush Puppy Swishy Coat into my conditioning rinse along with the Plush Puppy Silk Protein Conditioner through the hydrobath with just enough really warm water to cover the intake for the pump, so the mix is very concentrated. I then run this through all the featherings for at least 3 to 4 minutes. The Plush Puppy Swishy coat will have the effect of helping the hair to fall gracefully back into place after moving and during the blow dry process will relax the hair helping it to blow dry straight and smooth. The Plush Puppy Blow Dry Cream will give the coat that superb finished look with a beautiful draping ability. Both of these products can be broken down 50:50 and sprayed through the coat after you have finished bathing instead of being put through the hydrobath. It is simply a matter of finding the right balance for your dog's coat.

The Plush Puppy Volumising Cream is fantastic for the hocks to give them a great full look and help them stand out off the hock to create that lovely flow of coat from under the tail right through to off the hock. I put this on after towel drying by scooping with my fingers a dollop about the size of a quater piece worth on the fingers and scrunching it through the hock area. Then when you get to that area you can blow-dry as normal.

In between show bathing I use the Plush Puppy Seabreeze Oil. It has the most amazing ability to promote hair growth and repair damaged hair. I simply have never seen anything like it. As soon as I get home from the show, on goes the Plush Puppy Seabreeze Oil and liberally too. Dirt does not stick to the coat as the oil is of superb fineness, actually it is one of the finest oils available and it will easily wash out with the Plush Puppy Conditioning Shampoo. I do shampoo twice as I said earlier.

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 it dry either if you don't want to. Just put it on by scrunching into the coat as needed and just leave it to dry on its own. It contains a UV filter and it makes a fantastic show spray broken down with water about 1 tablespoon to 200mls water. It will help with static, flyaways and drying out all in the one spray. It is also superb as a maintenance bath 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 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 and can be sprayed on just before you go into the ring giving 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.

NARELLE ROBINSON