Gun Dog Forum

my liver and white Brittany has a very curly coat. I quickly found that once the hunting season got started this fall, I needed to trim the longer hair on the back of her legs, end of her tail, and around her ears due to burrs and other vegetation getting caught there and causing tangles.

now that we are in full winter here in New Hampshire, she has put on a thicker, heavier, and very curly winter coat. I brush her pretty regularly, and she sheds very little. I assume she will lose this coat in spring.

My question is, do you take your Britts (or any other gun dog with a wavy coat) to a groomer, or cut/trim their hair yourselves? some of the other Britts I have seen in pictures on the forum have what look like pretty tight coats, and I am wondering if that their natural length or whether that is due to grooming/trimming.

thanks in advance for any info and insights! her coat is actually thicker and even curlier than in this picture

If you want to trim it, do it. I take my Britt to the groomer.

there were two major families of liver colored dogs brought from France years ago. One of them carried the longer curly coat that is not as desirable when it comes to burr catching. I think yours comes from that line. Good dogs but just not as nice of a coat for field work.

Ezzy

Buy a good set of clippers and give the dog a high 'n tight when it's warmer outdoors. I use a 10 blade on my setters in May, july, and September. Quality clippers and a couple sets of blades will cost you around $100 but you'll have them for a long time (I bought my Osters sometime in the 80s - it's been so long ago I forget and they're still in good working order).

It takes about a half hour of your time and it's a really shallow learning curve. IMO no need to be running to the groomer.

Two other tools you might consider- a Furminator and Mars Coat King. The Furminator will remove a ton of dead undercoat and allow the coat to lie flatter and smoother. Use it every couple of weeks to keep it down to a dull roar.

The Coat King will take both undercoat and the longer outer coat off. This tool will help keep the coat tidy, take out a lot of the thickness and again, allow the coat to lie flat.

Those two tools along with a good double toothed comb and slicker brush....

I've got 5 britts, I just go to walmart in the Spring and buy a $35 clipper. They come with plastic snap on depth combs that snap on the clippers . You just snap on the depth of cut you want and buzz away :roll: . I get all 5 cut and throw the cutter away because it is dull and costs about as much to sharpin it as a new set of cutters. I buy a new one the next year. It works great for me and my 5 britts.

I guess I could have been clearer in my post -- I wasn't asking whether to cut her coat myself, but really whether to cut her coat at all. Based on the responses, it sounds like several of you do.

Ezzy, that is interesting about the two groups of dogs from France.

Thanks for the responses so far. I actually use a set of clippers from Walmart to shave my own head. I haven't paid for a haircut in over ten years

I shave in april and July, use # 10 blade on head,ears and front neck and chest. # 4 or 5 on body and trim feathering with sizers. I call it a field trial cut, never had any training just watched a pro shave 20 plus dogs and do what he did. I now have 2 britts, one with heavy curly coat(pic.) and one with thin silky coat. Youtube has some show cuts on it you could watch.

Tom

Yes I now need to learn how to post pic's. I croped these and they are under 400K but they are too large.

Tom

I can see you have a beautiful Britt, though

I have 8 Britts. We have been through a few of the cheap shavers and they work but not as good as a quality set. I can't remember what brand we bought but it was $150 from Foster & Smith, now we just get a new blade every year (8.99) and keep going. This thing cuts like crazy, fast and easy. No comparison to the cheap ones. I have a shop fan that I set to one side blowing the hair away as I cut and I keep a can of that compressed air handy to cool the blade down when it gets warm.

CCBIRDDOGMAN wrote:I have 8 Britts. We have been through a few of the cheap shavers and they work but not as good as a quality set. I can't remember what brand we bought but it was $150 from Foster & Smith, now we just get a new blade every year (8.99) and keep going. This thing cuts like crazy, fast and easy. No comparison to the cheap ones. I have a shop fan that I set to one side blowing the hair away as I cut and I keep a can of that compressed air handy to cool the blade down when it gets warm.

there is lots of good advice there, thanks!

I usually just comb them myself, and during the hot months put a guard on the trimmer and go to town..

I just trim the feathers. Afraid of clipping and ruining his coat or it coming back longer and requiring constant clipping.

CDN_Cocker wrote:I just trim the feathers. Afraid of clipping and ruining his coat or it coming back longer and requiring constant clipping.

Can you ruin a coat? I had my Britt cut too short. It's growing back but it's been about a month and sparse long hair growing through the short undercoat.

Those long stiff guard hairs grow first. It doesn't look good for a little while but soon the rest of the hair grows in.
I've not ruined a coat by regular clipping; my two old guys are 13 and 11 and have been clipped twice a year or more all their lives. The younger dogs also get clippped and their coats are still good.

This assumes the dogs are in good health and have no issues that would otherwise interfere with hair growth and texture.

I trim our brittany, Seven's, legs, feet, and tail. Last summer I saw three of his brothers and was really surprised to see how curly and long their coats were. As puppies, they all looked about the same. I'm thankful that Seven has a pretty short and smooth coat. With six dogs that need nail trims including three that need feet and tails trimmed, it's nice to not have any extra work! I'm attaching a picture of Seven with his tail, legs and feet trimmed.

very nice. In the spring, I am going to trim her down pretty good, or have her groomed that way. Then I'll trim the longer stuff again before hunting starts in the fall.