Grooming

Grooming your  your Sussex Spaniel should be a joy for both you and your dog.  Each grooming will varies depending upon the dog conformation, condition of the coat, the time of the year, whether your Sussex is a male or female, neuter or spayed and individual grooming style.  I do not say that my way of grooming is correct and is the only way; but it works for my life style and my dogs.

Sussex likes to play and get dirty.  In order to keep that coat glowing, you will need to bathe them often.

The tools that you will need are:

• straight scissor
• thinning scissor
• comb
• stripping knife
• pin brush
• toe nail clipper

1. Brush your Sussex thoroughly and after brushing your Sussex you should take your comb and comb through the coat.
2. Trim the nail back; be careful as to not cut the quick.

Head:

The standard states that their should be no topknot.  Well, tell that to the Sussex.  There are lots of Sussex out there that grows a fair amount of hair on top of their head.  So we will have to cut that hair off.  You can achieve this with thinning scissor or with a stripping knife.  Going with the grain of the hair, take either the thinning scissor or stripping knife and trim the hair down to your desire length.

Face:

Take your thinning scissor and trim the excess hair from around the muzzle and the side of the face.

Ears:

Remove any unsightly hair from above the top of ears, blending into the skull.  On the inside of the ear trim away the hair that sticks out near the cheeks.  This is also done with the thinning scissor.

Throat:

Trim away any stray hair on the throat with thinning scissor.  Don't over trim in this area.  To remove all the hair in this area will take away from the dogs overall look.

Body:

 Most Sussex will look good after brushing and combing the coat.  Then we have those Sussex that need a little help. To keep the natural look; this can be achieve with the stripping knife.  Take the stripping knife and rake the knife over the coat.  What you are taking out is the undercoat, and removing the dead hair.

Feet:

Feet on Sussex are large.  Trim the feet round.  The hair between the toes should be tidy ( do not over trim or the feet or they would looks splayed).  If the feathering on legs are dragging the ground.  Cut a straight line across the pasterns and trim the feathering at an angle.

Hocks:

According to the standard, the hair should be removed below the hocks.  trim the hair at an angle and let the feathering fall over the top of the hock. If your dog has a straight rear, I recommend leaving the hair on the hocks.

Tail:

The old standard states that there should be no feathering on the tail or stern.  The new standard states that there should be moderated feathering on the tail.  Well, some Sussex grows a lot on the tail and some don't.  Some Sussex hair curls on their tail and some only grows hair on the tip of the tail.  Use your judgment.  If your dog's tail need to be trim - trim it.

No dog is perfect and if you make a mistake.  Smile, the hair will grow back.  These instructions are only a guideline to help you groom your Sussex.  Take in mind that every dog is different and people will like and dislike different things.