Brushing Your Dog's Matted Fur It's important for a groomer to comb all the way down to the skin and through the coat. If the fur is pelted, it has to be removed quickly. Severe pelting cannot be brushed out, however; shaving is the best route.
In many cases, this means shaving the mats out of your dog. Shaving is not a “short cut” to get the job done quickly, this can be a very slow, tedious and dangerous process. We are working on areas of your dog where skin is thin, likely already irritated and sometimes their hair is being pulled because of tight mats.
Your groomer must also deal with clipping seriously matted dogs. These matted dogs require professional grooming skills to remove the coat safely. Removing these coats also require a lot more time than the average grooming. It is only fair that a groomer charge an extra fee for removing this kind of coat.
Veterinarians recognize chronically matted hair and strangulating hair mats in dogs as a medical finding in animal neglect. The current veterinary medical literature does not describe the bony (osseous) features of strangulating hair mats.
Fortunately, mats can often be removed with a bit of elbow grease, some treats, detangling spray, and with the proper brush or clipper in hand. Raking a brush over the mat will be painful and inefficient, making grooming a frightening experience for your dog and a frustrating one for yourself.
Depending on how tight these mats get or how sensitive your dog is, your groomer may try and brush them out. Because these mats are in sensitive areas, most groomers will take electric dog hair clippers with a very safe blade and do what we call a “spot shave” on the affected areas.
Matting and pelting prevent proper temperature regulation, cause skin irritation, hide parasites like fleas or other nasties, and cause extreme discomfort and pain for the dog. Mats are mostly preventable!
If you notice a mat which cannot be easily brushed out, your pet should visit a groomer or veterinarian. They can safely clip the mats out and provide instant relief. If a pet is severely matted he may require sedation and full body clipping. NEVER cut mats out with scissors.
Use a good brush and wide-toothed comb! Brushes designed to tame tangles work especially well. If you have curly hair, be sure to detangle while your hair's wet (not dripping) and use a wide-toothed comb. Always start at the bottom and work your way up to the roots.
It depends on the hair texture and severity of the knots and/or matting. Most small knots can take 1 to 2 days to remove. Curly hair can be difficult be more difficult than straighter hair. Long curly hair tends to wrap around each other so there may be many knots inside of the 1 visible knot.
When there is a lack of bathing, your dog can also develop matted fur. This is because water and soap can take out any pieces that are stuck and causing tangles and matted fur. Once you go a long time without bathing your dog, the knots can worsen and pile up with objects that continue to cause matted fur.
When a groomer suggests shaving your dog, it's often because there's just too much to brush out. I hope I can speak for all groomers when I say, we are not in this business to cause pain or discomfort to your dog. We've seen how painful matting can be and it hurts us to see your dog living with it.
Gently brush the matted area with a soft bristle brush in alternating directions. Place your fingers under the base but above the skin to help keep tugging the skin to a minimum when brushing. Sweep the brush sideways to break up the hair fibers.
Slicker brushes consist of brush heads covered with short, tightly-packed wire pins angled to go through the coat and avoid the skin. Use them on medium-coated, long-coated, wire-coated, and curly-coated dogs to remove mats and prevent mats from forming by removing loose hair.
DON'T brush damp fur
That's why you should always brush dogs before you bathe them and then just let it all dry naturally afterward. If there's any knotted or matted hair after it's all dry, you can then use a brush to get rid of it all.
An undercoat grooming rake is a useful tool for removing dead hairs from the undercoat. To remove dead hairs from the top coat, you should use a pin brush or a comb. A slicker brush should be used on areas where the hair is longer and thicker. Pay close attention to any areas that are becoming matted.
De-matting for long hair costs about $7 to $9. For $3 to $10 extra, a groomer will use flea-killing shampoo or skin-soothing colloidal oatmeal shampoo or do a hot oil treatment. For about $10 extra, a groomer will remove skunk odor. For about $10 to 20 extra, a groomer will brush teeth or express the anal glands.
Don't bathe your dog, as the mats will soak up water and become even tighter. Try using cornstarch to help loosen the fur. Rub it directly into the matted area.
Matting Affects Circulation
By trapping blood near the surface of the skin, matting may keep blood from flowing to the feet, ears and tail, which can cause severe wounds (like bed sores) or allow your pet to overheat in the summer or contract frostbite in the winter.
Lack of grooming: Dogs that are dirty, have matted fur, bald spots, overly long nails, and jagged or broken nails may be neglected. Emaciation: Dogs that are overly skinny and have bones clearly visible.
Matted fur can happen when a pet's coat isn't properly groomed. You'll recognize it by seeing a lot of tangles and knots throughout your pet's fur, more commonly in longhaired pups and cats. These tangles and knots aren't just an aesthetic problem – they can even be dangerous for your pet.