cutting matts out?

[diane]

My doodle has a pretty short coat right now except on her head. The groomer kept it long. Well, since we live on a pond she swims a lot and now has terrible matts on her head.  My daughter tried cutting them out but she looks absolutly horrible. My once beautiful doodle looks all chopped up and quite silly and still pretty matted.  How can I correct this and prevent this from happening again.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

It really doesn't look that bad! Just needs to trim a bit.

This is what I would do: I am not a groomer, just a Mom of 2 doodles with 2 different coats

If you have clippers - you can use the 5/8" comb attachement and just run it all over her head to even it out.

If you don't have clippers have a very good pair of scissors. Comb her hair out
'Part' it into sections across her head - ear to ear - and trim whatever is above your fingers
Keep doing it until she is even.

[diane]

Thanks for the tip. Can I use the same kind of clippers that they use at the barbers? The kind they cut little boys hair with or do I have have to purchase special dog clippers? My doodle is just a year old so it might be worth it for an occasional trim.

[Zoe, Benny and Tyler]

If you don't cut out the whole mat but cut into it along the mat once with scissors you should be able to detangle the mat with your fingers afterwards easily. You don't see any holes in the fur because you are actually not cutting anything off from the fur. It works fine for me and don't worry it doesn't look that bad on your doodle and it will grow back.

[diane]

I might just try to trim a little more. The matts are like having gum in a childs hair. Thanks for the help.

[Lee Seidman]

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

My understanding of using clippers is that if you use them on matted fur, you will leave a big divits in the fur which might not look too good on the head. I think that it might be a good idea to slice sideways through the mats, use some Cowboy Magic ( or another good detangler product) and comb the mats out. The head is not that big of an area that you can't do a bit at a time.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Forgive me!! I didn't read your post properly!! I thought the mats were out and you wanted to make her head more even.
Zoe gave you great advice!
The clippers I use are dog clippers - the ones my DH has doesn't seem to have the heavier motor to do the job. I groom both my girls all year long. The clippers cost me $145.00 and the attachable combs (the shorter set) was $10.00. For me, a worthwhile investment!

[diane]

Thanks everyone. I do want to remove the rest of the mats and even out her choppy hair cut. I think I'll head to the groomers for this round and invest in some clippers for the future. Can you suggest a type of clipper I should purchase?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Diane, join the grooming group. There is so much information there for people who groom their doods themselves and for people like me who do not. I know I have seen discussions about clippers and other tools as well as products that help you with the mats.

[diane]

Thanks for the info. I'll check out the grooming group. I might want to try trimming her up a bit between grooming apointments.