Dreaded Mats

[Erin & Maizey]

Despite me trying very, very hard to keep my sweet little one year old goldendoodle mat-free, things are not going as well as I'd hoped.  She ended up with a very short haircut last summer and at that time I vowed to keep her mat-free and I've been combing and combing, but in the last month big giant ones seem to form on a daily basis and I'm slowly losing the war.  

I've tried no more tangles to get them out, but I'm at a loss as to how to get them out (other than cutting).  I have a wire comb and a les pooches brush but they just make her a big frizz ball and don't seem to get them out and seem to make her more prone to them because the frizzy pieces stick together.

In the interest of full disclosure - she spends her day at doggy daycare which she loves, but I think playing with other dogs all day is not conducive to keeping mats out.  I try to comb her daily, but sometimes life interferes.    

My questions are:

(1) Any helpful suggestions for getting mats out?  Clearly I'm doing something wrong....

(2) Is she going through a coat change?  How do i tell?  Her hair seems to be changing texture a little bit - from soft to a just touch more wiry.  Is this normal or does it mean the hair is dirty?  Apologies if that's a dumb question

(3) Am I just going to have to keep her short?  (I love her shaggy and long but maybe her curly hair isn't meant to be so long / fit in with our lifestyle).  

As a side note, when I had to get her cut really short, she acted like she was free and was so bouncy and jumpy and was so much more hyper.  It was pretty hilarious.  Not sure if anyone else has seen this happen.  It might have been because it was so hot this past summer and she probably felt nice and cool.  I'm afraid to do it now since it's been so cold here.  

Thanks so much in advance!

[Heidi Magyar]

Hi - I know what you mean! My 2 Doods are 9 months old and getting mats like crazy. They go to doggie day care also and the groomer there said it had a lot to do with a coat change. I too invested in a Les Pooch brush and de-matter and have to agree that they look really frizzed out after I use them. I don't like that look so much, but the mats do loosen up a bit with the brush. Over all, I am disappointed with the product. Another problem I have is when I walk them (which is twice a day) they get a long of things called hitchhikers and other things from the grass stuck in their fur - that has probably been the worst contributor to the problem. I won't shave them and just hope that it gets better. Not a lot of help but misery loves company! Heidi

[Krizia Calmet]

With the Les Pooches brushes, I usually spray/spritz them with water and run my hands through their coats.  That usually brings their coats back to that "shaggy" look we all love.

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

I too loved my Fozzie Bear all shaggy looking :) When I started doing therapy work with Fozzie I found it much more difficult to keep him mat free, debris (twigs, leafs, grass, etc.) free, and clean when he was shaggy. Now my groomer clips him to about 1 - 1 1/2 " long every 8-10 weeks. In between cuts I use OMG from Plush Puppy. I spray it on wet or dry hair, rub it in and let dry (I don't have a dryer). It repels dirt, is water soluable, de-tangles, and doesn't build up. It's a bit pricy but I got the concentrate and mix it as needed. I love it! I hope this might help.

[Diane, Hurley and Sidney]

Erin,  your little golden doodle is huggable.  Really cute.  Hurley, or labradoodle is a wavy fleece and currently blowing is puppy coat.  So I am dealing with the mat challenge on a daily basis.  I brush every other day and sometimes everyday.  I use, what was recommended here on the doodle site, Mane 'n Tail Detangler which I spray lightly on him before I start brushing and combing and directly on a mat and then gently work it out with a Safari De-natting comb for Dogs.  I found it on Amazon for $6.89.  It is green in color. I love it and so does Hurley.  I can brush him ( I use a Chris Christensen brush - also recommended on this web site) and get a lot of loose coat out of him and then go back and work the comb through  his coat and collect enough puppy coat to stuff a pillow.

I have a Les Pooches which many highly recommend, but Hurley didn't seem to like it and I believe that is because he is a wavy fleece so his coat is not a thick as a curly fleece and perhaps does not require the intensity of a Les Pooches tool.  

However, I have also used the Safari on our son's labradoodle which is a curly fleece.  His coat is very thick and mats easily and he is well past the blowing of his puppy coat.  Oakley is 2 years old.  Neither doodle sheds. The Safari works better on him than the Les Pooches, also.

I believe coat change is between 12-18 months.   I do find bits of Hurley's coat around even though I take at least an hour to brush him.  What I pickup is like what a dust bunny looks like.   With the blowing of the puppy coat to adult coat there is a change in coat.  Hurley's coat is becoming softer and has more waves. 

I hope that helps a bit.  Good luck!!

[Holly (Jax & Bandit)]

You absolutely have to get a dematting comb.  I took a grooming lesson from my dog groomer and she showed me how to get the mats out.  First you need to brush against the hair with the les pooches brush.  The mats form very close to the skin.  When you run into these, then use the dematting comb to break it up .  You need to angle the smooth side of the comb against the skin and the razor like teeth will cut through the mat.  Then rebrush with the les pooches.  Followup with a comb to make sure all the knots are out.  Before I took the lesson, I was just combing and brushing and Jax would still get matted.  After using this tool, I don't think there is a mat that I cannot get out.  It made all the difference.  I love the shaggy look and now I am able to maintain Jax's coat so that I can keep him long.

http://www.amazon.com/Safari-De-Matting-Comb-for-Dogs/dp/B0002ARR2W...

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Are the blades replaceable, Holly?

[Holly (Jax & Bandit)]

Yes, they are.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Very cool then.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

My suggestion is you invest in a warm winter coat for Maizey :)

Its very possible her coat won't be conducive to a long cut. Lucy's isn't either, and I have to keep her no longer than 1" or mats appear overnight. She has a thick woolly coat, and looking at Maizey's photos (very cute btw!) she looks very much like Lucy looked at that age coat-wise (check out her photos as a pup, on my page). I wouldn't be surprised if Maizey has a woolly coat as an adult. What I use when I come upon the occasional mat, which I do find from time to time, especially in her ears and tail, is a V-Rake mat breaker

http://www.petedge.com/product/Grooming-Tools/Combs-Brushes-Rakes/R...

and a dematting tool

http://www.petedge.com/product/Grooming-Tools/Combs-Brushes-Rakes/R...

The V-Rake helps to isolate the mat from the other hair and on loose mats it can be all that's needed to get it untangled. The dematting tool is more aggressive and will cut through the mat. Using the two together (start with the V-rake and progress to the dematting tool, and then finish with a steel comb)  works really well and gets the mat out! But the best policy is prevention, so talk to a good groomer and listen to what length cut they suggest. Mine has told me never to go more than 8 weeks (6 preferably) between cuts, and to keep Lucy's hair under 1" (except for her ears and tail... which will mat, unfortunately, but without the long tail and ears she wouldn't look anything like a doodle).

I wanted to mention too, that if you go to my page to check out Lucy's pup pictures, you'll want to click on 'Photos' in left hand column of my page and go to the earlier pictures (I have 170 of them!). The later pics and the ones in the slideshow on the front page are of Oscar, my 4-1/2 mo. old puppy.

 

[Cynthia, Elvis & Pink]

I have 5 yo Goldendoodle with curly, wooly hair and he always starts to mat once it gets to be more than 1 1/2" long.  I like the longer, shaggy look but he's a big dog and I don't have as much time as I'd like to keep him mat-free.  He gets shorn to 3/4" about 3 times a year and he LOVES having short hair.  He does get warm so I think he likes the coolness of the shorter cut.

[Erin & Maizey]

Thank you everyone - I just placed an order on amazon for a de-matting comb and am going to look for this OMG spray.  

I am very excited to try to de-mat her.  slowly...

Oh and despite looking little in the picture (she is obsessed with snow, btw), she's a big girl - 55 loveable sweet wonderful pounds so de-matting is going to take some time.  

Incidentally I posted a 'please help me, my puppy hates me' post when she was about 4-5 months old and going through an intense biting nipping phase - everyone on DK was so helpful, saying she would grow out of it.... and while I was skeptical at the time, she has turned into truly wonderful doodle!  They grow up so fast!!

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

Ollie has a thick wool coat that is almost like cotton candy.  I can't let him get nearly as long as I can with Cubbie who has a fleece coat.  I used to let them get long in the winter, but I recently started a new job and have a new house and I just can't keep up with Ollie's coat.  They go to daycare twice a week which made things worse and it always rains here so our walks in the rain really help get those matts in his tail nice and solid.  He is now sporting a shorter cut and while I initially felt guilty, I know that I relistically can't keep up with the damands of his longer coat right now so I know he is more comfortable with a shorter matt free coat than a long tangled one.  Do the best you can, but if she is getting to knotted, you might have to have her clipped and then start fresh.  I do use Snarly Dog and that really helps me get through some of the smaller matts.