Matting or simply a tangle of sorts?

[Christine & Shelby]

I am a first time dog owner and also new to the concept of grooming and identifying mats.  This evening while doing an inspection on Shelby I came across an area of fur that I thought... oh no is this a mat or just a tangle?  Shelby is only 5 months, 1 week - so I am not sure, most of the coat change stuff I read about comes closer to 9 months - or maybe I am mistaken.

 

The fur was tangled together (not at the base), but closer to the top.  I tried some cowboy magic, but Shelby is not a fan of being combed and it is really challenging to get her to sit still.  I eventually cut the tangled portion off.  I have read about how to properly brush/comb to prevent matting and I'll be honest - it seems a bit overwhelming to me as a 1st time dog owner.  I knew (in simple terms) this was one of the things I would be taking on when getting a doodle, but now I am worried and don't want Shelby to be uncomfortable.  I want to try my best to keep her mat free.

 

So a couple of questions... how do you tell Mats from just tangled fur?

Any advice on getting puppy to sit still for combing/brushing?

Recommended grooming tools?  Currently just have a steel comb...

 

Will groomers do a thorough brush out without having to do a bath too?

 

Any advice for this new doodle owner would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Christine (and Shelby!)

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Charli HATES to sit still to be combed. Trying to find a time when she is sleepy doesn't work for us BUT I did find the trick. I got her a brand new, fresh big marrow bone from the butcher. She just laid there chewing to her hearts content while I combed her.


I bit the bullet and bought a spray that really makes the combing process easier on both of us. Isle of Dogs - conditioning mist. Cost me $27 but I am thrilled with the product. It is a leave in detangler and does not leave her sticky.

I also use a steel comb. I start by taking some of her coat between my fingers and comb the bottom first. That is usually where she gets a knot. Then I move my fingers to where her coat and skin meet, and comb through. If you do this a few times a week then there won't be as many knots and combing time will be shorter.

If there is a knot that might really pull on her skin, I pull it apart with my fingers, hair by hair so it doesn't hurt her and then comb it.

A groomer here in Miami Beach told me they charge an additional $35 per hour to detangle or work with mats. They also wanted $145 to groom Charli and $75 to give Samantha a bath only (no ears or nails). Needless to say I did the work myself.

[Leigh & Allie]

I have just now run into a few tangles. Allie is now 7 1/2 months so I assume she is entering the fur change. I have noticed that when I bathe her, I can easily see the tangles while I am blow drying her. I have determined it is much easier to dry her when I have her on her leash. I hold the leash with one hand and the blow dryer with the other. I usually brush her first then blow dry her. While I am blow drying her sometimes I notice a tangle so I stop the blow drying and start brushing. Allie has not gone to a groomer yet but I am sure she will go when it gets warmer. I do not want her to get too hot. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I have found tethering Calla on a leash on a doorknob frees me up for the job at hand, such as tonight's nails and ears. Luca is generally resigned by now so I usually can get him to reluctantly undergo these sorts of things without leashing him.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Tigger has curly fleece and is okay with grooming. Doesn't love it, but puts up with it. Roo is very curly wool - absolutes loathes any grooming. Can't blame him really as his hair tangles everywhere.

To me Roo is mostly tangle but much much harder to groom than Tigger because every single hair is tangled making small curls all over him. As his coat reaches 2 inches no matter how much previous combing has happened the tangling reaches a stage that even with detanglers it is overwhelming to comb out. Only the hair on his legs remains combable. Roo mats only somewhat though. Tigger can get three or more inches longer and combs relatively easily compared to Roo. But Tigger mats more.

The difference I make between mats and tangles is that mats are messy, very woven together in a dense way that does not form a curl. They do not always start at the skin but they can. They usually have to be at least partially cut out. Roo's tangles are even. Small circles ( maybe 1/4 inch across or less) of hair that are twisted into a curl. Rarely does it start at the skin and they can be combed out, but it is a tedious, long process. As soon as he gets wet they immediately curl back up. It is worse though if he is left combed out without wetting, because the next day lots of real mats will have started to form.

For mats I use a Matt Zapper, looks like a comb, but the teeth are sharp, and I use thinning shears. For grooming I use a steel comb with closely set teeth. Puppies need to be groomed in very short spurts. The trick is to stop before she is bored. Keep a handfull of small, but very tasty treats where you can reach them and had them out as you groom. No treats for moving. Treats for being still. No stopping of grooming for moving, just more grooming. When she has been still for awhile treat, praise and stop. "Awhile" may only be a minute or two. Then play a bit - just fun and then put in grooming position and go "awhile" again. As she grows older awhile can stretch to as much as two or three hours if you really want to do it that long, but she will need to be 18 months or so. Poodles are allowed to be shown in puppy clips for this very reason - good owners would not expect a young poodle to sit still for the two to three hours necessary to produce a show trim.

Some groomers will do a brush out and charge you by the hour. It is not cheap.

Having said all that I mostly keep Roo and Tigger cut short. I take them to the groomer about every 3-4 months and have them shaved as long as possible which is usually about 1/2 inch. Their legs are left slightly longer and their heads and tails are combed out and styled. Roo has a beautiful flagged tail, Tiggers is uniformly curly and won't flag.

It isn't mean to keep them short. Even devoted poodle owners often keep their poodles in what is called a kennel cut. I choose to spend my dog time playing and walking with them, others choose grooming or have more time. Both are okay with the dogs. I live in So Ca and have a pool, and we all swim from April through October. During these months a short cut is necessary or they would never dry out and I like to let them in the house right away.

Don't stress over grooming too much. It is fun to have a puppy and they do not care one bit what they look like. If you just keep the big mats that pull on her skin cut out Shelby will be happy. Everything else is really "just for you" which is okay too as long as you keep it in perspective.

Enjoy your puppy.

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

There are a few discussions about this common problem. Here are some links to previous ones for starters.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/doodlegrooming/forum/topics/puppy...
http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/doodlegrooming/forum/topics/what-...

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I do exactly what Adrianne says (first reply). The entirely same process with the steel comb, start at bottom, move fingers to top, etc....
We also have a Les Poochs brush that we use for the easy areas (back, sides). The matting is mainly under arms, around legs and by ears. It is funny - she hates my husband using steel comb, but lets me. She hates ME using Les Pooch but not Conor!
Just stay on top of it - depending on coat, it could end up being every day or once a week or somewhere in between. We are about 2x/week these days (Peri is 1 year old).
Honestly, the big reason we keep up with it is because I don't want her shaved down next time I take her to the groomer....

[Sandra Griffith]

My Australian Labrodoodle, Aylah, also started going through her coat change just after she turned 5 months. I found this confusing as I had heard that they were older when this started to happen. I guess she's just precocious! It started along her back, progressing to around her neck and is now starting to go down her sides. She is still working on it (she just turned 6 months on Saturday). I brush her daily with the green Les Pooches brush, being sure to part her hair as I go so that I am not missing anything. I have not needed to bather her often.

[Jennifer Goaring]

How can you tell it is changing? Is this an obvious thing? I am reading all this with great interest as my pup will turn 6 months next week. Just gave him a bath tonight and used the blow dryer for the first time (as previously I just towel dried him and let him hang out in his crate after). I keep wondering how I will know when his adult coat is coming and wondering how different it will be from what we have now. I don't think he is matted anywhere but can get tangly -- I ordered the Les Pouch and a steel comb but so far have just been using a human brush to brush him and it seems to work OK. I tried the blow dryer just because I had read here that being all wet like that could contribute to matting and I also thought he would be too cold (we are having a COLD April so far).

Here are a couple of pic attempts from tonight (he is hard to photograph because he is black and everything just blends in!)

Jen G.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Jen, if your doodle begins to mat you WILL know it. If you brush every day, you will know - just make sure that you brush/comb all the way to the skin. It seems to happen overnight and begins in an area. For Ned it was the ears first. I think many doodles don't have a dramatic shift and they just gradually grow an adult coat. Lots of them however have lots of matting while the change is happening because the 'baby' coat has to be physically brushed out. Some, like Ned continue to mat if not groomed often.

[Nina, Phil, Harlow & Lacey]

Harlow has a wooly coat and doesn't care too much for brushing. I use a grooming table to keep her still. She will jump up on it, I give her a bully stick to chew and then I can brush/comb her.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

To me the difference between mats and tangles is that mats are like a cotton ball - dense and the hairs are not really separate. With mats you need a detangler and you might be able to brush then comb them out. If not you can slice (sideways vertically from the skin outward) through them in several places and then brush and comb. Tangles are just like in our hair. If a tangle is knotted too much, you can cut it out without too much problem. Ned went through the coat change from about 6 months to 1 1/2 years. He has a very high maintenance coat which requires frequent brushing and combing. Since last summer we have been able to brush/comb Ned twice a week without too much problem. We have him professionally groomed every 6 weeks or so. We had him groomed a week ago Saturday and something is wrong because he became heavily matted by Friday. It took us hours over several days to get his coat de-matted.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Just spent the morning dematting Luca. There is no end. We need to invent a good vertical slicing tool. I think I'll try a steak knife next time because an opened pair of scissors hurts my hand.