New matting - change in coat?

[Judith and Griffin]

I know there is a grooming group but I  think this *may* be a puppy issue so I'll post it here :-)  Griffin is now 10 months old and suddenly is getting tons of matting!!  He'd never had one before but even days after  his first professional grooming he had new ones already.  I usually  have to cut them out. He doesn't mind me combing him (if he's sleepy lol) but he will NOT let me work on mats.  I took him back to the groomer and some were so bad she had to totally shave the areas :-(
She said this was typical for his age.
His back has long (6 inches!) curly hair - NO matting.

His legs are like sheep wool and NO matting.

His belly and chest are soft hair and TONS of matting :-(  Oh and behind his ears.

My questions: Will this end when he's finished changing to his adult coat?  If not, what can we do?? I love his long shaggy look.  Is there a way of trimming that just thins it out to prevent matting?  I'm just at a loss :-(

[Missy]

our Teddy is 9 months and I too have been noticing mats in the soft chest hair. and HE does not appreciate the combing.  I lay him down and try to put the mat in my hand and comb thru so I don't pull the skin, but I thought that was he was in need of a bath. oh dear if the bath doesn't solve this problem.  I too love the shaggy look so I hope there is some help for us!!

[Bonnie and Kona]

You have hit what is known as THE DREADED COAT CHANGE! Doodles go through quite a few coat changes some in color and texture, but the main coat change happens between 7 and 14 month and involves the adult hair growing in and wrapping around the puppy hair. That's when the mats develop. There is lots and lots of information about this in the grooming group. Every owner should read about it. I was clueless. 

I thought I was doing an awesome job brushing our first doodle every single day. We both loved this routine. Then he went to the groomer and came out shaved. I was incensed! Of course I was certain that I was doing a good job. After that I read about line-brushing on DK and did research on the internet to learn how. There is a technique of brushing and then combing that gets all the way to the skin. If you are not getting all of the way down to the skin, the hair will mat. 

Owen doesn't mat much at all and can go longer periods of time than Kona. They are both adults now and neither one has to be line brushed daily. I hope your doodle grows out of this, but in the meantime, learn to line-brush. The mats hurt the dog's skin and are hard on you, too, as you try to get rid of them gently. 

Hang in there puppy owners… 

[Judith and Griffin]

Thank you so much! Will look into line brushing now. Gosh I hope this ends soon...

[Diane, Hurley and Sidney]

I don't know if this will help but when Hurley was about 9-10 months he started matting considerably.  He is a wavy fleece.  It lasted until he was about 18 months.  He still mats but not as much.   During that intense matting period I brushed him every night.  It became our time together.  At first he would grow impatient so the grooming sessions were short.  Now I brush him every 3rd to 4th day and he lets out a big sigh then relaxes and endures the brushing (chuckle).  However, during the summer I usually have to brush him every day. We live in a hot climate and if he goes swimming and lies down after he will mat where his wet coat lays on the ground.  If he keeps moving around while drying he may still mat but not nearly as much.

I use a Safari wire brush and a steel comb.  I do have to cut out mats some times.  

I love the shaggy look and Hurley's groomer says it is perfect for him even in summer.  

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Some dogs mat only during this coat change and some mat forever!  Ned matted badly from about 7 months to about 2 years.  Now, he still mats but I am not brushing daily and can even go a couple of weeks between brushings with mats that can be brushed out.  I slice through the worst ones and use products designed to help get the mats out.  Cowboy Magic, Horse Mane 'n tail Detangler are two that I use, but there are others.  I also use a high quality brush (LesPouchs slicker) and a steel comb to make sure I get all the way down to the skin. My dh holds and snuggles Ned while I brush/comb.

[Patti Golden]

Boone went through this also.  He is almost 16 months old now and I started noticing it around a year or so.  I would have him all brushed out, or so I thought, and the next day he'd have mats.  Same thing happened when I would take him to the groomers.  He seemed to be mat free and next day matted.  So I went to a different groomer and they told me it was because his puppy hair hadn't shed out and it was matting where the adult hair was growing in.  They couldn't believe I'd never had him shaved.  So I agreed to have them shave him, specifying to leave him as long as they possibly could but still get the mats out.  To my horror he came out SHEERED.  It is finally growing out a little (this has been about 2 months ago he was clipped) and his hair is coming in curly where before it was soft and wavy.  At least it seems this coat won't mat.  And he's finally starting to look cute like a teddy bear again.  He looked like a totally different dog when he was first clipped.  

[Judith and Griffin]

Thanks for all the suggestions and information!  I looked up "line brushing" and Griffin doesn't mind it at all for the areas that don't mat but he won't but up with it on his chest at all (horrid mat) or belly for long.  Blah...

We'll keep working at it...

[Bonnie and Kona]

You will probably need to cut the mats out. Be very careful not to catch his skin.

[Dynamite & Doodle]

My mom has a standard poodle and she showed me a trick for getting mats out easily without leaving short/bald patches. A solid metal comb (called a greyhoud comb) is great for getting right down to the skin. If the comb can't go through easily, feel for the mat with your fingers and then take a pair of scissors and slice through (with just the lower blade) the mat away from the skin. Poke the scissors carefully under the mat and then pull them up through the mat away from the skin in the direction of hair growth. Make a few slices like this to break up the mat and then comb it out from the bottom up. This works really well for me and I like that you can't tell where the hair was cut to get rid of the mat. My puppy isn't worried about it either, he sits/lies nice and still while I'm cutting through the mats and he gets some little treats when each one is done. he seems to understnd it's helping him.

P.S. he is 8.5 months and getting mats daily in a few spots, mostly where his boots and snowsuit rub the hairs together. His ears are prone to them too.

[Judith and Griffin]

Oooh new technique - that sounds really good. Thank you! I just have these visions of him being shaved over half his body due to all this matting!! :-(

[Evelyn Sorensen]

We had a heck of a time with matting with our  Lexy when she was a pup . She brought me to tears a few times just being over whelmed with all the mats . The best thing I did was get tons of info from our groomer and kept her coat short until we could get the mats under control . She is now 18 months old  and it's not as bad . I have found grooming her every second day keeps her mat free. I know this sounds like a lot but  it's 15 to 20 min and we are done . She now looks forward to getting groomed and I'm much happier with now mats .   We now have a second  doodle   Jada and she is 8 months old  and I have yet to see a mat on her . her fur is thicker and doesn't seem to mat , she gets groomed  every second day also so she is use to it  too. Hang in there  it will get better

[Kelly & Zoe]

Zoe is an F1B, so she always has had some mats since she came home at 9 weeks.  We've always brushed her every 3-4 days to keep on top of them.  I think she's now going through the coat change too (7 1/2 months) as the mats have become more pronounced.  We use a de-tangler called Tropiclean that works pretty well: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000634IUO/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_....  And it smells nice too.  You can use it on wet or dry coats.  Last time we had her groomed we had her cut pretty short and I miss the shaggy look.  She doesn't care though, and I think she appreciates not having us have to comb through so many mats.  We also had the groomer shave the tops of her feet.  Since we hike a lot, burs were a real problem, but with the shaved feet, she hardly gets them now.  She does look more poodle than doodle now though.