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!)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

F.
I have an old, old, cheap pair of nail scissors with a blunt curved tip. They are small, light, and with the blunt tip I don't panic about stabbing Ned. I have been trying to find a similar pair and haven't found a match but there are some that are close.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I'm not too worried about stabbing Luca since I'm always carefully slicing outward but I need something with more leverage I think. I used to use nail scissors, the graduated to trimming shears and now think it's time to move on. Of course, I'm always secretly thinking that the mats are gone forever after a good grooming but the mat gremlin has other ideas.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Yea, I thought Ned was done matting. I do wonder if the EPO helps because I slacked off on his for a while when we were changing foods, so maybe...... now that I am using it again it might make a difference.

[Christine & Shelby]

I am beginning to think more and more that Shelby is beginning her coat change... I have found 3 new problem areas already this evening... and the are in the armpit areas - which I have read is a common area for them to develop. Oh boy... I don't know if I am ready for this - but ready or not... here it comes. I guess the good news is I was planning on getting Shelby a summer cut.... I live in Texas and I can tell she is already struggling and the hottest it's been is 79 or 80 degrees.... 100 plus humidity will clearly be too much.

Other puppy owners in HOT and HUMID climates... how did you trim puppy for the summer? Short... or shave?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Few people shave unless they must. Shaving leaves the dog open to sunburn among other things. You can get your doodle trimmed down to about 3/4 to 1" but do look at pictures of doodles on here so that you can see that the legs are kind of belled etc.