The Dreaded Coat Change....Is it Over?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

For the past few weeks it has been much easier to groom Guinness.  He is not forming mats anywhere near the way he had been.  It is only taking me about 5 minutes a day to comb him out.  If there is a mat, it's small, and I can either comb it out easily or cut slightly into in with my thinning shears and then comb in out.  I am still getting the "downy" baby coat in the comb, but again much less that in the past.  His coat is actually longer than it had been...about 2 to 2.5 inches.  Is it possible that at 15 months he's through the coat change, and this is the way it's going to be going forward?  If that's the case, I'll be so excited! 

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

Jane, for your sake, I hope it is. :-) Generally, it has taken my dogs 18 months-2 years for their adult coat to finally settle in. All dogs are different, though.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

When the adult coat is finally in, does that pretty much eliminate the matting?

[Susan and Sasha]

I am eagerly awaiting the answer to this!!
Sasha is 13 months now...and I just can't keep up with it!!!!

I am just about ready to take her to a groomer and have her get a "summer cut"...but...my fear is that that will actually mean getting shaved!! UGH!!

I have been working diligently with her mats...and with the LePooch Brushes...and most of all...patiently with Cowboy Magic...and...I am getting sooooooo discouraged!!!!

I am praying that the "MAGIC AGE IS TWO"!! LOL...

That gives me...more time....and more hope...(smile)

I am so happy for you...that you are only taking 5 minutes to groom Guinness...WOW!!

Where Oh Where do you get those thinning shears??

I have found a number of "mentors" on DK...and am sooooo thrilled to learn everything I can...

I'm excited for you...and hope that this will be the "norm" for you...

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I was fighting an incredibly difficult battle with the mats until these past few weeks. I'll tell you I did give up on all the brushes, including my Le Pooch. I have found a comb to be much better for Guinness. I believe I got the thinning shears at either Pet Smart or Petco. They work great, because you can cut into the mat without having to actually cut out the hair. Then it's easy to get the mat out. The comb is "wide tooth" and it clearly doesn't hurt him the way the brushes did, because he'll lay quietly while I comb him. It may be helpful if you can get Sasha cut down to about an inch or a little more and "dematted" by the groomer, and then go from there. I would definitely try the comb...I've found it to be so much easier. If this is really the end of the coat change, and this is the way it's going to be, I feel like I just won the lottery.

[Susan and Sasha]

I TOTALLY know what you mean!!
I have been using Cowboy Magic...with ONLY my hands...for days and days..and days....trying to get the mats out...and not turn Sasha off to the whole thing...
I do love the comb that I bought...with the handle...but...darn it...I left it in South Carolina...and we are in New Jersey now! Ugh!
I will be RUNNING to Pet Smart to get the thinning shears..VERY SOON...thank you so very much!!
I have been having "nightmares" of Sasha being "sheared"...and I have been working like a "Crazy Woman" trying to get "every" mat out of her coat!! But...I just can't seem to do it!!
So...my dear friend...as far as the lottery goes...I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT GIRLFRIEND!! LOL...

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

The steel comb is the ONLY thing that had been working on Peri's matts - Les Pooch wasn't even good enough. I am with you. I threw up my hands and had her cut to an inch and since then, I have combed her once in 2 weeks - not one matt. We are at 13 1/2 months and she wasn't anywhere close to being through the change (I don't think)....hope it gets better.....

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I use both a slicker brush and the comb. Some parts of Ned can be combed without brushing first but others really need the slicker brush smoothing out the little tangles. Ned is groomed between 3 weeks and 8 weeks depending upon whether he seems harder to groom.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ned still mats! He mats less and usually I can comb them out, but .... he still mats. I don't have to groom him every other day - every 3 days or so. But..... he still mats. I thought I would try an undercoat rake - well it was easier to comb. Of course I was pulling out lots of hair and it didn't do a thorough job. Oh did I tell you HE STILL MATS!!! :(

[ej]

Koda started his coat change (serious matts overnight) last Oct/Nov, he will be 2 years old this Auguest. And I still have to comb him at least a couple of times/week to prevent the tangles... I don't know if they are actually matts because these are unlike those we got on him last year, the matts were very close to his skin, almost impossible to put a comb through them. Now I could easier untangle these little bundles which are formed further down the length of his hair. I would also describe them as "downy" (almost cotton like) texture... I wonder if these are baby coat which would eventually go away completely OR are these actually his undercoat, which are permanent?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ned's mats are different now too. They are more "combable" and I rarely need to slice through them before combing. They aren't to the skin either. He also has little pin knots that are attached to hair that is ready to come out.

[Susan and Sasha]

Sasha is thirteen months old now...and...the mats are almost "too much to bare"!!
They started "overnight"...and she went from no mats at all...to...Mats...Mats...and more Mats!!!!
I had no idea of what was happening...since I didn't know anything about a "coat change"...and I didn't understand why the fur on her back was beginning to "look different"??!!
I thought it was just starting to get "dry" from the heat being on in the winter! LOL...
Oh...how naive was I??!!
As of now...Sasha has a fleece coat on her legs...her magnificant tail...her head...and...she seems to have more of a wool coat on her neck...and all of the way down her back to her tail.
I am having such a difficult time keeping up with the mats...that I can't even put words to it...and...I am now using Cowboy Magic to get as many Mats out that I can...before I take her for her first..Professional Grooming!
Up until now...I have been her groomer...thank you very much!! (smile)
I am sooooo nervous to have someone else groom her...as I love her long beautiful coat...BUT...I have just about had it with the MATS!!
I am thinking that it might be best to get her trimmed down...and then get a fresh start...
My only "fear" is that they will have to "shave" her...and then she won't look like my girl anymore!!
I just don't know how long I can keep putting it off...trying to get the mats out...so they won't have to shave my pretty girl!! (smile)
Oh...What To Do??!!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Mostly these are what Luca gets and I just clip them out with scissors. He's lucky to get groomed every few weeks.I think Calla won't be much of a problem when she finishes with her coat change.