Good Conditioner to prevent Mats ??

[Sharon & Levi]

Hi  Does anyone have a favorite conditioner they like ?  My doodle is curly, and mats

daily.  I have about 5 brushes, and several conditioners but nothing has worked.

It gets to the point where I have to take mats out just to have him groomed, or they

cut them out "the wrong way"

[Bonnie and Kona]

I have to highly recommend the Les Pooch Brushes sold by Kemp at Doodlecountry.com. He is a member here and will give you great advice on which one to get. Kona used to be so difficult for me to manage and now that I have the Les Pooch Brush it is infinitely easier. The brush costs a LOT of money but it is worth every single penny. Also, look up the discussions in this group on "line brushing". For Kona I thought I was brushing him well until I learned about line brushing. It is a technique where you brush a small portion at a time and then comb that portion. It gets the hair brushed out all of the way to the skin. Any other kind of brushing just smoothes out the top of the coat but you never really get to the skin. I believe that may be why you are getting mats every day. There are wonderful groomers in this group who can advise you better but maybe this is a quick start. Hope you have great luck with Levi's coat from now on.

[Bonnie and Kona]

I just went to your page. I wonder if Levi has hit "The Dreaded Coat Change!" That is a whole new discussion. Please look up coat change in this group to find out about that. If he is I notice you have photos of him up to 11 months. This could be the source of your problem. It is when the adult coat begins to grow into the puppy coat and gets tangled in at the root.

[Sharon & Levi]

He is 13 mos so maybe that is it.   He has never been this way before, I brush him twice a day, and use silk spirits and ice on ice..    They are more like knots. They are mostly in a specific area, neck, elbows, shoulders.   I am going to have him groomed a little shorter next week and maybe that will help.  I would love to keep him long, but not with mats.   Thanks

[Sharon & Levi]

HI- Levi has been going through a coat change since 6 mos.  I wonder if that is it.  The mats are more

like dreadlocks at the base of the coat.  I just posted a new picture, and today he is being groomed

shorter...hope this will help too.

[Elizabeth, Bailey & Bruin]

Bailey has a long loose wavy coat and I have been using Fur Butter by Happy Tails...Love it...her hair is like silk!!! and it also conditions her skin at the same time. 

 

Good luck!

[Patti]

My Willow had "maybe" just a few mats in the same area, neck, elbows, shoulders, even though I comb her everyday.

When I picked her up at the groomers yesterday, she was shaved down to her skin. Except for her tail and ears, face.

I almost cried, but the groomer said she was covered in mats.   NOT!

Has anyone used "Survivor , by EQYSS

[Bonnie and Kona]

Oh Patti, I am so sorry. You will not believe how often this happens to doodles. I always combed Kona right down to the skin before taking him to the groomer. Now I groom him myself. I think that doodles can seem completely mat free until you learn to line brush (which also involves combing). That was certainly true of me anyway. I do not have to line brush Owen because he sheds a little and doesn't mat. But because I've had Kona longer, I have learned that it is even good to do on non-matting dogs. It just is a way to be sure that the brush is going all the way to the skin.

[K and Racey]

Patti- I would have cried if I were you. Poor Willow!

I never take Racey to the groomer for this reason. Have you tried grooming yourself? I always do it outside on the lawn in shorts and a sportsbra/tank top. When I first started it took me about 40 minutes, but I started doing it weekly with the buzzer set on long so that Racey just got a tiny trim and I could get better at it. Now I can do it in about 10-15 minutes.

[Patti]

MYSELF????? OH... S**T.  Never, Willow would never forgive me.

[Sharon & Levi]

oh my !!!  poor Willow

[Sharon & Levi]

Amazon has Richards Organics..  I will check it out, THANKS

[Sharon & Levi]

I ordered Richards as well.  Cant have too many grooming products, and we all love our Doodle coats :)