More matting then I realized.. I need advice

[Denise & Sophie]

Please forgive me for posting here. I have my DIL here to help me and she feels more then my numb finger tips do.. Sophie is getting her first body grooming Thursday and we are trying to get these mats out. I bought a conditioner and detangler and a detangler comb. Sophie is 10 months and going through the coat change. Would bathing her and conditioning her real good help getting them out? I feel really stupid right now and like I am a bad doodle mother.. I brush her 2 times a week but must not be doing it right. If we can't get her unmatted I am canceling her apt till we get th out. I don't want her shaved short. :( thanks for any suggestions...

[Ginny Nightingale]

I groom doodles and have had plenty of experience with the coat change--I agree with all that has been said and when they come to me matted, I do not shave them unless they are really bad. (One poor guy was 14 months old and had not been groomed in 6 months--he had a mat the size of a grapefruit on his neck and I did have to shave most of his body.) Bathing will solidify the mats--do not do that.

Anyway, you MUST get all the way down to the skin as some have said but that will be much easier after his grooming--then you can start doing it right. In the meantime, take a sharp scissor, pull the mat away from the body as much as you can and insert the scissor into the mat with the blades parallel to the body--not pointing down at the skin. Clip thru the mat then move the scissor over a bit and clip again--do this a few more times in the matted area. Then take a steel comb and comb the clipped area--most of the mat should be loosened now and can pull out. You can also cut the hair shorter and then try to get the mats out--the groomer will even it all out on Thursday.

There will be areas where it might just be too hard to get it all out. A good groomer can shave those small areas without doing the whole body that short. It is usually in the area of the armpits, the chest and behind the ears. Also on the rump where they sit all the time it might be matted. If you cut the hair short in those areas with scissors, then it is easier to pull out the remaining mats and finally use the clippers. So, hopefully, the groomer will do that. I only do one dog a day, so I can take my time.

Good luck!! Remember--it grows back--and fast!

[Colleen, Jake & Baxter]

I understand that you do not want to have Sophie shaved but please realize that mats can be very painful for a dog.  If they can not easily be cut out my opinion is that it would be better to have her shaved and be on top of it when her hair grows back out again.  My Jake came to me terribly matted at 11 months of age and needed to be shaved extremely close.  He is older now but his hair grew back beautifully.  I wish you all the best!

[Ginny Nightingale]

That is true, Colleen and I almost said that too--but i can tell you that it can be done if done gently and with patience. The dogs that i have groomed that have been matted have not been in pain because the mats were gently cut out rather then tugged out. Once the mat is loose from the hair, it does not hurt. But, you do have to be sure to stay away from the skin and that can be a challenge for a novice. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think Colleen means the mats themselves are very painful for the dog if not removed. Matted hair pulls the skin.

[Colleen, Jake & Baxter]

Thanks Karen that is exactly what I meant.  As I mentioned Jake was so badly matted his skin was pulled from them.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

If it is only the under the ears area that you cannot get the mats out, explain to the groomer that you want that area only shaved.  Holding the ear straight up you can shave from the ear canal all the way around to where the back of the ear and neck and head meet and never see it unless you hold their ears up and look for it.

I keep my dogs shaved down from late April, early May through about October for swimming in southern California.  I leave their heads about an inch long and tails a bit longer.  Even when they are grown out in the winter I still shave under the ear as I explained.  That area really mats badly on both my dogs.

I think shaved doodles look darling and feel even better, like velvet really.  I enjoy the change between close cut and grown out.

 

 

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Sophie will probably come home from the groomer feeling like a million bucks!  Let them take her down and get rid of the mats - the hair will grow back before you know it.  Charlie's hair was five inches long when I had him cut down at 1 yr. old and he acted like it was the best thing ever!  Now I keep him about 2 inches all over so he can play in his little pool, etc.  Just so much easier.  Whatever you do, do not bath her - that will only make it worse. 

Good luck. 

[Denise & Sophie]

Thanks so much for all your replies. You all have made me feel better. I was in such shock when my DIL felt what I couldn't feel. I will be buying new tools. No matter how she comes home she will still be my baby..lol.. we also have a pool which means she will be wet a lot so maybe shorter is better summer.

[Moe]

Post a photo after her grooming. :)

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Would love to see a photo of her after her grooming appt. 

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Coming late to the party. I think you will be better off having her shaved down. Don't worry, most of us had to do it once then we learned. Daisy had it done at 1-1/2 years, her first. It was a shock but we all got over it and now we know to keep ahead of it all.

I feel like trying to get matts out that are close to the skin is much worse than just letting her get shaved. Any groomer who knows doodles knows the puppy coat change causes matts, she won't look down on you.

I promise, once you see her (and get over the shock) you will think she is cute, especially her skinny little legs.

:0)

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I agree with the shaving under the ears. It really is the best option for any doodle especially if they are Swimmers. The shaved area allows for more air to get into the ears and keeps the ears dryer after swimming g or baths. And you really can't see it, even of the rest of the head is much longer. I shave under ears just as I do the sanitary cuts on butts and tummies. Another area that is prone to matting is the tail if it's longer, and I find most dont like their tails brushed and combed much, so that is one area I suggest good maintenance as well. A shaved tail really is pretty strange looking on a doodle.