Matting Madness!

[Laura & Sophie Doodle]

I have a soon-to-be 1 year old F1 doodle (her birthday is Wednesday!) with a coat that has been such a pain to deal with lately! It seems like literally within a couple of weeks her coat became MUCH thicker (more so in some spots than others) and that she develops a new mat just as soon as I brush out an old one. I was brushing her once- twice a week but I realize that I need to increase that to pretty much daily brushings now. Her hair also comes out in "clumps" when I comb it and she seems to be shedding a little bit now which she never used to do. 

Is this the "coat change" that everyone talks about? If so, is this just a phase or will her coat always be this difficult from here on out? 

I attached two photos: One of her coat and one of the crazy amount of fur that comes off of her when she's combed in only 3/4 of a session!

Any info would be great! Thanks!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Yup, coat change!  It seems like you blink and there are new mats.  Just keep brushing and combing.  I keep my dogs fairly long, but when Ned was matting  the most, we kept it a bit on the shorter side. Ned matted badly until he was about 2 and then his coat has gradually matted less and less - I can brush him once a week or even once in two weeks. He still mats but mostly I can comb or slice them out.   Ned has a much thicker and more poodley coat than your Sophie, but matting is matting.

[Laura & Sophie Doodle]

Thanks for giving me hope that it should get better! Matting is such a pain! Your pups are adorable!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thank you. 

[Jan and Jake]

Oh, Sophie. Jake had a terrible time with matting too. We didn't get that much hair combed out and the groomer kept taking him shorter and shorter so that we could keep up with the mats. He will be 2 in mid-December and its getting easier so we have let him grow our a tiny bit.  It was so bad that we couldn't keep up.  You saw how short he was!  We were going to let him grow out but I like the shorter hair now. 

[Laura & Sophie Doodle]

I remember how short he was but he is adorable! I understand why you like it :) I may have to trim Sophie soon but I just like her fluffy look so much.. dilemma! lol

Let's get together again soon!

[Bonnie and Kona]

If you get her hair cut short through the coat change it will be much easier on both of you. Then in a few months you can try letting it grow longer again. I am grateful Kona was clipped short. It gave me the opportunity to learn line brushing and he wasn't being tortured by the long and painful mat pulling. It's something to consider.

[Christy&Riley]

Wow! She looks very much like Riley and has the exact same coat. Riley is 18 months and every day she creates new mattes. I still have clumps like your pic when I brush. I can't seem to keep up with it. Unfortunately I can't offer any tips but I definitely empathize!!!

[Christy&Riley]

Here's a pic to show the coat resemblance.

[Laura & Sophie Doodle]

Oh no! I don't like to hear that but I'm glad someone feels my pain! :) They look like such TWINS.. How cute! How big is Riley? Sophie is topping out at 50 lbs.

[Christy&Riley]

I showed Sophie's picture to my husband and he thought it was Riley until he realized the floor wasn't ours. :-) She is 36 pounds. She made it up around 38 at one point. She is all hair and looks completely different when wet. Glad she didn't end up being 100 pounds like some doodles.