When I brought Bogey home from the shelter, I stopped at Petco to see if they could trim his nails. The groomer told me to use a cheap conditioner like Suave directly on the mats and to comb him. It actually work! His coat was so bad I applied Suave conditioner right to his coat in a big glob right on top of the mat and combed out several matts. He still needed to be shaved because he was a mess but it really helped with all the matts the poor guy had.
I learned my lesson when I first had Pebbles. She was getting a weekly bath and I was brushing her but using a people brush and comb. I didn't realize that she was matted all around her neck until I took her to the groomer and she needed to be shaved because of her matts. The groomer told me that each time I was bathing her and not brushing/combing properly she was getting more and more matted~like dreadlocks! Since I purchased the proper grooming tools, she no longer is matted and her hair is growing out nicely. I haven't had any problems with Doodlebug since I learned my lesson the hard way. He did have one little matt on his leg and used the conditioner on combed right through it~no problems.
Make sure after you use the brush to also comb close the skin. Here are a few links of the type of comb and brush that I use:
Finishing Touch Coarse Tooth Comb for Dogs at PETCOhttp://www.petco.com/product/15411/F... Dogs at PETCO
Then I finish with a very fine tooth comb which they didn't have a picture of to show you, but it looks just like the other but very fine teeth. You can purchase them anywhere Walmart, Petco, Petsmart. I just used the links for a good picture.
Hope this was helpful!
Jodi