matted face hair...shave his face?!?
 

Milo's coat seems nice and silky...until you take a closer look at his face. His "cheek" hairs are MATTED at the roots (the ends look fine). I normally groom him myself, but I don't know what to do about this. I've been putting off calling the groomers because I'm afraid of what they'll say. I worked up the courage to call today and they said it -- shave him :eek: I wouldn't mind if it's his body hair, but this is his FACE. He won't even look like himself anymore.. What does a yorkie even look like without facial hair??? Does anyone have pictures??

I don't even know how his face hair got so tangled while the rest of his body is fine. I've been trying to cut out the mats but it seems like I would eventually end up cutting away all his facial hair. Plus, I think he's getting annoyed that I keep touching his face and coming at it with scissors...siigh...I guess he's off to the groomers...unless you guys have another idea?

I know about cowboy magic, but he won't tolerate the comb on his face long enough for it to work its "magic"...

...If we do end up getting his face shaved, should we shave the rest of his body to match? His coat is about 4 inches long and so pretty, it would be a waste :( but I don't want him to look funny either...

its a shame it got that bad. its a hard place to work on dematting because its so sensitive. Most groomers will shave it because its easier on the dog and submits them to less "torture". since he doesn't even like the comb on his face i doubt he'll like the other options.

and you want to be very careful about going at his face with scissors especially since the mats are already to the skin.

what you can try is some cornstarch on the mat. rub it in and try to pull apart the mat. you'll need to use the comb to "pick" at it too.

depending on where it is on his cheek the groomer might be able to hide it with other hair or leave the smallest bald spot possible.