knots in hair!!
 

ok ...finally determined to tackle Brunos matted hair...from my reading, im convinced he has a cotton coat..Its fine and see through but wooly texture at roots.....He doesn't let me comb him in bath with the conditioner...yesterday i gave him a bone and he finally was distracted enough that i tried to comb out each tangle..I didn't realize how bad it was ...It knots and matts at root so easily...Im afraid i pulled out a lot of his hair..he is only four months...will his hair change as he get older? am I doing damage by combing all knots outs? big chunks of his hair has come out...he eats royal canin and i use yorkie splash..i feel that he just has really bad hair.. Im afraid that if i continue to comb out his hair he will be bald....any grooming suggestions????

You comb dry? Use a spray bottle with conditioner and water and metal comb/brush. And more than once a day. So if you can't get his whole body you can do it the next combing. Just little at a time till he gets use to it. Then he will let you after you get a routine.

Once you bathe a coat that is already matted you have got a mess on your hands. If possible it is best to spray the mats with a good detangler first and then give a bath on a tangle free coat.
Amazon.com: The Stuff Silicon Dog Conditioner and... This spray has been used for years with pretty good success. I wouldn't use it as a regular thing but it is great for mats.

Once you finally get him mat free make sure you comb him everyday if he needs it or not. Even if you are going to keep his fur short he needs to learn to be groomed.

I'm not sure if your dog food has omega 3's in it but if it does not you might want to consider adding an omega 3 supplement to his diet. Also make sure when you bathe him that you rinse very well to get all shampoo and conditioner out or it can leave flakes.

When Gracie was a young puppy I usually had someone to help me when I had to bathe her or trim her nails (for her own safety) If you can't enlist anyone then just take it a little at a time. Hope you can make some headway on him. Sounds like you are going to need some extra conditioning with his coat and combing on a regular basis.

my Emy is exactly the same age, and her hair is doing exactly the same thing. I brush her gently with a brush that has plastic tips and the mats come out, chunks of hair also, but her hair seems to be turning silky underneath, and the chunks that are coming out are the puppy cotton stuff. Her hair is turning silver at the roots and the mats that are getting brushed out are black, think she's changing color and its becoming fine and silky. Her hair from her head to her shoulders is silky now and turning a silverish and from her shoulders on back its the cottony fluffy stuff, so I brush her every day a couple times a day and I'm gaining on the mats, and her hair is becoming smooth, except on her back legs I need to get that, she doesn't like to be brushed there, but the roots are silverish and the tips are black. ...

I like coat handler conditioner. Dunno if there better stuff. But alot of locals use it. It's a 15-1 mix and u can use it 100% as a de tangler. No lanolins,silicone or oil. Can be use for hotspots works real well. Good priced. And use a metal brush with no tips. Tips pull the hair out. Brush ,then brush and then brush, Part of owning a Yorkie. If you give them a short cut. Still need daily brushing. All dogs do.

You may be able to find one at your local pet store but the Greyhound combs are excellent quality and last forever.

At 4 months, you are probably dealing with puppy coat which is prone to matting and has a terrible texture.

I would trim at least the edges off. It could take a year or more to determine the actual quality of his coat.

To combat matting, use a good conditioner. For detangling, use something that gives the hair "slip." There are so many great choices from corn starch (use dry on dry coat) to my favorite, Pet Silk Silk Serum. Some people like Cowboy Magic or brushing sprays.

For severe tangles, I like to use the pic on the Madan rat tail comb and carefully pick apart the mat. I bought mine from Jenny (Mimimomo) at her store toplinepet.com

I also like using a good metal comb, taking a small section of hair and starting at the bottom and working my way up.

I use brushes and combs.All metals ones. Thats what I like. I use
Chris Christensen combs/brushes. just because if something goes wrong with it. At the Dog shows they will replace them for free.
Sure any style will work. I just like to support Dog show vendors.
Also he's maybe still blowing off his puppy coat. maybe thats why it's tangles. Just brush,brush ,brush....Now brush brush is a term I use...... means the same as comb ,comb ,comb :)

thank you for all your replies...I do use a quality metal grooming comb...Im now making it my obsession to get as much mats as possible everyday..im afraid that i have let his coat get into a mess because i felt like i was hurting him with the slicker or metal comb... i dont think the yorkie splash conditioner is working...im going to try the silicone one as suggested..he is a baby and i hope that it gets better..i tend not to brush because i feel like it just glides over mats and does nothing...I will ask vet about supplements..Oh and by the way Im embarrassed to say that im a cosmetologist and you would think that I wouldn't let my doggy's hair get so bad...I will comb Bruno's hair everyday and try to keep on top of the mats. He will have to learn to have patience because he is so hyper...

Oh yeah I forgot to mention that Im constantly trimming his hair to keep it neat..especially around his bum bum...

Wow your describing Bruno's coat exactly!!His hair looks like when a women gets a cap hilite!! lol

He will just little at a time. I don't like conditioner with silicone because it gets build up ime. In human products it's not so bad because we usually wash our hair everyday. But whatever works for you. No silicone in this coat
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f9...-pro-small.jpg

I have the Yorkie Shine detangler and that works pretty good. I brush & comb every day. When I come across a matt that won't come out, I take my small round tipped scissors and just cut the matt out. I usually wait until Lucy is lying down and I'm petting her. She'll let me pet her forever.

I keep the scissors near by so when I get to the matt and pull it apart as much as possible so that only a little matted ball is left, I snip it.:D

Best wishes, Tracey

Puppy hair is different from adult hair when Callie was a pup I had to have her shaved and start all over because I didn't want to hurt her. I would suggest having him shaved and start fresh because combing at mats can hurt them and rip a lot of there hair out and tug at there skin.

I started mine out from their very first day at home with us, getting brushed and combed. I always dampen with a good conditioner mixed with water so that I am not working on a dry coat. I am a firm believer that yorkies need brushing a couple times a day to keep the mats out. Grooming is like any part of their training it takes consistency. If you only took them outside once a week they would never get house broken. Same with grooming. Good luck .

Have you tried the wooden pin brushes - they are helpful with tangles.

:thumbup:
I took 5 babies to my brothers beach house...add to that puppy fur, cockle burrs!!!! I had the worse mess I have ever encountered in my life, as far as coats are concerned....I fianlly got so frustrated trying to comb all those babies out, and getting no where fast, I shaved them all! I was absolutely sick! But they all grew back in silky, which was what was under all that puppy fur, and they are to this day beautiful! So I am thinking it may be better to shave them down and start over if you are stressing the puppy (and your self!) out too much....you dont want to ruin him on grooming!

update...I finally have Bruno mat free!! its taken a couple of days..a lot of hair has come out but i can now glide a comb through his hair..im still learning about him...overall he was a trooper...im sure it wasn't comfortable for him for me to constantly pull his knots out but his coat looks better!! he looks a little greasy from all the spray detangler...im glad that i didn't have to shave him...

I'm so glad you got finished combing him out. I use the Yorkie Splash and shine products....shampoo, conditioner and the detangle spray. It works great for Gracie's silky coat but I can see how it might not be enough for a cotton coat or a coat that is badly matted. The silicone spray is made especially for mats but probably should not be used on a regular basis or you could end up with a greasy looking coat. Now that he is mat free combing and brushing him daily hopefully will keep his coat clear of tangles.

I find that spraying Gracie's ends after her bath helps to keep her fur from tangling between baths. If she does get a bit tangled after being outside I will spray the area again before trying to comb it out.

Hope things go smooth for you from here out.

Knots in Fur
 

Hi I've just come across your message about matted hair in your 4 mth old boy. Well by now he is older & has a lovely coat?
I am now going through the same thing. My little girl is almost 4mths and is also hyper. Her hair has suddenly changed and become matted.& knotted. I haven't been brushing her as often as it seems I should. i have also had a stint in hosp because of a fall and hubby took good care of her but not grooming. I don't really know anything about a cotton coat but her hair seems quite long and is not silky. She is running around and it looks like she got a fright as it stands up:) Yesterday we bought a metal comb. But what I'm learning here is she should be dampened with a mixture of water and conditioner..is that right? I got a bit mixed up with all the different advice :) How did you manage with your little boys knots any advice from anyone will be welcome. Tks Ax :aimeeyork

Tangled hair
 

Hi You seem to have Gracie's coat down to a fine art..I am just starting now at almost 4mths with a lot of matts and knots. i was in hospital for a while and hubby who is so good with her looked after. But he's not big on grooming. So now where do I begin? I have a metal comb. I was going to bath her and put quite a lot of conditioner on her and then try and comb out the knots? What would you say is best? She is quite a hyper little girl and doesn't enjoy bathing at all. Do you dry Gracie with a hairdryer. Hollee is very scared of it but I put it on low power and soft heat but must dry her as its rainy and cold outside.
Tks..hope you have a great day Ax :aimeeyork:rose:

Iv'e just seen your update. So you did get there. My hubby has gone out to buy some hair detangler from the pet shop. Hope it works for me..I understand the necessity of shaving when they are bad..but I really want to try and just de-knot her and keep her fur on;) I know these messages were posted a while ago and maybe you all won't even get them but I am going through this now. Thanks for any advice I get :) Ax :aimeeyork

Oh shame..I can only imagine your horror & difficulty in getting there coats right. Shaving sounds like it was the best solution for you :) Ave xx:aimeeyork

I recommend u take ur baby to a profesional groomer to take all the matted out, then u can star from scratch with him, to comb his hair every day and dont let it matt i know is hard when they have the puppy coat but is a MUST. Bc when it get matted it hurts them after a wile if not fixed.. How often do u bathe him?

Icky puppy hair! LOL when Joel was a puppy I didn't keep up with the brushing and really didnt even know what matting was, until one day I looked and thought WOW, thats what matting hair looks like! Then it took me a whole week to de-mat him, that was a loooong week:D

If your pet's fur is matted to the skin you may have no other option than to have it shaved. I cringe as I say that because where I live it is getting quite cold.

If the mats are not close to the skin you can spray the mat with a good conditioning spray and slowly pick through the mat with the metal comb starting at the very bottom end of it. Some people like to gently rub corn starch into the mat before trying to comb. You can use one or the other but not both products on the same mat.

If you have a puppy that hates grooming try working for short periods of time and give a small healthy treat at the end of the session. The idea is to get the dog to learn to at least tolerate the comb being run through the fur. Try picking the pup up frequently during the day if only for a minute or two. Puppies that are not accustomed to being handled need extra work at accepting human contact. The more you do it the sooner they will accept handling.

If a mat is really bad but not next to the skin you could try cutting it out. If you feel you can't comb through the mat cutting it out may be the kindest way to deal with it. When I groom Gracie's feet I use small round tipped scissors. They are much safer than traditional scissors when working close to the skin and may prevent an accidental poke.

Many times puppy fur is shorter and people assume that it does not need to be combed. Comb anyway because it is good training for the puppy to be prepared for a lifetime of grooming. Even if you are going to keep your dog cut down it is going to need to be accepting of grooming. Many dogs get hurt at the groomers because they freak out when a groomer tries to handle them. For your dog's own safety train it to accept grooming daily.

Puppy coat does change at about 8 to 10 months of age. Until then you just don't know what you will end up with.

Thank you so much for advice. My husband bought a de-tangle shampoo with lanolin in and it seemed to help her coat..but I had also added conditioner to her coat. I tried combing her with a metal fine comb being very careful not to hurt her at the skin level. but she freaked out & is a hyper little thing anyway. She was scared of the comb. i couldn't do much with her at all.
I would be worried to take her to a dog groomer. They may hurt her and she would be so unhappy and scared being left their.
No I will have to try as you say little at a time with treats. I will also cut off mattes that are bad.
Thank you for advice
Luv Ave :aimeeyork

How old was Joel when you first noted the matting? Mine is scared of the comb..hates bathing..and so jumps around so fast its impossible to do to much with her. :( xx :aimeeyork

It would probably solve my problem but I am to worried to leave her there with them..so I think I must struggle on:(:aimeeyork

I use a tangle teaser brush on any hair mats , it seems to the knots out without the hassle , Tangle Teezer the Detangling Hair Care Brand here a link to the website, although its a human product I think it works very well.