Matted up Mia :( Help!
 

So I had been adament about having a longer coat on Mia because if not, I wouldn't be able to tell her apart from Geno. Well of course, her coat is high matienance and needs brushed daily which crappy mommy and daddy have not been doing. I know I know, a groomer I visited on Saturday already yelled at me. Like literally she made my bf and I so embarassed cause of how she looked. So we have been hunkering down and getting serious about keeping up with her coat and right now we are in the process of getting all her knots and mats out. She literally has the most coarse coat. Her hair is so much coarser than Geno's who has a smooth, shiney coat. Geno rarely ever needs brushed.

Anyways, now that we are turning a new leaf and getting Mia looking like she should look - simply fabulous - I have been doing a few things and wanted to see if anyone else had any suggestions or tips on things they do as well. I currently am using a little comb and the most amazing product ever - Cowboy Magic - to get her matts and knots out. The groomer told us not to bathe her yet until we get almost all the matts out so we been waiting on that. Basically, I just put a little bit of cowboy magic on any matts I can find and go with my comb and comb out. I still feel ilke maybe I should get a de-matting comb or something.

What do you do if a dog is pretty matted up? Well other than get them completely shaved. That is our last resort and if it does happen, I am trying everything in my power to save her top knot. I spent about an hour Saturday night getting all the matts out of it so I'm thinking if anything, that will be salvaged.

Tibbe just hates having a mat combed out so I just cut him short. He's very active and always into things, wallows a lot, etc. He really didn't mat badly at all but if he did get one under his armpit or something, he just hated my working to get it out, even slowly and carefully and holding gently up by his skin as I combed and brushed the end.

I am having the same problem! My 8 month old has a huge mat on her back and a few others :(. She needs to go to the groomer but I am afraid they will yell at me or not be gentle with her about it. I am trying to get them out and not having a lot of luck. She hates it.

I have good intentions to brush mine everyday but it doesn't always happen. Cali has a very thick coat like Mia. If she gets a few bad mats, I cut them out. Because her hair is so thick you can't even tell. I also try and cut the hair on their underside to help prevent some matting. I also find with washing them every 2 weeks i keep up on them better.

Okay, I know exactly how you feel as this happened with Luma as a puppy and I gave in and got her shaved. Now Rosie still has the coarse, thick puppy coat we are attempting to grow out.

Tips I can give, from experience:
Use a dematting rake. They look scary but really help bad, close to the skin matting.
You want to hook the curved part under the matt and this next part is important: you need to hold the hair right under the rake so that your fingers are a barrier between the rake and her skin. While you turn the hooked end up and work it upwards, use your fingers to pull the hair in the opposite direction (downward) so its muuuuch less painful for her. (Hope that made sense)

Take lots of breaks. Otherwise she'll start crying when you barely touch her. This sounds so bad, but trust me, they will start getting super sensitive and start fearing the rake before you even start in on another matt, so stop to soothe her. Work with a partner, and make sure you aren't holding her so tight that you create other matts from where your hands were, lol.

Take pics when you're all done and make sure you keep up with the daily (or even multiple times a day) brushings!!! And yes, don't be afraid to cut out mats that are in super sensitive places like her tummy.

To me, it sounds like you should be growing Geno's hair long & keep her in a cute Joey/Zhoie cut.
Use a very heavy conditioner weekly, it will help her hair be tangle free for @ least a few days.

Nancy1999 gave me the best tip when Lexi was a few months old. I brushed her diligently twice a day, but her legs were so difficult. Nancy suggested that I condition her legs in between shampooing. No shampoo, just conditioner. It was winter and she didn't go outside so she wasn't dirty. I actually conditioned her whole body with a rich moisturizing conditioner and left it on for about 10 minutes then rinsed well. It honestly was a like a miracle. That one time seemed to change the texture of her coat, especially her legs. I did that several times until her puppy coat grew out. She never matted again after her first conditioning treatment!

I hope this, along with daily brushing/combing will help Mia's coat become more manageable.

Thanks everyone for all the tips!

Still working at it and usually my groomer is a godsent when it comes to getting out her matts so I'm def keeping up on her hair after the grooming so this doesn't happen again - or at least to this extreme. I'm looking to get one of those dematting tools that Carmen talked about. I found one on amazon for cheap. I also am gonna try the conditioning as well.

And Jenny, my bf refuses to give Geno a longer cut. He thinks it's too girly lol Then if they have the same haircut, i'm going to get so confused. Since they look so much alike and don't wear collars in the house, I'd have to keep lifting them up to see which one is which haha

Loll! Is the Madan brush not brushing out the tangles? Are you line brushing?

My one blue madan pin brush works well on the top of her coat but doesn't get out the matts underneath. I use a little comb I've had when I first got Geno, to lightly pull the matts out as well as a tiny dab of Cowboy magic. Once I got most of it out is when I'll use the pin brush to fluff it out. The pink madan rat tail comb has been helping with her top knot once I got it all unmatted.

You should seriously she her face when I brush her though. It is literally the ugliest face ever haha She snarls up her lip at the brush to show her teeth and then tries to bite it, which leads to a little scolding from mommy lol One area got matted so bad that we had to pick it out and it lead to a quarter size bald spot on the back left side. I feel bad and I try to not irritate it anymore cause I know it is bothering her. I really hope it's not a hot spot or anything. My poor lil girly!

You're totally describing Momo loll! He attacks the brush, or scissors, nail clipper, anything to do w/grooming. I use the kiss-e collar Mom to Hot Rod makes. It helps prevent him from seeing the torture device & keeps him safe from sharp objects.
Do you have the Small pin brush or Regular size? Line brushing really helps get all the tangles out. This is what I do for Momo, he has a lot of hair & it's cottony soft, tangles easily so I keep him a shorter cut on his body w/his tail & leg hairs long. I lift up all his leg hairs & start brushing from the bottom, brushing downwards in layers. This way, I'm getting to the root of his hair, closest to the skin. When I encounter a tangle, I snip it off w/ blunt nosed scissors if it's too close to the skin bc if I try to work it out, he starts freaking out & gets too squirmy. If it's a small tangle, I spray a conditioning/detangling spray directly on it & brush it out. Hope that helps!

When i got samson he was 8 weeks old. The oldernhe got he matted alot cause he was a fluffball. He cried when i brushed him. My husband and i ended up shaving him down to start fresh. His hair grew so fast! But now he is older and growing into his silkier coat. I keep him cut short tho.

He Courtney; long time no see. I hope yo and those babies are doing well ! :)

One thing about those cotton coats is you really need to keep up on the brushing with the pups until they grow out their adult coat. If not you have a holy mess on your hands. Its that puppy coat that can tangle and matt up. Especially under the pits and the chest areas and if you are putting clothes on her for long periods of time at this age, that only making it worse. I would suggest brushing her 3-4 times a week and its important that you get deep down all the way down to the skin not just the top coat. Sound like you are getting the matts ok but if you use a spray bottle with a little bit of conditioner (any) mixed with water it works wonders. Spray the matt and than work it around with your fingers breaking up the matt . Than using the tip of the comb drag the matt out. Make sure you hold that hair between what ever tool you are using and the skin. I also use a demitting tool (one without razors) it works very well. Use it the same way as Carmen described above.

One of my favorite grooming tools is a cat brush! I love it, they get down deep without poking the skin and drag out all that loose hair. You can find tips on grooming and pics of the tools that I use on my web site:

Grooming - Dawn's Yorkies

One think that I have found is that some of those leave in conditioners and deodorizers do more harm than good. Some will harden and clump and cause more damage to the hair than when you started. It easier to just bathe them and conditions leavings a smooth coat of the conditioner in to help with grooming process afterwards. And I always keep a spray bottle of water/conditioner on hand.

I was thinking the same thing lol

My breeder recommended using a cat brush too. It does work

I know... I gave both my sister and my mom one and now I've got them both hooked on using them too. :D

My sister now uses them in her grooming shop.

You need to get a good slicker brush. Most of them don't work how they are suppose to but if you buy a good one it will get though anything. Les Poochs has an amazing brush that I LOVE!! As a groomer this is the brush I use everyday. They are pricey but so worth every penny and will brush though any matt. I have tried many other brushes and haven't found one that even compares to it. Also DO NOT wash your dog with the matts. They will set in like cement and you will never get them out. I don't recommend dematting rakes on long coated dogs. They break the hair and it will ruin her coat. Don't feel bad about letting her get matted. It happens. :)

Jenny! I learn something new from you all the time. The kiss-e collar for grooming - scissors and trimmers. GENIOUS!! Is Mom to Hot Rod still around and selling those?

http://kissecollar.com/

They are absolutely the best...

I don't know where she has been I put a shout out to her awhile back....not sure but this is her site...you won't be disappointed

we miss her....

I think she is, her website is still running. I use it for grooming all the time, esp when I'm clipping their nails...not their fav thing.:rolleyes: loll
Thanks for posting Bo's site Lynzy, I miss her too & Maggie May & Hot Rod.

Yeah, I emailed/contacted thru the website last night and it was like 1:30 in the morning. I got a reply from Bo right away. I was shocked. lol

Now, I am trying to decide what fabric to get. :)

ETA: Oops, sorry to kind of threadjack here.

Our groomer told me to use a comb on Princess Sophie, I can brush her when I know ALL the mats are out but not before. I always use a comb.

Also, I have gotten to the point that when she gets mats under her little armpits, I just gently cut them out. You don't see that area unless you turn her over and I think it's just gentler for her. I hated combing those little mats out too!

Thanks everyone for the advice. I scheduled her grooming appt the other day for Aug 3rd and I told the groomer about all her matts and said if you have a hard time with it then you can shave her, just keep the top knot but they are adament about keeping her drop coat. I love the drop coat but I'm not gonna put my little girl through hell just to keep it lol Plus it's hot out now anyways so a shorter coat might be more comfortable on her for the time being. Been looking around at those Les Pooches brushes and I might have to invest in that matt de-sheder thing or whatever you called it. haha I love my Madan brushes so I'll prob be sticking with those also.

And no worries about threadjacking to talk great things about Bo. My pups and I love Bo's Kiss-E collars and Geno always looks the cutest in the bandanas she had made for him :)

One of the tricks I learned on here was to use corn starch with the slicker brush to work them out.

So looks like Mia's knots were so close to the skin that she ended up getting the start of a yeast infection so they felt it'd be better to shave her all off. I agreed and now my little baby has lost 10lbs of fur. I bought some medicated shampoo and I am all ready with brushes in hand for her when she starts growing her hair out. :)

She looks so cute! Sawwie about the yeast, that's nasty itchy stuff, Princess had it awhile back, the medicated shampoo helped. Hope Mia will feel better & now you can start fresh.

Mia looks beautiful, and I'm sure she feels so much better now, especially because its cooler for her.

Stull Cute as a button !!

I have never heard of a dog getting a yeast infection from being matted. I guess that's why I love YT so much still learning. At least you can get a fresh start with some more regular grooming habits so that it doesn't happen again.

Well she s adorable! I think its better to shave them then to torture them with all the tangles. I hate to tell you this but to keep Rosie tangle free I brush her 2 - 3 times a day! :eek: I also use a brush and comb on her. It's a pain but it works. If we put on clothes or a harness then we brush as soon as they come off. I also use conditioner on her to help. And detangler spray such as Yorkie Sheen or Madan has one too. Once you get in the routine it's no biggie! Good luck on the growing out!